Wat Phra Yai, known in English as the Big Buddha Temple, is a Buddhist temple on Ko Phan (also spelled Koh Fan or Koh Faan), a small island offshore from the northeastern area of Ko Samui, Thailand, connected to that island by a short causeway 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) north of Samui International Airport. As its name indicates, it is home to a giant, 12-metre-high (39-foot) gold-painted Buddha statue. Since being built in 1972, it has become one of Ko Samui's main tourist attractions and a major landmark.