Location

Nestled within the Dharug National Park, the Wat’s 90 hectares are virtually indistinguishable from the beautiful bushland that surrounds it. The Wat welcomes enquirers into and practitioners of Buddhist meditation. It is a centre for the development and practice of skilful living, calm and insight, and for loving-kindness.

Wat Buddha Dhamma strives to be an environmentally conscious facility. In addition to the use of solar power and rain water, the Wat is also committed to simplicity, including the reuse and recycling of as much material as possible. Being independent of mains electricity, power at the Wat is derived from a mixture of solar, gas and wood fire. It is therefore necessary for these resources to be used mindfully.

How to Get to Wat Buddha Dhamma

The Wat is not accessible by public transport. Allow about 3 hours travelling time by car if you come from Sydney. Since the lock combination at our gate (see below…) is changed at times, and we try to keep this number confidential, please contact the Wat before you plan to arrive.

At the Locked Gate into the Wat…

…you’ll see the Dharug National Park sign:

 

The gate to the Wat is locked as this is the road into Dharug National Park. The lock is located in a hollow at the back of the left-side gatepost. You may need a torch to see it clearly. Enter the combination and press the bottom right button on the pad to get it to pop open. Pass through and please lock the gate before proceeding. The combination is changed at times and we try to keep this number confidential so please contact the Wat before you plan to arrive to obtain the combination.

From the gate it is a straight 15km drive on a dirt road to the Wat. The road can be navigated with any car. Drive carefully as this road, although narrow, is 2 way, and often has walkers and cyclists using it. Allow about 30-40 minutes for this section of your trip.

Driving Directions

You can trust:

  • Apple Maps

…to lead you to Wat Buddha Dhamma, however you cannot trust:

  • Google Maps
  • Bing.com
  • some brands of GPS

…as they will take you via Gosford (a 2 hour detour) and to the wrong gate with no mobile reception. The monastery is only accessible through the metal gate off Wisemans Ferry Road.  Any maps app that takes you via Warratah Rd, is taking you to the wrong gate. You can use the map apps to get you to Wisemans Ferry ferry, then follow the directions below:

wbd_driving_directions
Arriving from Sydney

Drive to Wisemans Ferry. If you use the M2 take the Pennant Hills Road Exit, from Pennant Hills Road take a slight left onto Castle Hill Rd. Turn right onto New Line Road. At the roundabout go straight onto Old Northern Road. Drive through Glenorie and Maroota before arriving at Wisemans Ferry. Drive through Wisemans Ferry to the end and take the “Wisemans Ferry” (Not Webb’s Creek) ferry across the river (operates daily for 24 hours and is free of charge). Getting off the ferry turn right (towards Gosford) and drive for 4 km until you see a pole with the sign ‘Wat Buddha Dhamma’ and a Buddhist Flag. Turn off to your left to take you up to the locked gate (see above).

Arriving from Central Coast

Take the freeway exit Peats Ridge / Mangrove Mountain near Gosford and turn into Wisemans Ferry Road. Drive along that road for about 77 km to the beginning of the dirt road leading to the Wat. You will first drive through Spencer (about 56 km from freeway turn off). 20 km past Spencer there is the Hazel Dell picnic ground (has a small sign on right). Once you have passed that sign it is only about 1 km to theright-hand turn-off to the dirt road leading to the Wat. The turn off is marked by a pole with the sign ‘Wat Buddha Dhamma’ and a Buddhist Flag. Turn off to your right to take you up to the locked gate (see above).

Here’s a downloadable PDF containing the above map with directions to WBD: ‘How to get to WBD.pdf‘.