Buddha Temple

Best Time to View Buddha Temple

Morning and late-afternoon light bring out the contrast between the pale Kaibab-and-Coconino cap and the darker rock below. If viewing from the Widforss Trail on the North Rim, remember that access there is seasonal.

Tips for Viewing Buddha Temple

• Like many of the canyon's buttes, it got its name from Clarence Dutton's 19th-century practice of naming formations after world mythology and religion; geographer Henry Gannett applied the name, and it became official in 1906.
• Pair a Widforss Trail hike with the Buddha Temple view for a longer North Rim outing rather than a quick rim stop.
• Bring binoculars for a clearer look at the cliff bands from either rim.

Where to See Buddha Temple

View it from South Rim overlooks including Yaki Point, or from North Rim viewpoints along the Widforss Trail, including Widforss Point, where it appears alongside neighboring Isis Temple and Haunted Canyon. There's no trail to the summit itself, which wasn't climbed until 1973.

What You're Looking At: Buddha Temple

Buddha Temple is one of the canyon's named buttes rather than a place you hike to — a freestanding formation rising to 7,212 feet, capped in pale Kaibab limestone over cream-colored Coconino sandstone. It stands about 6.5 miles north of Mather Point on the South Rim and roughly four miles southwest of Bright Angel Point on the North Rim. From below its summit, the walls drop more than 3,800 feet into Bright Angel Canyon to the east and nearly 3,000 feet into Haunted Canyon to the west.