Wat Chaiwatthanaram
A Khmer temple on the riverbank, eight chapels around a thirty-five-metre prang.
Duration
45 min – 1 hr
Best time
Late afternoon
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
King Prasat Thong had it built in 1630 on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, in an openly Khmer style: a thirty-five-metre central prang ringed by four smaller ones and eight chapels, on a square terrace. It was a royal temple and a funerary monastery.
It was abandoned after 1767 and lay two centuries in the jungle before being cleared. The seated Buddhas lining the gallery have almost all lost their heads to looters — the bodies stayed where they were, in a row.
Getting there
On the west bank, three kilometres from the centre: by bicycle over the bridge, or by boat from the historical park's landings.
What the price covers
paid entry, rate to be checked on site
Rules on site
There is no shade on the terrace and the brick throws the heat back: the middle of the day is hard here. The site closes at sunset except on illumination evenings.
Other places in Ayutthaya
Wat MahathatThe Buddha head held in a fig tree's roots, and the beheaded chedis around it.
- Wat Phra Si SanphetThe three white chedis of the royal palace, in a row on the same terrace since 1492.
- Bang Ian Night MarketThe locals' evening market, two streets from the ruins and without a single souvenir stall.