Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHTS
GOLDEN MOUNT & WAT SAKET
Before glass and steel towers began growing out of Bangkok's flat plain, the massive Golden Mount (Phu Khao Thong)
was the only structure to make any significant impression on the horizon.
The Golden Mount was commissioned by Rama III (King Phranangklao; r 1824-51), who ordered that the earth dug
out to create Bangkok's expanding
klorng
(canal) network be piled up to build a 100m-high, 500m-wide
chedi
(stupa). As
the hill grew, the weight became too much for the soft soil beneath and the project was abandoned until his successor built
a small gilded
chedi
on its crest and added trees to stave off erosion. Rama V (King Chulalongkorn; r 1886-1910) later
added to the structure and interred a Buddha relic from India in the
chedi.
The concrete walls were added during WWII.
At the peak, you'll find a 360-degree view of Bangkok's most photogenic side.
Next door, seemingly peaceful Wat Saket contains murals that are among both the most beautiful and the goriest in the
country; proceed to the pillar behind the Buddha statue for explicit depictions of Buddhist hell. In November there's a
festival in the grounds that includes a candlelight procession up the Golden Mount.
DON'T MISS…
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View from summit of Golden Mount
»
Temple paintings at Wat Saket
PRACTICALITIES
»
Th Boriphat
»
admission to summit of Golden Mount 10B
»
7.30am-5.30pm
»
klorng boat to Tha Phan Fah
DEMOCRACY MONUMENT
MONUMENT
