What to know before visiting the temple
Dress modestly · Remove shoes in the halls · Do not climb the prang, wall or bases · Do not touch the lintels or murals
About 07:00–17:00 (sources differ)
16:30
7 days ahead
When to go
this week
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Best time to go Best window 06:00–16:00 Little rain
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
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Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Best window 06:00–14:00 Little rain · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
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Best time to go Best window 08:00–19:00 Little rain · light drizzle possible at times
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Best time to go Fine all day little rain through the day
No warnings today — normal road and weather conditions
Hour by hour
Green band = hours used for the score
Wat Mahathat Worawihan, Ratchaburi
Wat Mahathat Worawihan, Khao Ngu Road, Na Mueang, Mueang Ratchaburi.
- Morning light on the prang
- Hot courtyards
- Warm light on the laterite
Arrive 16:30
- East face of the prang through the laterite gateWide shotMorning
- Buddha lintels on the wallDetailDaytime
- Reclining BuddhaIn the vihara before the prangDaytime
Gallery
Photos from Wikimedia Commons and contributors · full credits inClassic page
Good to know here
Harsh midday sun
- Dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees
- Do not climb the prang or wall; the lintels are fragile
- Combine with the Ratchaburi National Museum nearby
- Come early or late for good light and less heat
Adults 0 THB · Time needed 45 min–2 hours
Buddhist holy days
- Kids Good
- Seniors Good; flat grounds
- Wheelchair Mostly flat grounds; halls have steps
- Pets Not appropriate in the temple
- Drink Up Café RatchaburiAbout 2 km
- Khanom Chin Soi 5 RatchaburiAbout 3 km
- Tiao Pak Mo RatchareeAbout 4 km
- Dress modestly
- Remove shoes in the halls
- Do not climb the prang, wall or bases
- Do not touch the lintels or murals
- Hot open courtyards at midday
- Fragile monuments; no climbing
Best months
Tap a month on the wheel to see weather, rain, haze and crowds from 10 years of records
Best time · Nov–Feb for cool weather · 07:00–10:00 or 15:30–17:00 for warm light on the laterite
Watch out · Midday — the open courtyards are hot
21°Jan
22°Feb
24°Mar
26°Apr
26°May
26°Jun
25°Jul
25°Aug
25°Sep
24°Oct
23°Nov
22°Dec
Oct by the records 24–31°C · avg rain 259 mm (23 rainy days) · clear 1 days · avg PM2.5 17
The story of this place
Wat Mahathat Worawihan stands on Khao Ngu Road, Na Mueang, Mueang Ratchaburi, on the west bank of the Mae Klong about 1 km from the town centre. Formerly called Wat Na Phra That or Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, it is now a third-class royal temple of the Worawihan type, covering about 125 rai. The site shows traces back to the Dvaravati period, when Khu Bua was the regional centre.
Read more 4 more paragraphs
Around the late 12th to early 13th century a Khmer sanctuary in the Bayon style was built inside a laterite wall. Red-sandstone lintels carved with one to four meditating Buddhas line the wall's inner face, something rare in Thailand. Scholars suggest Ratchaburi may be "Śrī Jayarājapurī" in Jayavarman VII's Preah Khan inscription.
In the early Ayutthaya period, around the 14th–16th century, a new laterite prang about 24 m high was raised on the collapsed Khmer base, with three subsidiary prangs on the same platform and murals of past Buddhas inside. The late-Ayutthaya ordination hall with its curved base came later.
Under King Rama II the town moved to the east bank and the temple was abandoned until the monk Phra Bunma and villagers restored it around 1845. In 1911 Nai Yim built the open wooden main vihara, where Phra Mongkhonburi faces east, back-to-back with Phra Si Nakhon facing west — believed to guard the town front and back.
The Fine Arts Department registered the temple as a national monument in the Royal Gazette (vol. 52, part 75) on 8 March 1935. The grounds also hold an Ayutthaya stucco reclining Buddha about 127 khuep long, restored a second time in 1983, a cloister of Buddha images from several periods, a mondop and an oath-water platform. The temple is open free every day. In October 2017 Ratchaburi Province built its replica royal crematorium for the cremation of King Bhumibol (Rama IX) at this temple, where people came to lay sandalwood flowers.
- DvaravatiSettlement traces from the Khu Bua era
- c. 1177–1217Bayon-style Khmer sanctuary and laterite wall built
- 14th–16th c.Early-Ayutthaya laterite prang built
- Rama II reignTown moves east; temple abandoned
- c. 1845Phra Bunma restores the temple
- 1911Wooden main vihara built
- 8 Mar 1935Registered as a national monument
See 2 events
- 1983Reclining Buddha restored a second time
- Oct 2017Site of Ratchaburi's replica royal crematorium
Check-ins & visitor photos
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How to get there
Town roads
Rama 2 or Phetkasem Rd into Ratchaburi · Fuel
Ratchaburi station · Metered
Khao Ngu Road, Ratchaburi town
In the temple grounds
Ratchaburi town
Good
About 07:00–17:00 (sources differ)
around 1 km fromRatchaburi town
Wat Mahathat Worawihan Ratchaburi
0 THB
Stays near Wat Mahathat Worawihan, Ratchaburi
Approx. nightly price for 2 adults (next week) · final price depends on your dates
FAQ
Before you goWat Mahathat Worawihan, Ratchaburi
Answers travellers want before they go — a one-minute read
Is the prang Khmer?
The genuinely Khmer part is the Bayon-style laterite wall of the late 12th–early 13th century. The 24 m laterite prang was rebuilt in the early Ayutthaya period on the Khmer base
What rank is the temple?
A third-class royal temple of the Worawihan type
Is there an entry fee?
No
When was it registered as a monument?
8 March 1935
What is special inside?
Back-to-back Buddhas Phra Mongkhonburi and Phra Si Nakhon, a stucco reclining Buddha about 30 m long, and Buddha lintels on the laterite wall
How old is it?
The site goes back to Dvaravati times; the structures range from Khmer (around 1200 CE) to Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin
Ready to go to Wat Mahathat Worawihan, Ratchaburi?
Best day this week: Wednesday 28 Oct · Check in when you arrive to collect a stamp