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Wat Saket, popularly known as the Golden Mount or ‘Phu Khao Thong’, is a low hill crowned with a gleaming gold chedi. Within, the 58-metre chedi houses a Buddha relic and welcomes worshippers all year round. The Wat Saket just outside the old Rattanakosin island area is one of Bangkok’s oldest temples dating back to the Ayutthaya era, which lasted until 1767. The temple was then named Wat Sakae. When King Rama I became the first ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom he ordered the temple to be restored and renamed it Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan, or Wat Saket for short.The Wat Saket was used to cremate the deceased who were too poor to afford a funeral or cremation. When an epidemic hit Bangkok during the reign of King Rama II, the remains of tens of thousands of poor people were brought here to be cremated. The structure that Wat Saket is best known for is its 80 meter high hill called “Golden Mount” and the huge gilded stupa on top of it. It was once the highest point in Bangkok.The hill was created during the reign of King Rama III who ordered a large chedi to be build in the Wat Saket temple complex. During the construction however, the chedi collapsed because the soil it was standing on was too soft to support the weight. Years later King Rama IV had the hill reinforced and made higher with large numbers of logs to prevent the soil from sinking any further, and he had a small stupa build on top. In the 1940’s the hill was reinforced again using concrete.
Address : 344 ถนน บริพัตร Khwaeng Ban Bat, Khet Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10100, Thailand.
Open Daily : 8 am until 5 pm. Admission to the temple is free : 10 Thai Baht.
Map : https://goo.gl/maps/gtv5LTrJYhq
