Wat Saket - Golden Mountain Bangkok

The Golden Mount, or Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan (วัดสระเกศราชวรมหาวิหาร) which is its full name usually shorten to Wat Saket, is a Buddhist Royal Thai temple in the center of old Bangkok. It is located close to the Democracy Monument, Chinatown, the Giant Swing, and Kao San Road.

Golden Mount Bangkok dates back to the Ayutthaya era when King Rama I (ruled 1782 – 1809) founded this ground as a burial site. This area was at the time just outside the city walls of the newly established city of Bangkok. Several thousands of bodies are buried here, most of them from when the plague ravished through Bangkok during King Rama II´s rule (1809 – 1824).

King Rama III (ruled 1824 – 1851) then decided to build a stupa/ chedi here to be used for meditation and praying. But his building project turned out to be a bit of a failure as the big stupa collapsed due to the soft riverbank soil of Bangkok that could not support the weight of the giant stupa.

The whole project was abandoned and left to nature which took over and made the collapsed stupa into a hill overgrown with trees and weeds. The new artificial hill got the name Phu Khao Thong (ภูเขาทอง), meaning Golden Mountain.

Years later, King Rama IV (ruled 1851 – 1868) started a new building project of a small stupa/ chedi on top of the hill. His son, King Rama V (ruled 1868 – 1910), completed the structure and also added a relic of the Buddha inside the stupa that he got from Sri Lanka. The rumors have it that it contains some of Buddha´s teeth.

The temple structure that we can see today, with the concrete walls and stairs, was added in the 1940s to prevent the hill from eroding and collapsing.

The temple has since been renovated and is now beautifully painted in white and yellow. The stupa itself is of shining gold paining and marble. It indeed is a well kept secret jewel of Bangkok! It is stunningly lit and glows of gold in the evening.

After a tour of the temple we explore an artisans community just outside the temple grounds. The artisans still craft the alms bowls that are used by Thai monks to gather food and donations each day. The craftsman still make each alms bowl by hand in the traditional way.

Enjoy the video!