★★Worth it·Royal monastery
Wat Phra Si Mahathat
วัดพระศรีมหาธาตุ
The 1942 first-class royal monastery of Bang Khen, with relics from India in its great chedi — and its own BTS–Pink Line interchange at the gate.
The 1942 royal monastery of Bang Khen, built to house Indian relics and democracy's ashes both — with its own BTS-Pink interchange at the gate. The bodhi tree descends from the original at Bodh Gaya.
Hdamm CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized · tap to enlarge
Visiting
- Open
- daily
- Entry
- FreeNo fee for the grounds, ubosot or chedi terraceReported by visitors and guides, not by the venue.
- Dress
- Shoulders and knees covered
- Allow
- 30 min
No official opening hours published — check on the day.
Checked 10 Oct 2026 against openstreetmap.org, commons.wikimedia.org, wongnai.com, thestandard.co. Things change: closures for royal ceremonies and holidays are common.
Visiting a temple
- Shoulders and knees covered, for everyone. Sarongs are usually available at the gate, sometimes for a small deposit.
- Shoes come off before you step into an ordination hall — watch what everyone else is doing at the threshold.
- Most compounds open early, around 08:00, and close by 17:00–18:00; the major ones charge foreign visitors a small entry fee.
- Early morning is cooler, quieter and far better light than midday.
Check current entry fee and today's closing time when you arrive — we have no verified official site for this one.
Getting there
- Wat Phra Sri Mahathat·BTS Sukhumvit Line~6 min walk
- Wat Phra Sri Mahathat·MRT Pink Line~6 min walk
- 11th Infantry Regiment·BTS Sukhumvit Line~13 min walk
- Rajabhat Phranakhon·MRT Pink Line~13 min walk
Typical times, not a timetable · rail, boat and BRT routing runs right in the atlas.
The neighbourhood
Wat Phra Si Mahathat sits in Bang Khen.