Ayutthaya
The former Siamese capital north of Bangkok, whose brick temple ruins form a UNESCO World Heritage site on a river island.
The capital that was left to the ruins
Ayutthaya is what is left of a Siamese capital that ruled for the better part of four centuries. UNESCO dates its founding to around 1350, as the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai, and describes a city that flourished from the 14th to the 18th century as a centre of diplomacy and trade. Its historic core is a World Heritage property, inscribed in 1991 under criterion (iii). The setting explains much of the city. It sits on an island where the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pa Sak rivers meet, so the water that made it a trading capital also ringed it. In 1767 the Burmese army destroyed the city and it was never rebuilt on the same site. What survives is an archaeological landscape: prang (tall reliquary towers in the Khmer manner), chedis and the brick footprints of large monasteries, with the Fine Arts Department having begun restoration in 1969 and the area becoming a historical park in 1976. The working town of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, the provincial capital, is a few kilometres east of the old city, so a visit is really a visit to a ruin field next to a living town. One reference puts the city about 64 km north of Bangkok on the main north-south railway line. Two parts of the area are worth knowing before you plan. The ruins are not one building but a scatter of temples, some inside the island and some across the river, which suits a slow, selective visit more than a checklist. And a few kilometres downriver at Bang Pa-In stands a palace of a completely different era, mostly built in the 1870s and 1880s, which makes a useful contrast with the ancient ruins.
Explore Ayutthaya on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
The unmissable Ayutthaya
What Ayutthaya is for
The sights are grouped by what they tell you about the old capital rather than by distance, because the sourced facts do not give walking or cycling times.
The royal and state temples
- Wat Phra Si Sanphet stood in the grounds of the old royal palace and was used by the royal family. Three chedis, built in 1492 and 1529 to hold the ashes of kings and a prince, are the best-known remains, and the Fine Arts Department restored them in 1956.
- Wat Mahathat has a Khmer-style central prang that collapsed in 1631 and was rebuilt, and which fell again in 1911. A Buddha head held in the roots of a tree here has become one of the site's best-known images.
- Wat Ratchaburana is credited by official Thai historiography to King Borommarachathirat II in 1424, built over the ashes of his two elder brothers. Its crypt holds rare surviving early Ayutthaya paintings.
A temple across the river
- Wat Chaiwatthanaram stands on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, just outside the island, and was built by King Prasat Thong in 1630. A central prang about 35 m high rises from a platform ringed by four smaller prangs and eight chapels shaped like chedis, which the layout is read as a model of Mount Meru and its surroundings.
Museums and interpretation
- The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum shows objects mainly excavated from Wat Ratchaburana and Wat Mahathat, including relics, gold regalia and sculpture.
- The Ayutthaya Historical Study Centre is a research and interpretation centre on the city's history, urban development and archaeology.
Beyond the island: Bang Pa-In Palace
- Bang Pa-In Palace stands beside the Chao Phraya in Bang Pa-in District. Prasat Thong is said to have built the original complex in 1632; it fell into disuse and was restored from the mid-19th century. Most of today's buildings date from 1872 to 1889 under King Chulalongkorn, among them a Chinese-style hall and a pavilion set in the middle of a pond.
Two days around the old capital
The royal core of the island
Begin with Wat Phra Si Sanphet and its three chedis, which mark the site of the old royal palace. Move on to Wat Mahathat for the great prang foundations and the Buddha head in tree roots, then Wat Ratchaburana and its crypt. The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum is a natural way to see the objects that came out of the last two.
Across the river and downriver
Cross to the west bank for Wat Chaiwatthanaram, the Khmer-style temple that Prasat Thong built in 1630. Then continue to Bang Pa-In Palace, which Prasat Thong is said to have begun in 1632 and which was largely rebuilt under King Chulalongkorn, to see how royal taste had changed by the 19th century.
Arriving & getting around
The sources give the layout of the place, not travel times, so this block describes geography only.
How the place is laid out
- The historic city is on an island at the meeting of three rivers: the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pa Sak.
- Some temples, including Wat Chaiwatthanaram, lie outside the island on the west bank of the Chao Phraya.
- The modern town was refounded a few kilometres east of the old city and is the provincial capital.
- Bang Pa-In Palace is in Bang Pa-in District, beside the Chao Phraya, downriver of the island city.
Relation to Bangkok
- One reference places the city about 64 km north of Bangkok on the main north-south railway. Journey times are not given in the sources used.
Rain, heat and timing
There is no Ayutthaya station in the TMD 1991-2020 table. The nearest station in the table is Bangkok Metropolis, which is a different place, so treat these as a rough guide only.
Mean monthly rainfall is highest in September (335.9 mm), October (288.7 mm) and August (227.1 mm), with September averaging 21.4 rainy days. December (11.6 mm) and February (21.4 mm) are the lowest rainfall months at that station, together with January (23.6 mm). Mean maximum temperature runs from 32.3 C in December to 35.7 C in April.
Insider tips
A few points that follow from the history.
Practical
- Do not expect restored buildings. Much of what you see is brick foundations, stumps of prang and chedi, and stucco survivals. The Burmese destroyed the city in 1767, and restoration only began in 1969.
- The town you arrive in is not the old capital. The modern town lies a few kilometres east of the ruin field.
- Some well-known temples sit outside the island. Wat Chaiwatthanaram is on the west bank, and the UNESCO property is described as a historic city, not a single compound.
- Two accounts of the founding exist: UNESCO gives around 1350 and other references 1351, and older settlement is suggested by evidence from before the capital was founded.
Easy day trips
Places linked to the ruins or reached along the river
Related to Ayutthaya
Journeys that include Ayutthaya — each one visits the city as part of its itinerary.
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