The Kingdom of Ayutthaya is an incredible ancient Kingdom in Thailand which started almost 700 years ago and existed for over 400 years.
Ayutthaya was actually the capital of Thailand years ago, and is still a very important place to visit when you’re in Thailand!
These days, it’s now a city and indeed, a wider province in Thailand but a rather special one as a lot of the history and heritage from the ancient Kingdom still exists here.
It’s so spread out and it’s nearly impossible to see it all in great detail in one day.
Also, there are lots of different sections with different ruins which are now run independently of each other and as a result mean you’ll have to pay multiple entry fees for each set of places you visit.
The amount is hardly bank-breaking but still worth noting as you’ll have to be savvy with your time and pick the best spots to visit given any time constraints you might have.
This is going to be something of a more photo-heavy post as a tad tricky to go through the history for each one.
Also, to be perfectly honest, I think reading about the history on here would also be far too dull. It’s one of those things that’s best picked up while you’re exploring the place in person as it just gives it so much more context and makes it that extra bit special.
I will, however, name each place so you’ll know where to visit and also have a sense of what to expect before you do.
We’ll start with Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, our next stop after visiting Wat Phanan Choeng and the incredible Bang Pa-In Royal Palace (see all about it in this post here).
I know I said I wasn’t gonna provide any history but I feel like it is worth noting that Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon is a monastery that is over 600 years old and is rather impressive to see!
Here’s what it looks like.
Leaving Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, our next stop was Wat Mahathat – the Temple of the Great Relic.
Wat Mahathat is also similar in age to Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon and is definitely another must-see spot when you’re in Ayutthaya; here’s why!
Next up, we went to Wat Phra Si Sanphet – Temple of the Holy, Splendid Omniscient.
Again, this temple here is over 600 years old and, despite what you might expect, Wat Phra Si Sanphet was actually never inhabited by monks.
Instead, Wat Phra Si Sanphet was the temple of the royal family and used exclusively for royal ceremonies. Wat Phra Si Sanphet was actually the holiest temple in the royal palace here, back when Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand.
Wat Phra Mongkhon Bophit was our final stop of the trip (it’s right next to Wat Phra Si Sanphet). Wat Phra Mongkhon Bophit is also centuries old and is another stunning and interesting insight into the history of Thailand and the ancient Kingdom of Ayutthaya.
With that, we bade Ayutthayha farewell and made our way back to Bangkok.
Ayutthaya had been amazing and is one place we’d happily return to and take in even more places in this incredible city.
Check out the first part of our trip to Ayutthaya in this post below:
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