

Private Tour to Ayutthaya's Hidden Temples from Bangkok with a Private Guide and Lunch
Explore the full itinerary for Private Ayutthaya Temples Tour From Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand. This private sightseeing tours experience includes 7 stops over 1 day. Duration: 9 hours. Activity level: Light.


Believed to be the spiritual centre of Early Ayutthaya Period, Wat Mahathat was the royal ceremonial ground for both religious and non-religious affairs before King Trailoknat replaced it with Wat Phra Si Sanphet. Built before Ayutthaya became the Siamese capital, the temple features a Khmer-style prang (now collapsed) which used to enshrine a miniature casket containing the Buddha’s relics (now on display at Chao Sam Phraya Museum). Apart from the principal prang, Wat Mahathat is the site of the lone Buddha's head entrapped by the roots of an overgrown banyan tree – today a popular icon of Ayutthaya. The head is closely guarded around the clock, and even the slightest gesture of disrespect (e.g. taking photographs while standing over the Buddha’s head) will not be tolerated.


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One of the best-preserved ancient royal monasteries, situated just before the eastern entrance to the inner city, the temple is famous for its large reclining Buddha and a 62-metre inverted bell-shaped chedi (pagoda) built to commemorate King Naresuan’s victory over the Burmese. Set in vast landscaped grounds, the temple was constructed during King U-Thong’s reign (1350 – 1369) as a forest temple school. Surrounding the principal chedi are cloister walls lined with several Buddha images – a unique architectural feature of the Early Ayutthaya Period.

South of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, this stand-alone chapel was built to shelter a large bronze Buddha image, Phra Mongkol Bophit. It was ransacked and burned by the Burmese, then finally restored to its original glory in 1956. Although it houses a Buddha image, Wiharn Phra Mongkol Bophit is not a temple because it is the only structure standing, built on the original site of Wat Chi Chiang, which was burned down in 1767 along with the rest of Ayutthaya.
