Kanchanaburi
Constructed by POW labour, this 300m-long bridge is heavy with the history of the Thailand–Burma Railway. Its centre was destroyed by Allied bombs in 1945…
Must-see attractions in Central Thailand
Ayuthaya
Ornate buildings are sprinkled across Bang Pa In Palace's 19-hectare gardens. First established in the 17th century, the palace was revived in the 19th…
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Kanchanaburi
In the countryside around Kanchanaburi, cave temples are almost as common as convenience stores are inside the city, but this is one of the most…
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Kanchanaburi
This excellent museum balances statistics and historical context with personal accounts of the conditions endured by POWs and other imprisoned labourers…
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Ayuthaya
The prang (Khmer-style spire) in this large temple complex is one of the best extant versions in the city. There are giant stucco-sculpted Garuda on the…
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Ayuthaya
Glorious in the early morning light and also at sunset, this temple is Ayuthaya's most impressive off-island site thanks to its 35m-high central prang …
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Ayuthaya
Visitors to this photogenic ruin 2km southeast of the island can climb stairs up into the crypt of the stunning 60m-tall, bell-shaped chedi (stupa). There…
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Ayuthaya
With animatronic ghosts, supersized crows and glowing Buddhas, Wat Tha Ka Rong is eerie and playful in equal measure and feels more like a carnival than a…
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Ayuthaya
At this captivating ruined temple, three wonderfully intact stupas form one of Ayuthaya's most iconic views. Built beginning in 1448, this was a private…
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Ayuthaya
Wat Phra Ram's tall main prang (Khmer-style spire) isn't in the best condition, but it's definitely worth a visit. The temple was constructed on the…
Kanchanaburi
Immaculately maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this is the larger of Kanchanaburi's two war cemeteries, and is right in town. Of the…
Ayuthaya
This lively temple, believed to date to 1324 (26 years before the founding of Ayuthaya), revolves around the 19m-high Phra Phanan Choeng Buddha, aka …
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Kanchanaburi
The centrepiece of this hilltop temple is a striking 18m-high Buddha covered in golden mosaic. One of the merit-making ceremonies for devotees is to place…
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Ayuthaya
Atmospheric ruins and lively temple worship can both be experienced at Wat Phutthai Sawan. King U Thong founded this temple in 1353 on the south bank of…
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Kanchanaburi
Close to the Death Railway Bridge, at this eclectic museum you'll see trains, Japanese motorcycles, anchors and old helmets, plus a great view of the…
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Central Thailand
Tucked into the foothills of the Khao Yai Mountains in northeast Nakhon Nayok province, Thailand's largest dam (2.6km long and 93m high) is an impressive…
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Ayuthaya
Featuring a gorgeous 6m-high Buddha flanked by maroon columns, this active temple was one of the few to escape the wrath of Burma's invading army in 1767;…
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Kanchanaburi
The nearest cave temple to Kanchanaburi town is a fun labyrinth of illuminated passageways. The marked trail is a bit of a squeeze in some places (and can…
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Chao Sam Phraya National Museum
Ayuthaya
The most impressive treasure of Ayuthaya's premier museum is the haul of royal gold (jewellery, utensils, votive tablets, spittoons) unearthed from the…
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Kanchanaburi
This small museum, opened in 1977, mostly focuses on the terrible ordeals of the POWs who built the Death Railway. Their harsh living conditions are shown…
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Ayuthaya
Ayuthaya's most photographed attraction is in these temple grounds: a sandstone Buddha head tangled within a bodhi tree's entwined roots. Founded in 1374,…
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Ayuthaya
Next to Wat Phra Si Sanphet, this sanctuary hall houses one of Thailand's largest bronze Buddha images, dating to the 15th century, most likely. Coated in…
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Kanchanaburi
A stroll along this city centre street offers a glimpse of a bygone Kanchanaburi. Many buildings date to the 1920s and '30s and their Sino-Portuguese,…
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Ayuthaya
The most prominent features of this ancient and presently active temple is not the large wí·hăhn lŏo·ang (royal assembly hall) but the modest stupa in…
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Ayuthaya
A weathered Buddha, about all that remains intact from the wí·hăhn (assembly hall), sits picturesquely in front of a bell-shaped stupa at this small…
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Ayuthaya
Although there was a temple here in the Ayuthaya era, the present buildings are from the current reign, with the bòht (ordination hall) built by King Rama…
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Ayuthaya
On an island across the Chao Phraya River from Bang Pa In Palace, this unique buttercup-yellow ubosot (ordination hall) was designed to resemble a…
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Makha Bucha Buddhist Memorial Park
Central Thailand
Not yet a temple, this informal Buddhist centre's main attraction is a giant Buddha statue with his hands in 'setting the wheel in motion' posture, which…
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Central Thailand
Dropping 200m in nine steps, Sarika Waterfall is a gorgeous getaway, and on non-holiday weekdays it's usually a peaceful one too. A trail climbs up to the…
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Ayuthaya Historical Study Centre
Ayuthaya
Though it feels staid compared to enchanting local ruins, this museum features model longboats and temples along with exhibitions on the lives of…
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Ayuthaya
Though it's not yet near Indiana Jones levels, forest is slowly reclaiming this attractive ruin. The massive stupa collapsed, but the imposing walls of…
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Kanchanaburi
The site of one of the biggest Allied POW camps, Chungkai honours 1426 Commonwealth and 313 Dutch soldiers. Prisoners built their own hospital and church…
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Ayuthaya
The little 'Dutch House' features a concise but informative exhibition of Dutch history in Thailand from 1604, when the Dutch East India Company (VOC)…
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Chantharakasem National Museum
Ayuthaya
This museum is within the grounds of Wang Chan Kasem (Chan Kasem Palace), built for King Rama IV (r 1851–68) at the site of a palace used by King Naresuan…
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Ayuthaya
The field north of Wat Phra Si Sanphet full of brick foundations, walls and little else was once the royal palace compound of the Ayuthaya kingdom. There…
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Ayuthaya
Arriving in the 16th century, the Portuguese were the first European settlers in Ayuthaya. Several of their skeletal remains are on view at this excavated…
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Central Thailand
Much smaller than its famous neighbour, Namtok Sarika, Nang Rong Waterfall is a series of small drops amidst a boulder-filled stream. The free admission…
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Ayuthaya
North of Wat Na Phra Men, where few foreigners venture, this small temple ruin has a mid-sized stupa in pretty good condition and a completely toppled…
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Ayuthaya
In 1665, King Narai gave the French land next to the Christian Vietnamese settlement and donated money towards building the first St Joseph Church, which…
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Ayuthaya
Set within manicured, frangipani-fringed gardens, this small museum complex details the lives of the estimated 1500 Japanese who came to settle in…
