Ayutthaya: Guide to Thailand’s Ancient Royal Capital

Ayutthaya: Thailand’s Ancient Royal Capital

For 417 years, from 1351 to 1767, Ayutthaya was one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in Asia. At its peak it had a population of one million — larger than contemporary London or Paris — and received merchants and diplomats from China, Japan, India, Persia, and the European colonial powers simultaneously. In 1767 a Burmese army sacked the city, burned its records, melted its gold Buddhas, and carried its population into slavery. What remained was left to the jungle for two centuries. What the jungle preserved — decapitated Buddhas, collapsed chedis, temple moats with lotus flowers still floating on them — is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Historical Park

Ayutthaya Historical Park occupies the heart of the original island city, surrounded by the confluence of three rivers that made the location ideal for trade and defence. The ruins are scattered across a 4 sq km area that is best explored by bicycle: the roads between temples are mostly flat, relatively quiet compared to the surrounding streets, and short enough to cover in a day.

Bicycle rental is available from guesthouses near the station for 50–60 baht per day. The alternative is to hire a tuk-tuk driver for a half-day circuit — around 300–400 baht — which is faster but gives you less flexibility to linger at the sites that interest you most.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet

The royal temple inside the old palace grounds is the symbolic centrepiece of the park. Its three distinctive bell-shaped chedis, lined up in a row, are the most reproduced image of Ayutthaya. The temple once housed a 16-metre gold-plated standing Buddha; the Burmese melted it down for the gold and carried the metal to Yangon. The chedis contained the ashes of three Ayutthaya kings. The complex is open daily and entry is 50 baht.

Wat Mahathat

In the northwest section of the park, a collapsed prang at Wat Mahathat contains the most-photographed detail in Ayutthaya: a stone Buddha head entwined in the roots of a bodhi tree. The roots grew over centuries around the fallen head, lifting it off the ground and holding it in place. The image has become emblematic of the entire site: nature reclaiming what human violence destroyed, and in doing so creating something that the original architects could not have planned.

Visitors are asked not to position themselves higher than the Buddha head for photographs. The complex of ruined chedis and headless Buddhas surrounding this central image requires time to walk through properly.

Wat Chai Watthanaram

On the west bank of the Chao Phraya, slightly outside the main island and usually less crowded than the central ruins, Wat Chai Watthanaram was built in 1630 by King Prasat Thong. The design is Khmer-influenced, with a central prang surrounded by smaller towers and a gallery of headless Buddha images in standing niches. The temple is best seen from the river in the late afternoon, when the light falls directly on the west face and the reflections appear in the water below.

Practical Information

Most visitors come to Ayutthaya as a day trip from Bangkok, which is entirely feasible: the city is 80 km north and the journey by train takes 1.5–2 hours from Hua Lamphong or Bang Sue station. Trains depart frequently throughout the day; the 8:00 departure gives you time to arrive, rent a bicycle, see the major sites, and return on the late afternoon train. The round trip train fare is about 30–40 baht per leg in third class.

Staying overnight has advantages: the major temples are quieter in the early morning before tour groups arrive, and the evening views of illuminated chedis over the water are worth a dinner at a riverside restaurant. The Night Market near Chao Phrom pier runs every evening with standard Thai food stalls and some northern-style dishes from vendors from Chiang Rai.

Entry fees vary by temple: 50–100 baht is standard. An all-day bicycle and a few temple entry tickets totals around 400–500 baht for a well-planned day. Some temples are free.

Getting There from Bangkok

Train is the most convenient option: regular services from Bang Sue Grand Station (the new main terminal, on the MRT Blue Line at Kheha station) take about 1.5 hours. From the Ayutthaya train station it is a short walk to the river crossing and a 10-baht ferry to the old city island. Bus services from Bangkok Mo Chit and Ekkamai take about 1.5–2 hours and arrive at the bus terminal 5 km from the historical park.

Ayutthaya is a natural stop on the road north from Bangkok to Chiang Mai: the overnight train to Chiang Mai from Bang Sue passes through Ayutthaya in the early evening if you want a last glimpse of the illuminated temples from the train window before the northern plains darken.