Wat Phra Kaeo
Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok
This tourist attraction is located in Bangkok, Thailand. For information on Chiang Mai, go to Bangkok Travel Guide. To prepare for a trip to Thailand, read also the Thailand Travel Guide. Looking for budget accommodation in Bangkok? Use the Bangkok Budget Accommodation Map to easily locate the perfect place to spend the night.
Wat Phra Kaeo, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is the most sacred and opulent of all the Buddhist temples in Thailand. Wat Phra Kaeo is located within the grounds of the Grand Palace of Bangkok.
Wat Phra Kaeo is enclosed by walls on four sides. There are seven entrances, although visitors are permitted to enter through one main entrance, and to exit from another.
The Phra Mondop (left), with a Sala Rai to its right, and
Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn behind it.
Wat Phra Kaeo is a complex consisting of various religious structures. The Phra Ubosot houses the Emerald Buddha image, the Sala Rai, the Ratchaphongsanusorn Buddha Image Hall, the Phra Mondop, the Phra Si Ratana Chedi, just to name a few.
Phra Ubosot
The most important building at Wat Phra Kaeo is the Phra Ubosot, the main building housing the Emerald Buddha. The walls of this building is decorated with multi-coloured tiles.
Roof of the Phra Ubosot.
The Emerald Buddha is a 75cm jadeite statue (not of emerald, of course). It is believed to have been made in Sri Lanka, and was discovered in Chiang Rai in the early 1400s - there is also a Wat Phra Kaeo in Chiang Rai, which was the original residence of the Emerald Buddha. In 1430, a lightning struck a chedi in the Chiang Rai Wat Phra Kaeo, revealing the Emerald Buddha within. When King Phothisarat of the Lanna Kingdom of Northern Thailand died, his son Setthathirat moved to Vientiane, to rule over the Lan Xang kingdom. He brought the Emerald Buddha with him, and built Haw Pha Kaew in Vientiane in 1565 to house it.
In 1779, during the Siamese invasion of Vientiane, General Chakri (the future Rama I) ransacked the city and took the Emerald Buddha, placing it in the Wat Phra Kaeo of Bangkok, in 1784, where it stays to this day, much to the chagrin of the Laotians.
Phaithee Terrace
To the north of the Phra Ubosot is a terrace, or base, supporting several buildings. This is the Phaithee Terrace. it supports the Phra Si Ratana Chedi, the Phra Mondop, a pair of golden Phra Chedis, and the Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn.
Phra Si Ratana Chedi.
Phra Si Ratana Chedi
This is a circular chedi in the Lankan style. It is covered entirely with gold tiles made specially in Italy. The bell-shapred structure is mounted on a khiang (flat) base. Above the bell-shaped structure is a square structure and columns to support the 20 concentric circular structures arranged in decreasing size.
The interior of the chedi is a round hall, at the centre of which is a chadra (tiered umbrella) over a small chedi containing Buddha relics. This chedi, a replica of the one housing it, is covered in black lacquer.
Phra Si Ratana Chedi was constructed in 1855 under the orders of King Rama IV, to house relics of the Buddha received from Sri Lanka.
Golden Phra Chedi
There are two golden Phra Chedis on the Phaithee terrace. They are exactly the same in design and size, and covered with copper sheets, painted with lacquer and covered with gold leaf.
One of the two golden Phra Chedis.
Phra Mondop.
Phra Mondop
Also standing on the Phaithee terrace is Phra Mondop, the library of Buddhist scriptures. It is a square structure crowned with a tiered roof. The walls are adorned with tradtional Thai designs, covered with gold leaf and decorated with green glass. The Phra Mondop houses the Tripitaka, Buddhist scriptures.
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