Phetchaburi Tourist Attractions
Phetchaburi is famous for its temples – and rightly so. There are temples to everyone’s tasting: imposing royal temples and modest simple wats; temples with ancient Khmer ruins and temples with contemporary murals; temples with vast monks’ areas and temples with old teak libraries in the centre of the wat’s pond – you name it, Phetchaburi has it. If you are not a big buff of Buddgist temples (why are you thinking of going to Phetchaburi then???), there is a rambling historical park and a couple of caves which will keep you busy for the whole day.
Phra Nakhon Khiri Historical Park
Located on a hill on the west side of town and locally known as Khao Wang (the hill palace) the complex was built mainly by King Rama IV in the 19th century and used as his summer residence. Several additions were then made by the next Kings until the site was finally abandoned in the last century.
In 1956 a massive project of renovation started and went on until 1987 when the complex was open to the public. The western side of the hill hosts the royal palace; a 40 meter chedi built in Sri-Lankan style sits in the centre; while a royal temple, once the favourite meditation spot for the King, is on the eastern side. A handful of cheeky monkeys are the present inhabitants of the park; make sure you don’t bring any food inside if you don’t want them to follow you everywhere and keep your valuables well hidden and close to you. Even if we had no food at all, the monkeys chased us all the way to the viewpoint and behaved rather aggressively.
Walking up is not particularly demanding and it’s easier done from the eastern entrance; a more comfortable option is offered by the cable tram on the western side of the hill. The park is open every day from 8.30am to 4.00pm and admission fee is THB200.
Temples in Phetchaburi
Phetchaburi is probably one of the most heavily templed cities in Thailand. Another city boasting a similar number of temples which comes to our mind is Ubon Ratchathani; even Ayutthaya can hardly beat Phetchaburi in this aspect. You can spend days touring wats around the city. We got a serious wat-seeing overdose after Phetchaburi but were definitely happy to see a huge variety of religious architecture there. Here are some of the most interesting wats which we would recommend you to check.
Wat Mahathat Worawihan
You cannot miss the main temple of Phetchaburi which five white prangs dominate the cityscape and are visible from almost everywhere. Rising up to 55 m, it is one of the highest temple structures in the whole country. The main things to check there are beautiful stucco lintels over the doors of the main prang; European-influences wall murals of the main wihan; and wooden kutis, or the monks’ quarters located on the other side of the road opposite to the main prang. On Saturday morning the local dance group hold rehearsals of traditional Thai dancing there – do not miss it if you are in the city. Free of charge.
Wat Yai Suwannaram
Located in the city centre on the eastern side of the river, this almost 400 hundred year old temple features an interesting ordination hall with lots of murals depicting people making offerings to Buddha. What’s really amazing is the fact that every single person has been painted differently from the others with peculiar expressions on their faces and different details, clothes and poses. Close to the ordination hall you’ll find a teak wooden teaching hall that was once kept in the royal palace in Ayutthaya but was moved here in the late 18th century to save it from the Burmese. The temple library in a small wooden construction in the pond preserves important Buddhist texts. The temple is open every day from 6.00am to 5.00pm.
Wat Kamphaeng Laeng
Wat Kamphaen Laeng is an example of southern Khmer architecture that can be found in Thailand and the oldest building in Petchaburi. Built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple, it has been later converted into a Buddhist sanctuary during the Ayutthaya kingdom. It consists of a larger central prang and four smaller ones surrounding the main one (only three are still standing today since one of them collapsed) containing Hindu and Buddha images. A small chapel is a later addition to the complex. Wat Kamphaeng Laeng is situated within the ground of a modern active temple built in the 50’s and can be visited every day from 6:00am to 5:00pm. It is located on the east side of the river 800 mt far from Wat Yai Suwannaram.
Tham Khao Luang
Khao Luang is a large cave located 5 km north of town which gained importance during King Rama IV’s reign for being one of his favourite religious spot. It consists of three separate chambers packed with Buddha’s images, chedis and religious statues. Due to a big hole on the top, the cave allows a lot of light to come in and especially around midday the spectacle of sunrays getting in is impressive. From the car park a quite steep 400 m road will lead you to the entrance but if you don’t feel like walking a pick-up truck will take you there for THB15. All the way up beware of the monkeys ready to steal whatever you might leave unattended. Khao Luang is open every day from 8/00am to 4/00pm and the entrance is free of charge. To get there motorbike taxies and tuk-tuk will ask you THB300 for a round trip.
