Wat Saket ‘The temple of the Golden Mount’, which is located outside the old Rattanakosin island area of Bangkok, is one of the city’s oldest temples. During the Ayutthaya period, which lasted until 1767, the temple was referred to as Wat Sakae, but by the order of King Rama I the temple was restored and renamed Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan.

The structure of Wat Saket is distinct because of the 80-meter high mountain, called Phu Khao Thong (meaning Golden Mountain), where the temple’s main gilded chedi (or stupa) rests. This ‘mountain’, formed from the debris of a collapsed chedi commissioned to be built by King Rama III, was once the highest point in all of Bangkok. The Golden Mountain is a well-known and much revered landmark in Bangkok. A climb to the top of the mount is a journey of more than 300 steps.

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