Wat Pho

Wat Pho, officially Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan, is a first-class royal Buddhist temple in Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, adjacent to the Grand Palace. Renowned for its 46-meter gilded Reclining Buddha, it is one of Bangkok's oldest and largest temple complexes. Founded in the Ayutthaya period and rebuilt by King Rama I in 1788, it houses 91 chedis, extensive murals, and inscriptions and is regarded as Thailand's first university and birthplace of traditional Thai massage.

Visitors can expect a large walled temple complex with ornate chapels, courtyards, and galleries near the Chao Phraya River. The main attraction is the massive Reclining Buddha housed in a dedicated viharn, with mother-of-pearl inlaid soles. Visitors can explore four chapels containing 394 gilded Buddha images, rows of chedis, stone inscriptions, murals depicting the Ramakien, landscaped courtyards with Chinese guardian statues, and a functioning Thai traditional massage school and pavilion within the grounds.

Originally a temple from the Ayutthaya period, Wat Pho was extensively restored and enlarged in 1788 by King Rama I after he established Bangkok as the capital, to house the Reclining Buddha moved from Ayutthaya. King Rama III further expanded the complex between 1832 and 1840, adding chapels, chedis, and stone inscriptions covering medicine, literature and history, establishing it as Thailand's first public university and center of education.

Wat Pho is a first-class royal temple and a major center of Thai Buddhism and traditional knowledge. Its marble inscriptions on Thai traditional medicine and massage were inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2011. It is recognized as the birthplace and principal teaching center of traditional Thai massage (Nuad Thai) and Thai traditional medicine, continuing to train practitioners today.