The Buddhist temple Wat Saket is one of the most visited places in Bangkok. It is not so much the vast temple complex that attracts attention, but the small shrine at the top of the "Golden Mount".

The Golden Mount is one of the few elevated places in Bangkok and offers the best views of the entire city.

Golden Mount - Artificial hill

The exact date of Wat Saket's construction is not known, but the temple complex was probably built around the 15th century and later renovated many times.

It was not until the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, however, that Wat Saket became one of Bangkok's most prominent attractions. King Rama III wanted to have a stupa of enormous proportions built, but due to unstable soil, the structure partially collapsed and was never completed. In the decades that followed, this mud-walled lump gradually grew green and created the appearance of a natural hill.

The mountain rises to a height of 77 metres.

In 1855, a small shrine with a golden pagoda was built on the top, giving the hill the name Golden Mountain, which is widely used in tourist guides.

Wat Saket

344 steps to the viewpoint

The shrine at the top is open to the public and there is even a lookout point built on its roof. However, you have to climb the 344 steps to the top. However, these are divided by several flatter sections with benches and can be climbed even by less physically fit travellers.

From the top of the Golden Mount, you will have the most beautiful view of Bangkok.

Wat Saket

Entrance fees and opening hours

Open every day from 9:00-17:00.

Tickets are cash only at the ticket office under the staircase and cost 50 thb.

Transportation to the Golden Mount

The fastest transport from the modern centre of Bangkok (Siam and Sukhumvit areas) is by water bus, a ferry across the man-made water channels of Khlong Saen Sap and Khlong Maha Nak. Phan Fa wharf is the final stop of the line departing from Pratunam harbour in the modern centre.

Boats sail daily from 6am to 8pm approximately every 10 minutes, and once every 20 minutes on weekends. Fares are calculated according to distance and range between 12 thb and 22 thb. For more information about the boat service, including maps of the boat lines, see the Transport chapter.

The nearest Sam Yot Blue Line subway station is 1.5 km south.

2, 15, 47, 59, 60, 70, 79, 503, 511, 556, A4 (Don Mueang Airport), S1 (Suvarnabhumi Airport)