Standing tall on the west bank of Chao Phraya river, this is one of Bangkok's best known landmarks. It is located near Thonburi, just across the river from Bangkok's iconic Wat Phra Kaew and The Grand Palace. It can be easily accessible by boat or cheap cross-river ferries from Tha Tien (Tien Pier) which is about 10 minutes walk from The Grand Palace.   

Wat Arun or The Temple of Dawn was built in the era of Ayutthaya, originally known as Wat Makok (The Olive Temple). It was said when King Taksin arrived in dawn from the sacked capital of Ayutthaya, he felt compelled to build a fitting place for the sacred Emerald Buddha.

After King Taksin's demise, the new King Chakri (Rama I) moved the capital and Emerald Buddha to Bangkok, but the temple kept interest of the first five kings. In the early 19th century, King Rama II enlarged the structure and raised the central prang (Khmer-style tower) to 345 feet, making it the country's tallest religious structure. Then, King Rama III introduced the colorful fragments of porcelain using leftover ballast from Chinese merchant ships.

Wat Arun features five prang. There is one bigger, main prang in the center and four other smaller prang surrounding the main prang. Between the minor prang, there are four beautiful mondop, smaller towers placed at key points. The niches at the foot of each stairway contain images of Buddha in the four key events of his life: birth, meditation, preaching to his first five disciples and at death. The entire complex is guarded by mythical giants called yaksa, similar to those that protect the Wat Phra Kaew (at The Grand Palace).   

The main prang stood 81 metres tall. One can climb the main prang up to its second terrace. Climbing further up is forbidden since a tourist fell to death in 1998. Trust me, the stairs are really steep (almost 90 degree), hence one must be really mindful when climbing. The tips is not to look down or too high up and to maintain one-way traffic :) You might still be giddy once you are up there, but the panoramic view of Chao Phraya river, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace is very rewarding.

Instead of combining this place as part of canal tour, I'd suggest you go separately by cross-river ferry to enable you have longer time and appreciation of this place.

Wat Arun is open daily from 8:30am through 5:30pm with 50 Baht is charged to foreigners and free for Thai. The cost of ferry from Tha Tien (on the Grand Palace side) is 3.50 Baht.

Address:
Wang Doem, Bangkok Yai,
Bangkok, Thailand

Direction:

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