Phra Prang Sam Yot

Phra Prang Sam Yot was built in the thirteenth century under Jayavarman VII as a Khmer Mahayana Buddhist shrine, three laterite towers linked by corridors representing the Buddhist trinity, and later converted to Theravada use with a Buddha image added. It stands in the middle of Lopburi beside the railway. The monkeys are the fact everyone deals with: several thousand crab-eating macaques live in the old town, concentrated at this monument and the nearby Kala shrine, fed for decades by residents and tourists until the population exploded, and by the 2020s the situation had become a genuine urban crisis - troops fighting in the streets, buildings abandoned, shops caged, and municipal sterilisation and relocation programmes attempting to reduce numbers. They steal anything, they bite, and any bite means rabies treatment. An annual monkey buffet festival in November feeds them deliberately, which has been criticised for making the problem worse.

What you actually see

• The three towers - thirteenth-century Khmer laterite prangs linked by corridors.
• The macaques - thousands in the old town, concentrated here.
• The conversion - a Mahayana shrine later adapted for Theravada use.
• The town situation - an ongoing urban problem with attempted management.

When to go

November to February; the monkey buffet festival is in late November. Early morning is marginally calmer. Leave bags, food, glasses and loose items behind or secured.

Honest expectations

The monkeys are aggressive and steal constantly - bites happen and require rabies treatment. Carry nothing loose. The town centre around the monument is genuinely degraded by the situation. The monument itself takes twenty minutes.

Nearby

King Narai's palace is a short walk; Lopburi station is beside the monument.