Wat Prayoon

Wat Prayoon sits on the Thonburi bank where Memorial Bridge crosses, and it has two distinct parts. The white chedi, Phra Borommathat Maha Chedi, is a large bell-shaped stupa in Sri Lankan style built in the 1830s; a restoration completed in 2013 won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific award, and an inner gallery around the base holds small stupas and relics. The other part is Khao Mo, an artificial hill built of stacked rock and cement into a landscape of miniature grottoes, shrines, bridges and model buildings around a pond - a nineteenth-century Thai garden form representing a mythical mountain, and one of the better surviving examples. The pond is full of turtles, and buying food for them is the standard visit; the turtles are a mixture of native and released pet species, and the population is large enough that the temple periodically has to manage it. The Portuguese-founded Santa Cruz church is a short walk along the same bank.

Highlights

• The white chedi - the 1830s stupa, restored to a UNESCO award in 2013.
• Khao Mo - the artificial rock mountain of grottoes and shrines.
• The turtle pond - large numbers of turtles, fed by visitors.
• The riverside position - at the Thonburi foot of Memorial Bridge.

When to go

November to February. It is quiet compared with the Phra Nakhon temples. An hour covers it, and it combines with a riverside walk to Santa Cruz church and Kudi Chin.

Things to know

Free but donations are pressed at several points. The turtle population is partly released pets and overfeeding is a problem. Temple dress code applies. Small - an hour is enough.

Nearby

Santa Cruz church and the Kudi Chin Portuguese quarter are along the bank; Wat Arun is upriver.