Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok, covering an area of 80,000 square metres across the road from the Grand Palace. The temple predates the founding of Bangkok itself, with origins tracing back to the Ayutthaya period before being extensively renovated by King Rama I in 1788.
The temple is home to the famous Reclining Buddha — a gilded statue 46 metres long and 15 metres high, its feet inlaid with 108 auspicious symbols in mother-of-pearl. The sheer scale of the image inside its relatively low hall creates an overwhelming impression that photographs rarely capture.
Wat Pho is also considered the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. The temple grounds contain stone inscriptions and diagrams of massage techniques commissioned by King Rama III, making it Thailand's first public university. The affiliated massage school continues to operate on the premises to this day.
The complex contains over 1,000 Buddha images and 91 chedis — bell-shaped towers — of varying sizes. Four large chedis decorated in coloured ceramic tiles commemorate the first four Chakri kings.
"The birthplace of traditional Thai massage and home to Bangkok's most astonishing Buddha image"
Historical Note
Wat Pho served as a centre of public education long before formal schools existed in Thailand. King Rama III ordered encyclopaedic knowledge — medicine, literature, history, astrology — to be inscribed on stone tablets throughout the temple grounds. UNESCO recognised this collection as a Memory of the World in 2011.