Ayutthaya World Heritage Tour

ITINERARY

08:00 hrs	Meet your English-speaking guide in the hotel’s lobby. Depart for Ayutthaya, located 76 kms. north of Bangkok. It was one of Indo-China’s most prosperous cities and is one of Thailand’s major historical attractions. The grandeur of Ayutthaya is reflected by numerous magnificent structures and ruins concentrated in and around the city island surrounded by the Chao Phraya, Pa Sak and Lop Buri Rivers. The area, well conserved as a historical park, has been included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage since 13 December 1991. Ayutthaya covers an area of 2,556 square kilometers.
09:30 hrs	Visit Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, was first used by the royal court as a summer retreat in the 17th century. However, the Palace was destroyed with the fall of Kingdom of Ayutthaya and was restored by King Rama IV in the mid-19th century. Most of the buildings that exist today date from the reign of King Rama V, who regularly spent his summers there. Places of interest in the Bang Pa-in Palace are as follows:- - Ho Hemmonthian Thewarat is the stone Prang under a banyan tree near the pond within the outer part of the royal compound, where an image of a deity is housed. King Rama V ordered its construction in 1879 to replace an old shrine built by villagers as an offering to King Prasatthong of the Ayutthaya period. - Aisawanthipphaya-At Pavilion A Thai design pavilion in the middle of the pond was built in the reign of King Rama V. Originally built of wood throughout, King Rama VI commanded to change the floor and pillars to be reinforced concrete. - Warophatphiman Hall It is north of the“Saphan Sadet” the royal path to and from the river landing. Formerly the two-storey wooden villa was used as both the royal living quarters and Throne Hall. - Saphakhan Ratchaprayun This two-storey building on the river bank outside the palace wall was constructed by the royal command of King Rama V. It is in front of Warophat Phiman Hall in the south and was used as the living quarter of the non-consort members. - Phra Thinang Utthayan Phumisathian is a 2-story elaborately constructed building, which is tinted alternately in dark and light green, located to the east, opposite the pond. Its balcony is similar in design to that of a Swiss chalet. - Wehat Chamrun Hall This hall located in the north of the palace was constructed in the Chinese Emperor style as the royal offering by Phraya Choduk Ratchasetthi (Fak). King Chulachomklao usually made a royal visit during the cool season. - Keng Buppha Praphat is the Chinese-style pavilion nearby the garden’s pond within the inner part of the royal compound. It was built in 1881 during the reign of King Rama V. - Ho Witthunthassana This hall, constructed in the form of a tower between Utthayan Phumisathian and Wehat Chamrun, is a three-storey building having a spiral staircase leading to the top floor hall. When residing in Bang Pa-In Palace, King Rama V used this hall as the place to get the bird’s eye view of the surrounding area. - Monument of Queen Sunantha This is a 3 metre high hexagonal marble building, situated on the east side of the royal palace. It was constructed to keep the ashed of the affectionate consort of King Rama V (Somdet Phranangchao Sunantha Kumarirat). - Monument of Phra-Akkharachayathoe Phra-Ong Chao Saowaphaknarirat and Three Royal Children,or Anusawarirachanuson It is the marble relief memorial that King Rama V, with his deep sorrow, ordered to be constructed in 1888 to commemorate his beloved consort (Phra - Akkharachayathoe Phra - Ongchao Saowaphak Narirat) and three royal children who passed away at different times of the same year, 1887. These portraits stand nearby the memorial of Somdet Phranangchao Sunantha Kumarirat.
11:30 hrs	Visit to Wat Niwet Thamprawat This temple, which was built Rama V (Chulalongkorn), looks more like a Gothic Christian church than a Thai temple. Visitors can access the temple by crossing the river in a small trolley-like cable car. The crossing is free of charge. There are several nice boat trips departing from Bangkok to Bang Pa-In Palace, especially through cruise tours.
12:00 hrs	Visit to Wat Phra Si Sanphet In 1491, Wat Phra Si Sanphet was located inside the compound of the Grand Palace-the foundations of which are still visible-and served as the royal chapel, as Wat Phra Kaeo does in Bangkok. This Wang Lung Palace (Royal Palace) was built by King U-Thong upon the founding of the city. Used as a residential palace, it became a monastery in the reign of King Ramathibodi I. When King Borom Trai Lokanat commanded the construction of new living quarters, this residential palace was transformed into a temple,and the establishment of Wat Phra Si Sanphet. In Ayutthaya’s heyday, this was the largest temple in the city. The three main chedis which have been restored contain the ashes of three Ayutthaya kings. The temple is situated at the northern end of Si Sanphet Road. The royal chapel does not have any monks and novice inhabitants.
12:30 hrs	Lunch will be provide at riverside restaurant.
13:30 hrs	Visit to Wat Yai Chaimongkon Located to the Southeast of the island, this temples lofty chedi is visible from most of the town. The monastery was built in 1900 by King U-thong who granted the temple with the name Wat Pa Kaew. The intention was to create a center of Buddhist studies (Ceylonese Sect). As the temple used to be headed by a patriarch, local people also called it Wat Chao Phraya Thai.
14:00 hrs	Viharn Phra Mongkol BopitahThis chapel is located to the south of Wat Phra Si Sanphet. A large bronze seated Buddha image (Phra Mongkhon Bophit) was originally enshrined outside the Grand Palace to the east. It could be dated to the 15th century and was originally intended to stand in the open air. Later, King Songtham commanded it to be transferred to the west, where it is currently enshrined and covered with a Mondop.
14:30 hrs	Leave form Ayutthaya pass green paddy fields, villages, and temples then return to Bangkok.

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