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Timings : 8:00 AM - 5:00Â PM
Entry Fee : THB 40
Wat Traimit, nestled at the end of Chinatown's Yaowarat Road near Hualampong Railway Station is the perfect place to admire the glittering gold statue of Buddha. One of the best royal temples of Bangkok, it is famous for housing a pure gold statue of Lord Buddha. It is known as 'The Temple of the Golden Buddha', as the world's largest gold statue, which is almost 5 metres tall and 5.5 tonnes heavy, is sheltered here.
This 13th-century temple houses the iconic Golden Buddha statue of Wat Traimit crafted in elegant Sukhothai style which was found about 40 years ago by sheer luck or accident. Hidden inside stucco/plaster exterior, the figure was dropped off in disposal. However, the origin of the idol is yet the subject of research assuming it belonged to either the Sukhothai or Ayutthaya period when the Burmese attacked the city.
Even after more than 50 years of the discovery of this statue, its origin is unknown. It is highly uncertain if it belonged to the Sukhothai period or Ayutthaya period. However, the most popular speculation is that it was initially cast in the Sukhothai period, i.e. somewhere between 1238 to 1438. Afterwards, during the Ayutthaya period, it must have been covered with plaster to conceal its true identity from Burmese invaders.