Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) tickets and tours: which one to book

Wat Arun stands on the Thonburi bank of the Chao Phraya, opposite Wat Pho, and most people simply take the cross-river ferry from Tha Tien pier and buy a ticket at the gate. Thai nationals enter free; foreign visitors pay a small fee. No advance booking is needed, which makes the independent visit the obvious choice if you only want to see the temple itself. Organised options fall into a few groups. The commonest are half-day or full-day guided walks around the old city that include the Grand Palace and Wat Pho and end with the ferry to Wat Arun; check whether the entry tickets are part of the price.

Long-tail boat tours go through the Thonburi canals, past wooden houses and the Royal Barges Museum, and stop at the temple on the way back. There are tuk-tuk tours, food tours and private walks with a historian. A very popular extra is renting traditional Thai costume from the shops outside the gate and having photographs taken among the spires, sometimes with a professional photographer, hair and make-up. For a first visit, a combined morning with Wat Pho and the ferry is the sensible choice; the canal tours suit those who have already seen the main sights.

Visiting Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn): what to see and how to behave

A temple has stood on this site since the Ayutthaya period, when it was known as Wat Makok. King Taksin made it the royal temple of his new capital at Thonburi after 1767, and the Emerald Buddha was kept here until it moved across the river in 1785. The great central prang, the Khmer-style tower that gives the temple its outline, was raised under Rama II and Rama III and completed in 1851, and now rises to about 70 m. The prang and the four smaller towers around it are covered in pieces of coloured Chinese porcelain and seashells, set into the plaster as flowers and patterns; much of the porcelain is said to have come as ballast on trading ships.

Look for the figures of Chinese soldiers and animals around the base, the demons and monkeys that appear to hold the tower up, and the god Indra on his three-headed elephant near the top. You can climb the steep steps to the first terraces, though not to the summit; hold the rail on the way down. Behind the prang, the ordination hall is guarded by two giant yaksha demons, and its main Buddha image is said to have been modelled by Rama II, whose ashes are kept in its base. The temple is an active monastery: dress modestly, take your shoes off in the halls, and do not point your feet at Buddha images or climb on statues. The ferry from Tha Tien takes a few minutes; the Chao Phraya Express boats also stop at the temple's own pier.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn): opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

Wat Arun is usually open from about 8 am until 6 pm; check the official site for the current hours. Despite its name, the Temple of Dawn is at its best late in the afternoon, when the sun lights the porcelain, and after dark, when the prang is floodlit. The classic view is from the riverside bars and restaurants by Tha Tien on the opposite bank at sunset. The early morning is the quietest time inside the grounds, before the tour groups and costume photo shoots arrive around mid-morning.

The cool season from November to February is the most comfortable; the hot months of March to May make the climb up the terraces tiring, and the rainy season brings brief storms but fewer visitors. On rare state occasions the Royal Barge Procession travels along the river to the temple, and Buddhist holy days bring local worshippers. Allow an hour to an hour and a half. Wat Arun pairs naturally with Wat Pho and the Grand Palace on the other bank, all within a short walk and a ferry ride.