Wat Mahathat

Lonely Planet review

While other temples in the area claim all the fame, Wat Mahathat goes about the everyday business of a temple. Saffron-robed monks file in and out of the whitewashed gates, grandmas in their best silks come to make merit, and world-weary soi dogs haul themselves out of the shade in search of food, if not nirvana.

Founded in the 1700s, Wat Mahathat is a national centre for the Mahanikai monastic sect and is home to the first of Bangkok's two Buddhist universities, Mahathat Rajavidyalaya. The university is the most important place of Buddhist learning in mainland Southeast Asia - the Lao, Vietnamese and Cambodian governments send selected monks to further their studies here.

Entered through the Thawornwathu Building, Mahathat and the surrounding area have developed into an informal Thai cultural centre. The monastery offers meditation instruction in English.