Wat Choeng Tha, Lop Buri

Wat Choeng Tha sits on the east bank of the Lop Buri River in Tha Hin subdistrict — at least 300 years old, and easily confused with its far more photographed namesake in Ayutthaya. That other Wat Choeng Tha has the famous Khmer-style prang tower; this one doesn’t. Its landmark is a large Mon-style ordination hall, and it’s free to visit, daily from 06:00 to 18:00.

The temple was originally called Wat Tha Kwian — “cart-landing temple” — after the boat landing where ox carts once unloaded goods on the riverbank. Historians link its founding to Lop Buri’s Mon community, with some dating it to the reign of King Narai the Great (1633–1688); the buildings standing today were largely constructed in the late Ayutthaya period and added to during the Rattanakosin era. It was registered as a national historic monument in 1988.

The ordination hall is the reason architecture-minded visitors come: it faces north instead of the standard Thai orientation of east, a Mon building tradition rather than a mistake, and twin boundary stones around it mark its status as a royal temple. A chedi and an octagonal bell tower stand nearby the river. The most visually distinct structure is a Chinese-style two-storey building added during the reign of Rama IV, around 1856 — it now houses a small museum with Buddha images spanning Lop Buri’s Khmer-influenced, Ayutthaya, and Rattanakosin periods, alongside old fabric paintings depicting the Buddha’s past lives.

Insider Tip: Most Lop Buri itineraries skip straight to Phra Prang Sam Yot and the monkey temples — Wat Choeng Tha gets almost no foot traffic by comparison, which makes it one of the few places in town where you can look at 300-year-old buildings without dodging a crowd.

Watch out: The on-site museum keeps informal hours tied to when temple staff are around, separate from the temple grounds’ 06:00–18:00 access — don’t count on the museum being open just because the gates are.

The temple sits a short walk from Phra Narai Ratchaniwet, King Narai’s former palace, and from the King Narai National Museum, which helped catalogue Wat Choeng Tha’s own collection in the late 1990s. Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees — and remove shoes before entering the ordination hall. Bring water and a hat if visiting in the hot season; there’s little shade directly on the grounds.