Wat Kai

Wat Kai in Bang Pahan district, Ayutthaya, is known for two things that have nothing to do with each other: a graphic Buddhist hell garden and several hundred free-roaming wild macaques. Entry is free, and the temple sits well outside the ticketed Ayutthaya Historical Park zone, about 25km from the old-city ruins.

The temple dates to the Ayutthaya kingdom but was abandoned after the city fell to Burmese forces in 1767, standing empty for over two centuries until monks re-established it as a monastic residence around 1992. Its name — “Chicken Temple” — comes from a local account of a poultry disease outbreak on the site generations ago, not from any temple ritual. The hell garden is the main draw for most visitors: statues depicting the punishments Buddhist tradition holds await sinners in Naraka, including figures with their tongues torn out for lying, bodies pierced and sawn, and others hung or attacked by animals, rendered in graphic detail with red paint standing in for blood. It’s one of a small number of these sculpture gardens found at Thai temples, built as a moral teaching tool rather than for shock value, though the imagery is genuinely confronting and not suited to young children.

Across the road from the main temple buildings, several hundred macaques live semi-wild in the trees — visitors can buy fruit to feed them, and the monkeys are generally easygoing compared to the aggressive troops at Lopburi’s town-centre shrines, but they will snatch unattended food, drinks, or dangling jewellery.

Insider Tip: See the hell garden first, then walk across the road for the monkeys — most visitors do it in the opposite order and end up rushing the statues once the monkeys start grabbing at bags.

Watch out: Keep water bottles, snacks, and anything shiny zipped away before approaching the monkey troop — theft from visitors’ hands is routine, not an occasional problem.

Combine it with Wat Tan En, another small working temple in the same Bang Pahan rice-field district, if you’re exploring beyond the walled old city for the day. Dress modestly and remove shoes before entering any covered hall, even though most of the hell garden and monkey areas are outdoors.