Wat Phra Si Iriyabot (Wat Phra Yuen)

Wat Phra Si Iriyabot takes its name from the four postures (iriyabot) of the Buddha — standing, walking, sitting, and reclining — that its central mondop was built to display, one on each cardinal-facing porch. It stands in the Aranyik zone, a forested area a few hundred metres north of Kamphaeng Phet’s old walled town, and dates to the 15th or 16th century, built in the distinctive Sukhothai artistic style during the Sukhothai period. A laterite wall encloses the compound, which is laid out on an east-west axis with a viharn (assembly hall) in front of the mondop.

Of the four original Buddha images, only the standing figure on the west side survives in anything like complete form — a Sukhothai-style standing Buddha roughly 9 metres tall, and the clear highlight of a visit here. The walking Buddha on the east side has worn down to little more than an outline, and the sitting and reclining images have lost most of their form entirely. It’s worth knowing this before visiting: the “four postures” the name promises are mostly implied rather than seen. What’s left otherwise includes laterite wall fragments, the lower courses of the viharn’s pillars, and a small ubosot, all in a state of genuine, unrestored ruin.

Being set apart from the in-town zone — where Wat Phra Kaew and the old city walls draw most of the day-trip traffic — the Aranyik zone tends to stay quiet even when the walled town has coach groups. Trees crowd close to several of the ruins here, and there’s limited shade at the monuments themselves despite the wooded setting around them.

Insider Tip: Combine this with Wat Chang Rop in the same Aranyik zone — they’re a short bicycle or motorcycle ride apart, and covering both together makes better use of a single zone ticket than visiting on separate trips.

Watch out: Laterite and old stone surfaces are uneven underfoot. The historical park’s ticketing is split into in-town and Aranyik zones with separate gates — check whether your ticket covers both before you plan a full-day visit.

This is one of several sites in the Aranyik zone of Khamphaeng Phet Historical Park; Wat Chang Rop, with its ring of elephant statues, is a short ride away in the same zone. Wider trip planning for the province is on the Kamphaeng Phet hub page.