Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat

Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat sits directly across from Lop Buri’s railway station, its central prang built in Khmer Bayon style in the late 12th or early 13th century — around 800 years old and the oldest structure on an eight-acre site that saw renovation and expansion under later Ayutthaya-period kings. It marks Lop Buri’s centuries as an Angkor provincial capital, before the city became a secondary residence of the Ayutthaya kings.

The laterite-and-mortar prang carries stucco relief of Buddha images and scenes from his life on its gable, work that blends Khmer and later Lawo (Lop Buri) artistic styles — the mix of periods is visible in the patterns themselves, since the gopura gateway was built under Khmer rule and then reworked during the reigns of King Ramesuan, King Maha Chakraphat, and King Narai. Star-fruit-shaped corners around the prang carry stucco reliefs of Thep Phanom deities, their oblong faces and connected eyebrows typical of U-Thong-period art. Excavations inside the prang turned up large numbers of Lop Buri-period votive tablets, including the well-known Phra Hu Yan and Phra Ruang types. South of the main prang, a smaller wihan houses a seated Buddha image in the naga-protected posture, its French-influenced door and window surrounds a reminder of the site’s later renovations.

Compared with Lop Buri’s more famous monkey temple, Phra Prang Sam Yot, a few hundred metres away, this site draws a fraction of the foot traffic — it’s a genuinely quiet ruin to walk through even midweek, without the macaque troops that make Sam Yot chaotic.

Insider Tip: Buy the 150 THB combined ticket if you’re also visiting Phra Prang Sam Yot and Phra Narai Ratchaniwet the same day — it pays for itself after the second stop and saves queuing twice.

Watch out: The site is closed Monday and Tuesday. Build your Lop Buri day around a Wednesday-to-Sunday visit if this temple is the priority.