Phu Khao Thong ภูเขาทอง (Golden Mount), Bangkok

Phu Chao Thong (The Golden Mount), Bangkok, Thailand (31 December, 2002)


Phu Khao Thong (GPS: 13.75387, 100.50658; Thai: ภูเขาทอง ) a manmade mount with a chedi on top of it, in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located within the grounds of Wat Saket, which is often incorrectly thought to be the Golden Mount itself. Also called Chedi Phu Khao Thong, it used to be the highest point in Bangkok, up to the 1960's. It was first constructed during the reign of King Rama III (1824-51). The king had built a chedi on the spot, but it collapsed due to the soft soil underneath. To strengthen the foundation, King Rama III created the artificial mount of mud and bricks.

When the reign passed to King Mongkut (Rama IV, 1804-68), the new monarch further stabilized the manmade mount with 1000 teak logs, because it was once again sinking into the soft ground. The building of a new chedi on top of the mount was the work of the subsequent King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1853-1910). The chedi enshrines a relic of the Buddha given to King Rama V by the British. The relic is believed to have originated in India or Nepal.

During the Second World War, the Golden Mount was further strengthen from erosion by a concrete wall. Today the Golden Mount stands 78 meters above ground. Up till the 1960's, it was the highest point in all of Bangkok. The chedi at the top is reached by a stairway that goes around the mount. There are all together 320 steps and I managed to climb it all the way to the top.

The chedi of Phu Chao Thong (The Golden Mount) (31 December, 2002)


Chedi Phu Khao Tong at Wat Saket Ratchaworamahawihan (31 December, 2002)

Getting there

The Golden Mount is located in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, within the compounds of Wat Saket. There are no Skytrains or MRT to this area, so the best way to reach the Golden Mount is by taking the taxi. Tell the taxi to take you to Wat Saket. You should use your trip to visit other nearby sights.

Phu Khao Thong on Google Street View

The staircase up the Golden Mount (May 2013)

Phu Khao Thong is on the Map of Bangkok

List of Buddhist Temples in Bangkok and Buddhist Temples in Thailand; list of Districts of Bangkok

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

 Share your travels and/or ask a travel-related question

Join the Penang Travel Tips Facebook Group to share photos, tips and anything related to your travels, or ask travel-related questions.

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

Discover with Timothy

Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.