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ThailandDescription and is it worth a visit
Temple of Prang Sam Yot (Phra Prang Sam Yot) is the most famous temple in Lopburi, one of the main places of concentration of monkeys in the old town and its business card. It is conveniently located just a few minutes walk from the railway station, and this is exactly the same famous monkey temple next to the railway that passengers see from the train windows when passing through Lopburi.
Although Prang Yot Itself is a sacred place, it is actually a ruin today, and not a functioning temple. Its three towers (prangs) in typical Khmer style in the form of corn cobs, symbolizing the three deities, are very photogenic. At night they are illuminated and their appearance is very fascinating. Theoretically, it is even possible to enter the towers, but the entrances are closed with bars.
The territory of the temple is small, surrounded by a fence. Entrance inside is paid – 50 baht. The entire visit will take 5-10 minutes. If you do not want to pay the entrance fee, then in principle you can take beautiful photos and view the temple from the fence from different sides.
Important! At the entrance at the checkout you need to take a free bamboo stick in order to scare away monkeys. There are a lot of them here, and sometimes they behave very boldly and aggressively: they can steal things, rummage in backpacks, take away food. Therefore, before entering the territory, and indeed when walking along Lopburi, we advise you to put all the things and objects that can be torn off or removed from you into your backpack. It is absolutely not necessary to show monkeys food or drinks, then they will almost certainly try to take it away from you.
A little history of Prang Sam Yot
Prang Sam Yot is not just a temple with monkeys, but also a historical landmark. It was built by the king of the Khmer Empire Jayavarman VII in the early 13th century as a place of royal cult to increase his power over his subjects and the legitimacy of his rule. In addition, the temple served as a demonstration of the authority of the Khmer Empire in Lopburi (then known as Lavo) after the recent capture of the city from their rivals Cham and Mon. A statue of Jayavarman "Jayabuddhamahanath" was installed inside the temple, which translates as "The Victorious Buddha, the Great Protector."
The building was built in the spirit of Khmer architecture with three traditional cob towers made of brick with stucco outside. Each of the towers is dedicated to a separate deity: The northern one is Prajnaparamita, the central one is Buddha, and the southern one is Avalokiteshvara. The temple was decorated with works of art depicting Buddhist iconography. Originally dedicated to Mahayana Buddhism, Prang Sam Yot survived the end of Khmer influence on Lavo, and was later re-dedicated to Theravada Buddhism when Lopburi came under the control of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. During the reign of Narai the Great (1656-1688), a prayer hall (Vihar) was added to the temple complex in Ayutthaya.
🕐 Working hours
Daily from 08:30 to 18:00.
💵Entrance fee / ticket price
50 baht (approximately 1.53 USD, currency of Thailand).
🚶 How to get there
Prang Sam Yot Lopburi Temple is located in the city center on the main street Na Sanprakan (Prang Yot Itself on the map). From any place within the boundaries of the city of Lopburi, you can walk here. If you want to visit the temple in the form of a day trip from Bangkok, Pattaya or other resorts, you can buy a ready-made excursion to Lopburi or get there yourself, as told in detail here.
Friends, we remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Thailand with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at options with online booking and reviews on these excursion aggregators: