Lopburi is a city that is located in central Thailand, it is a 2-hour drive north of Bangkok. Lopburi is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is often referred to as Monkey City. The reason is that you will see hundreds of monkeys wandering around the town. What are the things to do in Lopburi Thailand?
In Lopburi, there are several temples to explore with Phra Prang Sam Yod being the best one. There is also a night market held daily where you will find a good range of local Thai food. Or you can watch bast leave the cave in Wat Khao Wongkot, which is worth seeing.
In this post, we will go through things to do in Lopburi Thailand. Let’s get started!
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Is Lopburi Worth Visiting?
Lopburi is worth visiting if you want to go sightseeing and watch monkeys just wandering around the city. There is a limited range of accommodation and is it is not a place to party.
Things To Do In Lopburi Thailand
Lopburi is home to some of Thailand’s best ruins, temples, and even an occasional festival. Lopburi is split into the old town and the new town. The old town is in the historical area and the best sites are found in the old town.
Here is our list of things to do in Lopburi Thailand.
Explore Phra Prang Sam Yod
Properly one of the more popular places to visit in Lopburi. Prang Sam Yod is also known as the monkey temple and is the remains of the ancient Khmer-era temple. There are a lot of monkeys on the temple grounds.
These monkeys are cheeky and are happy to relieve people strolling with snacks, drinks, caps, sunglasses, and other things. Only bring things that you need.
Lopburi Monkey Festival, which happens every last weekend of November. It is simply a banquet for the monkeys. The locals set up stalls and tables by the roadside, load them with fruits, soda, and juice cans, and watch monkeys enjoy the festivities.
Visit Phra Khan Shrine
Phra Khan Shrine is a historic site that has survived hundreds of years since the Khmer Empire was in Lopburi. Although it has gone through numerous renovations, you will still have a chance to learn about this era.
You can also buy incense sticks, garlands other spiritual products thanks to the vendors at your service.
You will also have a fantastic view from one of the four front porches after climbing lateral tiled stairs. However, be careful because there are cheeky monkeys that may try to take your belongings.
Swim At Ang Sub Lek
This is a natural reservoir with an island on the outskirts of Lopburi. Along the shore, you will see towering limestone rocks that are on several sides of the Lake. There is a temple called Wat Suwankhiri Pidok, built on the side of the mountain immediately north of the lake.
There are several restaurants in the area that serve food and drinks. The location is family-friendly and popular for swimming in shallow waters. If children accompany you, they will enjoy water slides, inflatable water toys, and shallow swimming pools.
Watch Bats At Wat Khao Wongkot
An evening visit to Wat Khao Wongkot will give you a chance to watch bats fly out of the caves. It is something that you will not see throughout Thailand. It is a cave that houses thousands of bats and it is near Ang sub-Lek.
You will hear the squeaking sound during the day and see thousands of bats flying out at sunset. You can capture amazing scenes when the bats leave the cave.
Visit Wat Sao Thong Thong
Visiting Wat Sao Thong Thong, you will see more than a hundred-year-old chedis as there is a number of chedis, which is an alternative to Buddhist stupas. They are in different shapes and placement in different areas around the building.
You will see the sacred tree that offers a spectacular opportunity for photography. You will also learn about the ancient Buddhist religion which is the main religious practice in Thailand.
Shop At The Night Market
Well, it’s Thailand. There is always going to be a market somewhere. In Lopburi, the old town part along Na Sanprakan road, there is a daily night market that starts a 4 pm.
This night market offers a good choice of typical local Thai food, clothes, and more.
Visit King Narai’s Lopburi Palace
Visiting the palace will help to understand how the Siamese Emperor and his family lived when staying at the king’s Palace. You will see a mixture of French and Khmer designs that have been used to build the palace.
Today, it is a museum. The museum occupies four levels and spans from the Neolithic Period to the 19th Century. The museum is very well curated, with good English/Thai information panels and there are beautiful objects to see.
You need to be extra careful when visiting during the rainy season due to slippery stairs.
See The Sunflower Fields
Lopburi will give you a genuine chance to visit the sunflower fields located in the Kok Tum sub-district. It is about 20 minutes away from the old town of Lopburi. You can see the beautiful bright yellow flower along the roadside.
Although the fields fully flower between November and February, a December visit will allow you to enjoy a cool breeze in the morning hours.
If you want to enter the fields, you will have to pay an entrance fee of about 10 baht to 20 baht entry fee and some of them are free. But you can freely enjoy the breeze while taking photographs from the road.
Explore Wat San Paolo
Wat San Paolo (Church of St Paul) is the remains of a Christian church that King Narai the Great built for Jesuit missionaries to Siam. It was constructed in the 17th Century by the Portuguese.
King Narai, who was King of Ayutthaya, made Lopburi his second capital and spent long periods here each year.
One of his passions was astronomy and he had an observatory built alongside the church, Thailand’s first observatory.
It is not a popular tourist attraction even though it’s only a few kilometers from the town, it’s well worth taking the time and making the effort to visit.
USEFUL TRAVEL RESOURCES
Book Accommodation
Booking.com has a large range of properties from hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and resorts where you will find the best deals. Airbnb and Hostelworld also have a good range of places to stay at good prices.
Booking Flight
Skyscanner is a flight search comparison website that searches millions of flights all at once. Ultimately it is the best flight comparison website online at the moment.
Booking Transportation & Things To Do
Rome2rio and 12Go are useful to plan how to get anywhere by searching train, bus, car, and ferry routes. Especially useful in countries like Vietnam or Thailand. While Klook is great for exploring things to do in each place.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is cheap and more than likely you will never need to use it but you will have peace of mind if something does happen, you are covered in case of an emergency. World Nomads have great customer service and competitive prices.
Check out our resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.
Wrapping Up
Finally, there are several temples in Lopburi you can explore with Phra Prang Sam Yod being the best one. There is also a night market held daily where you will find a good range of local Thai food available. Or you can watch bats leave the cave in Wat Khao Wongkot, which is worth seeing.
And that’s it for now! I’d love to know if this guide on things to do in Lopburi Thailand has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there is more to add.