This world famous temple is located right next to Grand Palace on the South side it covers and area of over 20 acres. It  is one of Bangkok’s oldest and largest temples. The temple has tow parts:

1) The chapel section (Buddhavasa) is consisted of churches, Pagodas, Monastery halls and Buddha  images.
 
2) The residential section (Sangghavas) is a liveng area for monks. Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolnongklaram more generally called as Wat Pho was founded in the reign of Ayutthaya period and was originally known as Wat Phodharam. In the year 1768, When the king Taksin declared Thonburi as the new capital city of Siam Wat Phodharam was one of the city’s main temples.

Later King Rama I of Chakri Dynasty managed the restoration of Wat Phodharam as a Royal temple during a celebration in 1801, the king renamed Wat Phrachetuphon Vimolmongklavasa  which was again changed to Wat Phra Chetuphonvimolmongkalaam in the reign of king Rama IV.

During the reign of king Rama III, the temple was restored under king’s Royal command, The Rrstoration lasted 16 years, the period of  time he had created beautiful Chinese arts as a nowadays. The king III ordered wise men to wise men to write down many fields of knowledge and subjects onto stone plates and then fixed to columns of monastic halls. By this reason he wished to provide better and broader education for Thai people who wanted to study by themselves. Knowledge is on varied subjects for example history of temple, sanitation treatise, medicine, and such as Thai tradition massage, literatures, proverbs, and precedence, Buddhism such as meditation, warfare, geology and astronomy. Wat Pho regarded as the first center of public education and became “the first University” for people in Thailand. The reclining Buddha, 49 Metres long and 12 metres high is composed of brick and plaster and finished in gold leaf overlay and inlaid mother-Pearl soles.Wat Pho is open daily from 08.00 a.m.-05.00p.m. Admission Fee is 20 baht for foreigner.