Get to know Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, one of the South's most popular tourist destinations, which UNESCO has declared a World Cultural Heritage Site — becoming Thailand's 9th World Heritage Site.
On 25 July 2026, the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, held in the city of Busan, Republic of Korea, announced the inscription of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province as a World Cultural Heritage Site. It is Thailand's 6th cultural World Heritage Site, its 9th World Heritage Site overall, and the first World Heritage Site in the South of Thailand.
Regarding the history of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan: the temple is situated along Ratchadamnoen Road, Nai Mueang Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. It holds the status of a first-class royal monastery of the Woramahawihan grade, and was formerly known as Wat Phra Borommathat. It is one of the most important sacred sites in southern Thailand and in the country as a whole. In 1176, King Si Thammasokarat founded the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat and constructed a new stupa in the Sri Lankan style, standing 55.78 metres tall. (The Fine Arts Department restored the golden finial in 1995.) From the inverted-and-upright lotus base to the tip of the finial measures 6.80 metres, and the entire finial is covered with pure-gold sheet. The temple was placed on the World Heritage Centre's Tentative List in 2012.
Based on art-historical data relating to Phra Borommathat Chedi of Nakhon Si Thammarat, the stupa is found to have close connections with Sri Lankan art, reflecting the intensity of the Lankavamsa Theravada Buddhist current that came to play a role in various countries of Southeast Asia from around the 18th Buddhist century onwards. Nakhon Si Thammarat, situated on the southern peninsula, was among the earliest areas of mainland Southeast Asia to adopt this Buddhist cultural tradition.
Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan is a supremely important symbol in the propagation of traditional Buddhism — specifically Lankavamsa Theravada Buddhism — from South Asia, particularly from Sri Lanka, to the territories of Srivijaya, Tambralinga, and the Malay Peninsula, which had previously adhered to Mahayana Buddhism. The key figures in receiving and exchanging this Buddhist cultural tradition were King Si Thammasokarat and King Chandrabhanu, rulers of Tambralinga, who received and patronised Lankavamsa Theravada Buddhism, establishing it as the state religion from the 18th Buddhist century onwards.
The Phra Borommathat Chedi served as the principal instrument for reinforcing and cultivating traditional Theravada Buddhist culture, firmly establishing it on the Thai Peninsula. The chedi also played a crucial role in spreading the philosophical principles of traditional Theravada Buddhism to other territories, such as the lower North and the lower South, ultimately leading the Thai people throughout the entire country to embrace Lankavamsa Theravada Buddhism as seen today.
Within Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan there are several important halls and shrines. Among them is the Phra Borommathat Chedi itself, around which one notable ritual is observed: on Makha Bucha Day, a cloth-raising ceremony is held at the chedi. It is believed that whoever offers cloth at the Phra Borommathat Chedi will have their wishes granted.
Wihan Phra Mahabhinetkhom (Wihan Phra Song Ma) is the main hall, used as the approach for performing religious rites in veneration of the Phra Mahathat Chedi. It serves as the gateway to paying homage to the most sacred relic — the tooth relic of the Lord Buddha. There are also other important structures within the temple that should not be missed — both for worship and for admiring their beauty — including Wihan Khian, Wihan Sam Chom, Wihan Pho Lanka, and Wihan Khot, among others.
(Source: Spokesperson Team, Ministry of Culture, 23 August 2024)
🔴 BREAKING!
New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, #Thailand 🇹🇭.
➡️ https://t.co/iO4B0Cjg9u #48WHC pic.twitter.com/XIkyaHwVSL — UNESCO (@UNESCO) July 25, 2026
