Chatuchak Park Complex

The huge Chatuchak Park complex is one of the oldest public parks in Bangkok. It covers a total area of 1.13 square kilometers on land donated by the State Railways of Thailand, and consists of Chatuchak Park, Queen Sirikit Park, Wachira Benchathat Park, also known as Suan Rot Fai Park. Park complex is open daily from 04.30 till 21:00 and receives approximately 7,000 visitors on an average weekday and 30,000 on an average weekend day. It is commonly used for biking and jogging, there are loop paths around the park of about three kilometres which are completely car free. Picnicking is also a top draw. You can rent bamboo mats and buy food at the park's northern and southern ends. Adjoining the park to the south is the Chatuchak Weekend Market, the district's main attraction. Opened on December 1980, Chatuchak Park covers an area of 30.4 hectares on a land that was given to H.M King Bhumibol Adulyadej from the State Railway of Thailand who decided to build a park for the local residents. The park surface was afterwards increased with Queen Sirikit Park. An artificial lake runs along this tight and long extension with numerous bridges crossing the lake. Chatuchak Park boasts the Train Museum and the Clock Tower. Donated by the International Lions Club, the tower is surrounded by a beautiful botanical garden and overlooks the entire park, so worth a visit to take a few pictures. The Train Museum is the Hall of Fame for Thai train history, and hosts historical artefacts dating back to 1875, the inception of the Thai Railway industry. Opened on 28 July 2002 and named by the Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, Wachira Benchathat Park is the largest park of the complex. Separated from Chatuchak Park by Kamphaeng Phet 3 Road, it covers 0.6 square kilometres of grassy expanse, which originally belonged to a former State Railway of Thailand golf course and now is an extremely popular as biking and picnic spot. It has a winding three-kilometre trail, but flat and easy, for walking and biking. Here you will find hordes of bike riders every weekend, attracted by the lush nature that abounds all around, including several species of bird, lizards, turtles and hundreds of grand old tress. Bikes can be rented next to the car park at the entrance to the park and at the start of bike track for around 40-60 baht, depending on which bike you choose. Near the bike track, there is a large lake where people can rent paddle boats for 40 baht for 30 minutes to go around the lake. Other activities available at park include tennis, swimming, fitness, basketball, yoga, pétanque, sepak takraw, futsal and kayaking. Wachira Benchathat Park also boasts the beautiful Suan Rot Fai Garden, a miniature town and Bangkok Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. The miniature town consists of Bangkok's famous buildings and tourist attractions in a scaled-down version. The Butterfly Garden is the hidden gem inside the park. It hosts many different species of amazing and colourful butterflies underneath a giant, 15-meter-tall open-air dome, covering an area of 1,100 square meters. It is open on Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 till 16:30 and admission is free.
Getting there: Chatuchak Park complex is close to Mo Chit Station on the BTS Skytrain's Silom Line, as well as Chatuchak Park subway station on the MRT Blue Line.Read More