Bangkok lies next to the mouth of the river Chao Phraya, on a flat area where there are no natural hills to offer panoramic views of the city.
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In addition to the buildings that stand out against the city’s horizon, the Golden Mountain and the Wat Saket on the top offers the perfect opportunity to take in this fascinating landscape.
The hill crowned by Wat Saket is man-made. Previous temple constructions that with the passing of time crumbled and became covered with earth ended up forming the current mountain.
In the time of King Rama III in the 19th century, the soft, loose soil of Bangkok gave way causing a stupa of great dimensions to collapse during its construction because the unstable terrain just could not support its enormous weight.
Since then successive kings of this dynasty have participated in renovating the temple and building today’s stupa, that houses a relic of the Buddha brought from India.
The concrete walls that surround the stupa help to stabilise the mountain and prevent it from eroding away.
The Golden Mountain and Wat Saket have become one of the city’s most prized symbols.