Part of the old walled city comprises one of the two zones that make up the Kampaeng Phet Historical Park. Nearly half of the area enclosed by the walls is occupied by modern buildings, such at the provincial administration offices, the National Museum, and a large school as well as many homes.
Map of Kampaeng Phet's Walled City Area
The historical places of interest, aside from the walls themselves, are found near the center of the enclosed area. Here you can see the remains of the two 'state' temples, Wat Phra Kaeo and Wat Phra That. Close to these two temples is the modern city pillar shrine, while across the street is an area where the royal palace once stood. Palaces of the time were always made of wood, so the only remains are a few stone platforms and depressions in the ground that were once pools for bathing. Not far from the museum is a Shiva shrine erected in the sixteenth century as a city guardian.
The city pillar shrine for Kampaeng Phet Kampaeng Phet's city pillar is a relatively modern shrine to the protective spirits of the city. Nonetheless it's quite a popular place to make offerings. If you're passing by on the highway and hear a lot of cars honking, don't worry, they're not honking at you. It's the custom here to honk your horn as you pass by the shrine.
The pillar itself is a gold-covered shaft more than two meters high, looking slightly phallic with a lotus motif.
The walls which give Kampaeng Phet its name are still strong and solid. Unlike many of the fortifications of other cities of the time, like Sukhothai or Ayutthaya, most of Kampaeng Phet's walls remain intact, so you can see just how strong the defenses of these cities really were.
A redoubt on the south side of the city The walls enclose a slightly bent triangular shape (see map). The longest wall, along the northern side, is a little more than two and a half kilometers long.
Wat Phra Kaeo appears to have been the principle royal temple of Kampaeng Phet, standing just outside the royal palace area. Like other such state temples of the time, Wat Phra Kaeo was solely a place of worship, rather than a monastery with monks in residence. The temple gets its name because the Emerald Buddha now in Bangkok was once thought to be housed here.
The pagoda of Wat Phra Kaeo The main pagoda (chedi) of the temple is still in very good shape.
The pagodas of Wat Phra That Wat Phra That is directly in a line with Wat Phra Kaeo. This much smaller temple has three pagodas (chedi) still in evidence. The large central chedi is flanked to the east by two smaller ones. While the lines of the pagodas are quite delicate, they are not as richly decorated as the chedi of Wat Phra Kaeo. Although the name implies that a holy relic was held within the pagoda, no evidence of this has been found.
