Suan Luang Rama IX

What it is

Suan Luang Rama IX is the largest park in Bangkok, covering 500 rai, or about 80 hectares, in Prawet district in the south-east of the city. It was built to mark King Bhumibol Adulyadej's sixtieth birthday and the king himself opened it on 1 December 1987. The park is run by the Suan Luang Rama 9 Foundation and holds extensive botanical gardens, a large lake and a pavilion with exhibits honouring the king. It is a different proposition from Bangkok's inner-city parks: this is a day out on the scale of a botanical garden, far enough from the centre that most visitors arrive by car, and organised into named zones rather than as a single lawn. A flower fair, Phanmai Ngam Aram Suan Luang Ror Kao, has been held here every December since 1987. Note that the MRT station named Suan Luang Rama IX is more than a kilometre from the park itself.

Checked 2026-08-25 · Source

What's inside

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration divides Suan Luang Rama IX into six named areas. Maharaj Park holds the Ratchamongkol Hall, a nine-sided building in applied Thai style displaying the king's royal duties and the objects bestowed for exhibition, the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek garden, and three large fountains among flowering beds. The Botanical Garden is the heaviest part of the site, with more than 3,300 plant species laid out on taxonomic and ecological principles, indoor and desert plant houses, a herb garden, a library, a herbarium and laboratories, and Phlap Phlai Yot, a pavilion standing in the water that copies the Aisawan Thiphya-Asana throne hall at Bang Pa-In. Traphang Kaew is the lake, a royally initiated water-retention project used for rowing and pedal boats, with souvenir shops and restaurants along its shore. Suan Rommanee, the Garden of Love, imitates the landscapes of Thailand's regions with rock gardens, forest, waterfalls and streams. The Chalermprakiat Herb Garden displays Thai medicinal and culinary herbs with learning activities attached.

Checked 2026-08-25 · Source

How long to spend

Allow two and a half hours at Suan Luang Rama IX, and expect that to be a first pass rather than a full one. At 500 rai this is the largest park in Bangkok, and the six named zones are spread widely enough that walking between them accounts for a good share of the time; the Botanical Garden alone, with its plant houses, herb garden and herbarium, can absorb an hour. Visitors with less time should pick two zones and do them properly, most obviously the Botanical Garden and the lake with the golden pavilion, rather than trying to cross the whole park. A family stopping for a pedal boat and lunch by the water should plan on half a day. The garden tour bus exists precisely because the site is too big to cover on foot in one visit.

Checked 2026-08-25

Season and crowds

Suan Luang Rama IX is open daily from 05:00 to 19:00, with cycling permitted across the same hours, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The early hours are the ones that work: the park is large, much of it is open ground, and the walk between zones is punishing under a midday sun. The annual highlight is the flower fair held at the end of the year, when plants come into bloom across the park and the programme adds an exhibition of winter plants from abroad, plant stalls, music and cultural performances and a fountain show; that is the busiest period of the year and also the most rewarding one. Outside December, weekday mornings give a park that feels close to empty for its size.

Checked 2026-08-25 · Source

Tickets

Suan Luang Rama IX charges admission, unlike most Bangkok parks. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration publishes 10 baht per person to enter. Vehicles are charged separately at 5 baht for a motorcycle, 10 baht for a car, 20 baht for a van and 30 baht for a bus. Inside the park, the garden tour bus is 10 baht per person and a duck boat is 100 baht per boat. No separate ticket is published for any of the named zones, so the 10 baht covers the botanical garden, the halls and the lakeside. Bring coins and small notes; this is a cash gate rather than a ticket office.

Checked 2026-08-25 · Source

Getting there

Suan Luang Rama IX is on Chaloem Phrakiat Road, Rama 9, Nong Bon subdistrict, Prawet district, Bangkok 10250. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's driving directions are to leave the expressway at Sukhumvit 62, take the Sukhumvit exit, enter Sukhumvit 103, known as Udomsuk, pass the Udomsuk intersection and continue to the park on the left; or to take Phatthanakan Road past the On Nut intersection and enter from the Srinakarin side, in the lane beside Seacon Square. Buses listed are 40, 133, 145, 206 and 207, together with Po Po 15. By rail, the BMA advises getting off at BTS Udomsuk and taking a bus down Soi Sukhumvit 103. Parking is available on site and charged by vehicle. The park's telephone number is 02 106 2674.

Checked 2026-08-25 · Source

What to watch out for

The rail trap is the main one: the MRT station called Suan Luang Rama IX is over a kilometre from the park and is not the way in, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's own advice is to use BTS Udomsuk and a bus instead. Pets are not allowed and neither are drones. Smoking, alcohol, gambling, trading and exchanging goods are prohibited, as are damaging trees and releasing aquatic animals into the water. Entry is paid, so do not arrive expecting the free gate of Lumphini or Chatuchak. The site is very large with limited shade between zones, which makes water, a hat and an early start practical rather than optional, and it means an afternoon downpour can leave a visitor a long way from cover. Closing is 19:00 across all 500 rai, so start heading back well before it.

Checked 2026-08-25 · Source

Photography

The golden pavilion in the lotus pond is the picture everyone takes here, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration calls it the park's most popular check-in point; it is a replica of the Aisawan Thiphya-Asana throne hall at Bang Pa-In, so the shape will look familiar before it is recognised. Shoot it early, when the water is still and the gilding catches low light from the east, and use the far bank to get the whole pavilion with its reflection. Drone flying is not allowed in the park, which rules out the overhead frame of Traphang Kaew and the plant beds. The nine-sided Ratchamongkol Hall in Maharaj Park needs a wide lens and a corner-on angle to read as nine-sided at all. Inside the plant houses the light is even and slow shutters are unavoidable, and the three large fountains in Maharaj Park are worth a fast shutter if they are running.

Checked 2026-08-25 · Source

Where it is

Nearby

External links

• Official site
• View on Wikidata