Monastery · Buddhist
Royal Thai Buddhist Monastery, Lumbini
रोयल थाई बौद्ध विहार
Shakyamuni Buddha (Thai Theravada tradition)·Built by the Royal Thai Government, early 2000s·Rupandehi
A striking all-white marble monastery in the East Monastic Zone — built by the Royal Thai government in classical Thai temple style, with a soaring multi-tiered roof and golden finials.
Dedicated to
Shakyamuni Buddha (Thai Theravada tradition)
Period
Built by the Royal Thai Government, early 2000s
Hours
06:00 – 18:00
Admission
Free
Neighborhood
East Monastic Zone, Lumbini
The Royal Thai Buddhist Monastery — often simply the Thai Temple — is one of the most photographed international monasteries in Lumbini. Built and financed by the Royal Thai Government and the Thai Buddhist community, the main hall is constructed almost entirely of white Rajasthani marble and follows classical Central Thai (Rattanakosin) temple architecture, with a multi-tiered red-and-gold tiled roof, golden finials (cho fah), and ornate gables.
The main ubosot (ordination hall) houses a large golden seated Buddha in bhumisparsha mudra, flanked by walls painted with murals from the Jataka tales. The entire complex sits in a landscaped garden in the East Monastic Zone reserved for Theravada traditions, and its pure-white facade against the flat green Terai landscape is one of the iconic images of the Lumbini master plan.
The monastery runs daily morning and evening chanting, meditation retreats (open to foreign visitors by advance arrangement), and a modest guesthouse for pilgrims. It is particularly busy during Visakha Bucha (Thai name for Vesak) in May and during Loi Krathong in November, when the Thai community organises cultural programmes. A 10-minute walk from the central canal, easy to combine with the Myanmar Golden Temple on a single East Monastic Zone loop.
Folio III
Nearby Sacred Sites
Places within a short walk that help turn this stop into a small sacred cluster.
Myanmar Golden Temple (Lokamani Pula Pagoda)
One of the oldest and most striking monasteries in the Lumbini monastic zone — a gilded Burmese-style complex whose tall corn-cob shikhara soars above the eastern canal.
Sri Lankan Monastery, Lumbini
The Sri Lankan Theravada monastery in the East Monastic Zone — a white Sinhalese-style *vihara* with a dagoba-shaped stupa and resident Theravada monks.
Cambodian Monastery, Lumbini
A Khmer-style Theravada monastery in the East Monastic Zone — a compact compound modelled on the great temples of Angkor, with a tiered pyramid tower and characteristic face towers.
Zhong Hua Chinese Buddhist Monastery
A grand Ming-style monastic complex in the West Monastic Zone — one of the largest and most elaborate monasteries in Lumbini, with ornate red-and-gold roofs and imposing gateway pavilions.
Korean Buddhist Temple, Dae Sung Shakya Sa
A large Mahayana monastery in the West Monastic Zone, built by the Korean Jogye Order — one of the biggest monastic compounds in Lumbini, with colourful painted eaves and a giant seated Buddha.
Coda
Continue the Pilgrimage
Part of
Lumbini — Birthplace of Buddha
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