A centuries-old monastery in southern Thailand is the country’s latest cultural landmark to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, which will help the site’s conservation, the government said on Sunday.
Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in Nakhon Si Thammarat province is Thailand’s ninth World Heritage site, but the first in the country’s southern region, the Thai Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Its inscription will further strengthen cooperation at national and local levels in the conservation, protection and sustainable management of the World Heritage Site,” the ministry said.
Officials and monks celebrated the UNESCO recognition at the monastery on Saturday by chanting blessings and playing a gong, local media reported.
Also known as Phra Mahathat Monastery, the site has “been an important regional Buddhist center since its founding in the 8th century,” according to UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural agency.
The temple property includes towering gray stupas, a massive reclining Buddha statue, and rows of golden standing and sitting Buddha monuments, as well as several ornate depictions of guardian deities.
Located on the Thai peninsula between the Pacific and Indian oceans, the monastery was influenced by various religions and architectural styles, including Brahmanism, Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism from parts of India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, UNESCO said on its website.
“These influences have been integrated into their religious buildings, rituals and cultural traditions,” the agency added.
Inclusion on the Unesco heritage list is believed to boost the countries’ tourism, a key economic sector for Thailand that has yet to return to pre-Covid-19 visitor levels.
Total tourist arrivals fell more than 3% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2025, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Tourism.
The historic city of Ayutthaya, the Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuaries and the ancient city of Si Thep and its associated Dvaravati monuments are among Thailand’s eight other Unesco heritage sites.
