Venue
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand
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National Muay Thai Day and Wai Khru Ceremony, Ayutthaya guide
Hundreds of boxers bow among the ruins.
In short
National Muay Thai Day falls on 17 March, with Ayutthaya's festival usually spread over 16 and 17 March. Hundreds of fighters, many from Thai gyms abroad, perform the Wai Khru in unison among the old capital's brick ruins. It suits martial arts trainees and spectators who want to see the sport treated as heritage.
Every Thai boxer learns two things before a first fight in the ring: how to fight, and how to bow. Muay Thai Day in Ayutthaya celebrates the second. Hundreds of fighters, many of them foreigners from Thai gyms, perform the Wai Khru in unison among the brick ruins of the kingdom's former capital.
It is the one day of the year when the sport is treated as heritage first and contest second. For anyone who trains, taking part here has the feel of a pilgrimage. For spectators it shows a side of Muay Thai that the big-city stadiums rarely do.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Wednesday, 17 March 2027
Where: Ayutthaya, Thailand
Venue: Ayutthaya Historical Park
Held: Every year
Type of event: Sporting Events, Cultural Events, Religious Festivals
Currency: Thai baht (฿ THB)
Time zone: UTC+7, no daylight saving
Language: Thai
Map
Close to the venue
- Ayutthaya Historical Park Attraction · 850 m
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Dress code on temple grounds
Every part of the festival takes place on temple ground, and the rules of a temple apply even with boxing on the programme. Cover your shoulders and knees; a light long skirt or loose trousers and a T-shirt with sleeves will do. Do not climb the ruins or sit on the old brick platforms for a better view, however tempting they look once the crowd builds. Keep a respectful distance from every Buddha image, and never touch one.
During the ceremony itself, keep your voice down and your phone on silent.
Coping with March heat outdoors
March is one of the hottest months of the year in central Thailand, and most of the festival is out in the open with little shade. Carry more water than you think you need and refill at the market stalls. A wide hat, sunscreen and a small towel make the afternoon bearable.
If you go temple-hopping in the morning, head back to your room before the midday heat and return for the afternoon programme. Light, breathable clothing that still covers the knees is the best compromise.
Registering to take part in the mass Wai Khru
Fighters and students who want to perform the Wai Khru with the crowd do not just turn up. Registration usually goes through your gym in advance, so ask your coach early in the year whether the camp is sending a group.
The official programme sets the dress rules for participants, and it usually appears only a few weeks before the event. Check it the moment it is out, and bring your own mongkol headband if your gym uses one.
What happens on the day
- Day one, from 15:00
Cultural programme
Muay Boran teams, open training with gym coaches, crafts and the old-style market (2025 hours, until 21:00).
- Day two, afternoon
Demonstrations and bouts
Amateur and professional fights and training sessions; arrive about 15:00 to catch the whole sequence.
- Day two, 17:00 to 21:00
The mass Wai Khru
Hundreds of fighters kneel and move together to live traditional music. Stay to the end.
Etiquette and dress
During the ritual
The Wai Khru is an act of thanks to teachers, not a show. Keep quiet and still while the rows are kneeling.
At the temples
Cover shoulders and knees, take off shoes before entering halls, and never point your feet at a Buddha image (TAT).
The Buddha head at Wat Mahathat
The head in the tree roots sits low: stand back when you take a photograph.
Staying overnight in Ayutthaya rather than a day trip
Ayutthaya is an easy day trip from Bangkok, and plenty of visitors treat it as one. Our Ayutthaya city guide covers the town beyond the festival grounds.
Give the first day to the side programme. That means the Muay Boran teams, the coaches running open sessions and the craft stalls. Save the second evening for the ceremony itself.
Mornings are yours. Use them for the great temples away from the festival grounds, Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Ratchaburana, while the light is soft and the tour groups are few. Then rest through the hottest hours and head back out once the afternoon programme opens.
The legend of Nai Khanom Tom and the Wai Khru
The festival hangs on one story. When Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese in 1767, Nai Khanom Tom was among the captives marched away. At a royal festival in Yangon, close to the Shwedagon Pagoda, King Hsinbyushin put him in front of Burmese boxers. He beat ten of them one after another, and the king rewarded him. Thailand honours him as the father of the sport, and his home city claims the day.
The kneeling ritual is older than any festival, and more personal. It is a fighter's thanks to the coaches who taught them, to parents and to the lineage of the gym. Every traditional bout still opens with it. In the ring it is a private moment; here it becomes a mass act of respect, and the silence of the crowd during it says a lot.
Eat as the town does. The old-style market at the festival sells street snacks. In town, the local sweet is roti sai mai, strands of candyfloss rolled inside a thin pancake, for 40 to 50 baht. Boat noodles come in small bowls at about 10 baht, so order several. River prawns are the dish worth a splurge, and the Chankasem night market by the river has around 50 stalls.
Getting there
Flying into Thailand
Long-haul flights land in Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) or Don Mueang (DMK). Check entry rules for your passport on our Thailand visa page.
From Don Mueang
The SRT Bangkok Connex stops at the airport on its way from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal; about 1 hour 15 minutes for 50 baht, unreserved seats.
By bus or van
Air-conditioned buses leave the Northern Bus Terminal at Mo Chit about every 20 minutes for 50 baht (allow 2 hours); minivans go from Victory Monument.
Station to old city
Ayutthaya station is on the east bank. A ferry crosses every few minutes for 5 baht; a tuk-tuk should be no more than 100 baht for two.
Around the park
Festival sites can be far apart. Bicycles cost about 40 baht a day; tuk-tuks start around 200 baht an hour, so agree the total first.
Where to stay during the festival
Sleep in town: the main ceremony fills the evening of the second day. Budget guesthouses cluster on and around Soi 2, facing the western end of Chao Phrom Market, and the smarter hotels mostly sit along the river.
Mornings are best spent at the great temples away from the festival grounds, before the heat.
Weather and what to pack
Mid-March is the start of the hot season. Ayutthaya averages a March high of 36.7°C and a low of 24.4°C, with about 44 mm of rain over four days (Thai Meteorological Department, 1961-1990).
The afternoon sun on open temple grounds is intense; the evening ceremony is much easier.
Worth packing
- Sun hat, sunscreen and water
- Clothes that cover shoulders and knees for the temples
- Slip-on shoes
- Insect repellent for the evening
Car hire in Ayutthaya
Airport transfer to National Muay Thai Day and Wai Khru Ceremony, Ayutthaya
Met at arrivals at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and driven door to door to Ayutthaya Historical Park.
- Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) → Ayutthaya Historical Park
- 92 km · 70 min
Restaurants and food in Thailand
Places to eat in Thailand before or after the celebrations.
Yamazato
24th floor, Park Ventures Ecoplex, 57 Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330
Cuisine:KaisekiEdomae sushi
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Delivery
Vertigo
61st Floor, Banyan Tree Bangkok, 21/100 South Sathorn Road, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Cuisine:GrillInternational
- Dine-in
- Outdoor seating
- Bar
Khao Soi Mae Sai
29/1 Ratchaphruek Road, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Cuisine:Northern ThaiNoodles
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Raya Restaurant
48/1 Dibuk Road, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Cuisine:Southern ThaiPhuket
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Sorn
56 Soi Sukhumvit 26, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Cuisine:Southern ThaiFine dining
- Dine-in
Jay Fai
327 Maha Chai Road, Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Cuisine:ThaiStreet food
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Booking
Admission details for the 2027 edition have not been published. In recent years spectators have simply walked into the historical park and watched for free.
General
Teams show the four regional schools of old Thai boxing: Muay Chaiya, Muay Korat, Muay Tha Sao and Muay Lop Buri.
In 2025 Sak Yant tattooing was part of the craft area, alongside yantra drawing and sword forging. Whether a tattooist works on visitors depends on the year's programme.
Both. Recent programmes have included amateur and professional bouts as well as the Muay Boran displays and open training with gym coaches.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand runs it jointly with Ayutthaya province and the country's Thai martial arts organisations, which is why the line-up mixes cultural displays with sanctioned bouts.
Yes, in large numbers. For the 2025 edition the province prepared for more than 800 international participants, most of them students training at gyms around Thailand.
Probably not in its familiar form. Scholars such as Peter Vail and Craig J. Reynolds treat it as a myth that took shape in the 20th century, when Thailand was building a national story around the sport.
At Wat Mahathat, the temple where the mass ceremony was held in 2025.
Yes. It lies about 71 km up the line from the old Bangkok railway station, and every passenger train on the route stops there, so you are never short of a train.
The boxer walks the ring anticlockwise, stopping to pray at each corner, then bows three times for the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha before the dance begins.
Timing & weather
Since 1991. The historical park takes in 289 ha of the city that King Ramathibodi I founded in 1351, including the temples used by the festival.