Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, a Buddhist temple in Thailand's southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Saturday (July 25), following a 14-year campaign by Thai authorities and local communities that began in 2012.

With this new inscription, the temple becomes the first World Heritage Site in southern Thailand and the country's sixth cultural site overall.

The temple was unanimously approved on Saturday during the 48th Ordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Busan, South Korea. A high-level Thai delegation, led by Environment and Natural Resources Minister Suchart Chomklin and Culture Minister Sabida Thaiseth, attended the session as the team were seen celebrating the designation.

The temple complex is made of 5.14 hectare (51,400 square metres) with enclosed by brick walls was built in the early 13th Century, according to the UNESCO heritage list. Its main bell-shaped stupa - also known as Phra Borommathat Chedi, was built in the Sri Lanka style and is 78 metres high, according to Thai tourism websites.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT PROVINCE, THAILAND (JULY 25, 2026) (TPBS - No use Thailand) (MUTE)

1. DRONE FOOTAGE OF WAT PHRA MAHATHAT WORAMAHAWIHAN

2. VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE SEEING SMALLER STUPAS DECORATED BY YELLOW GARLANDS, PEOPLE FLOCKING TO PAY HOMAGE

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT PROVINCE, THAILAND (JULY 25, 2026) (TPBS - No use Thailand)

3. VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF WAT PHRA MAHATHAT WORAMAHAWIHAN / MAIN BELL-SHAPED STUPA

4. EXTERIOR OF PAVILION

5. VARIOUS OF GIANT BUDDHIST STATUE INSIDE PAVILION / DEVOTEES SITTING INSIDE PRAYING

6. LED SCREEN SHOWING MOMENT THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCED THE INSCRIPTION, SEEING THAI ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER SUCHART CHOMKLIN ON SCREEN

7. VARIOUS OF DEVOTEES CLAPPING AND CHEERING

8. DEVOTEES STANDING AND PRAYING AT TEMPLE COMPLEX

9. VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF PAVILION AND STUPAS WITHIN TEMPLE COMPLEX

10. VARIOUS OF CULTURAL STRUCTURES INSIDE TEMPLE BUILDINGS

11. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING AND WALKING INSIDE PAVILION

12. BUDDHIST STATUE INSIDE TEMPLE BUILDING

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT PROVINCE, THAILAND (JULY 25, 2026) (TPBS - No use Thailand) (MUTE)

13. VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE OF TEMPLE COMPLEX EXTERIOR