🌿 Bangkok Green Heritage Parks Walking Tour

🌳 Stop 1: Benchakitti Park Entrance (Khlong Toei Side)

Opened in 2004 and expanded in 2022 into a massive 450-rai forest park, Benchakitti was once land owned by the Tobacco Authority of Thailand. The area was transformed into one of the city's most impressive green lungs.

• History: Named after Queen Sirikit's 60th birthday (in Thai, "Bencha" means 5, "Kitti" means glory).
• Landscape: The entrance showcases wide cycling and walking paths, lotus ponds, and carefully planned reforestation.
• Flora: Visitors will see a mix of native hardwood trees, lotus flowers, reeds, and water lilies.
• Fauna: Park lakes attract herons, egrets, kingfishers, and even monitor lizards (harmless if left alone).

🌿 Stop 2: Middle of Benchakitti Park – Skywalk & Wetlands

The highlight of Benchakitti is its elevated skywalks and wetland ecosystem:

• Skywalks: Wooden walkways allow visitors to stroll above lotus ponds and restored wetlands, perfect for photos during golden hour.
• Wetland habitat: Designed to restore Bangkok's natural ecology, these wetlands filter water and provide shelter for fish, frogs, turtles, and migrating birds.
• Cultural aspect: The park symbolizes Thailand's modern effort to balance urbanization with sustainability. It's a living classroom of how nature can be woven back into the heart of a megacity.

🌳 Stop 3: Walk Toward Lumpini Park

A 15–20 minute walk (or short taxi/tuk-tuk) connects Benchakitti to Lumpini Park, Bangkok's original green heart. Along the way, the city shifts from modern towers to a quieter, more traditional Bangkok, with food stalls and local life.

🌲 Stop 4: Lumpini Park

Founded in the 1920s by King Rama VI, Lumpini is Bangkok's first public park. It was named after Lumbini in Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha, showing Thailand's deep Buddhist cultural roots.

• Cultural History: Originally intended as a cultural exhibition ground, it later became a park for all people of Bangkok — a democratic space for exercise, leisure, and community.
• Flora: The park features tropical hardwoods, flowering shrubs, and ornamental gardens, including fragrant frangipani, banyan trees, and palms.
• Fauna: Lumpini is famous for its giant monitor lizards swimming in the lakes, often lounging on the grass. Visitors can also spot squirrels, turtles, mynah birds, and hundreds of pigeons that locals feed daily.
• Atmosphere: At dusk, the park transforms into a lively scene — with joggers, tai chi groups, ballroom dancers, and families strolling. It's the best place to feel Bangkok's local rhythm.