Bangkok parks and running routes: Lumphini, Benjakitti and beyond

Bangkok parks are better than the city's reputation suggests. Two big central parks are joined by an elevated walkway, three more sit side by side at Chatuchak, and a forested river bend called Bang Krachao is a short ferry ride from the port. Runners have proper loops with distance markers; walkers have monitor lizards, lakes and outdoor aerobics at dusk. Here are the parks worth the trip and how to run them.

Lumphini

Lumphini Park is the original: 140 acres of lawns, lakes and old trees between Silom and Wireless Road. The outer path is a 2.5 km loop with distance markers, and the running crowd takes it anticlockwise early in the morning and again after five. The park's monitor lizards are large, slow and uninterested in you. Tai chi groups use the lawns at dawn, pedal boats work the lake, and a free outdoor aerobics session takes over the main plaza at dusk. Entrances are at Silom MRT and Lumphini MRT. The Silom guide covers the streets around it.

Benjakitti

Benjakitti Park, next to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, has two halves. The older lake section has a flat 2 km running loop and a separate cycle lane. The forest park, opened on the former tobacco factory site in 2022, is a wetland of boardwalks, ponds and young trees crossed by an elevated walkway, and it has become the city's favourite place for a slow walk at sunset. A green bridge links Benjakitti to Lumphini over Sathorn traffic, so a long run can take in both. See the Asok and Nana guide.

Chatuchak: three parks in one

North of the weekend market, Chatuchak Park, Queen Sirikit Park and Wachirabenchathat Park (known as Rot Fai Park) run into each other. Together they give the longest flat running and cycling route in the city, with a proper cycle track around Rot Fai Park, bike hire by the entrance, a butterfly garden and a children's playground. Mo Chit BTS and Chatuchak Park MRT are at the southern end. The Chatuchak guide has more.

Bang Krachao

Bang Krachao is the green lung: a loop of the Chao Phraya opposite Khlong Toei, kept as farmland and forest. Sri Nakhon Khuean Khan Park at its centre has a lake, a bird tower and shaded paths, and the raised concrete lanes through the mangroves and orchards make a cycle route of 10 km or more. Bikes are for hire at the pier. Read the Bang Krachao guide for the ferry.

Suan Luang Rama IX

In the east, Suan Luang Rama IX is the city's biggest park: botanical gardens, a large lake and wide paths that give a 5 km loop with few crossings. The Yellow Line monorail now has a station named after it, which makes it far easier to reach than it used to be.

Smaller parks

• Benjasiri Park at Phrom Phong, a sculpture park with a skate area and a short loop.
• Chulalongkorn Centenary Park at Sam Yan, a sloped green roof with a water-catchment design.
• Santiphap Park at Ratchathewi, a small shaded square near the Airport Rail Link.

Getting there

• Lumphini: Silom MRT, Lumphini MRT or Sala Daeng BTS.
• Benjakitti: Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre MRT.
• Chatuchak parks: Mo Chit BTS or Chatuchak Park MRT.
• Bang Krachao: cross-river ferry from Khlong Toei pier, with bikes at the far side.
• Suan Luang Rama IX: Suan Luang Rama IX station on the Yellow Line.

Run at dawn or after five; midday heat is the real hazard. Most parks close in the late evening, and the big ones play the national anthem at eight in the morning and six in the evening, when everyone stops and stands. The Bangkok Marathon runs in the cool season, usually around November.