Sights in Nakhon Ratchasima Province
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Prasat Phimai
Started by Khmer King Jayavarman V (AD 968–1001) during the late 10th century and finished by King Suriyavarman I (AD 1002–49) in the early 11th century, this Hindu-Mahayana Buddhist temple projects a majesty that transcends its size. Although pre-dating Angkor Wat by a century or so, Prasat Phimai nevertheless shares a number of design features with its more famous cousin, not least the roof of its 28m-tall main shrine. However, unlike most Khmer temples, this one faces south. It may well be wishful thinking, but tourist brochures claim it might have been the model for Angkor Wat.
reviewed
-
Wat Dhammachakra Sema Ram
Housed inside Wat Dhammachakra Sema Ram, which locals call Wat Phra Non (Sleeping Buddha Temple), is Thailand’s oldest reclining Buddha. Dating back to the 7th or 8th century BC, the 13.3m-long Dvaravati-style image is unique in that it hasn’t been covered with a layer of stucco and a coat of whitewash. It actually looks as old as it is. The crude but appealing image is protected from the elements by a huge roof. On display nearby is a stone rendition of the Buddhist Wheel of Law that is thought to pre-date the Buddha image.
reviewed
-
Excavation Pits
About 3000 years ago, a primitive agricultural/ceramic culture put down roots at Ban Prasat, near the banks of Mae Nam Than Prasat. It survived for nearly 500 years, planting rice, domesticating animals, fashioning coloured pottery, weaving cloth and, in later years, forging tools out of bronze. The secrets of this early civilisation were finally revealed during extensive archaeological digs completed in 1991. Three of the excavation pits, with skeletons and pottery left in situ, are on display in the village.
reviewed
-
Khao Yai National Park
Up there on the podium with some of the world’s greatest parks, Khao Yai is Thailand’s oldest and most visited reserve. Covering 2168 sq km, Khao Yai incorporates one of the largest intact monsoon forests remaining in mainland Asia, which is why it was named a Unesco World Heritage Site (as part of the Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai Forest Complex). The mostly English-speaking staff at the visitor centre are very friendly and helpful.
reviewed
-
A
Phimai National Museum
Situated on the banks of Sa Kwan, a 12th-century Khmer reservoir, this museum houses a fine collection of Khmer sculptures from Prasat Phimai, including many exquisite lintels, and other ruins from around Lower Isan. There's also some distinctive black Phimai pottery (500 BC–AD 500) and even older ceramics from nearby Ban Prasat.
reviewed
-
B
Wat Salaloi
The city's most interesting temple was supposedly founded by Thao Suranari and her husband in 1827. Half of her ashes are interred in a small stupa here (the other half is at her monument) and so there are also singing troupes on hire to perform for her spirit here. A small statue of the heroine sits praying in the pond in front of the temple's award-winning bòht (chapel). Built in 1967, it resembles a Chinese junk and holds several unusual Buddha images, including one with nine faces and a large gleaming white one in a 'calming the ocean' posture. It, along with several other buildings, is decorated with Dan Kwian pottery.
reviewed
-
C
Wat Phayap
When the abbot of Wat Phayap learned that blasting for a quarry in Saraburi Province was destroying a beautiful cave, he rescued pieces of it and plastered the stalactites, stalagmites and other incredible rocks all over a room below his residence, creating a shrine like no other. Stone has since become a theme of the temple and it's now used in decoration elsewhere on the grounds.
reviewed
-
D
Maha Wirawong National Museum
Despite an interesting collection of Khmer and Ayuthaya-period artefacts, including stone and bronze Buddhas, woodcarvings from an ancient temple and various dom-estic utensils, chances are you’ll have this interesting little museum to yourself. It’s hidden away in the grounds of Wat Sutthachinda.
reviewed
-
Sai Ngam
A bit east of town is Thailand's largest and oldest banyan tree, a 350-plus-year-old megaflorum spread over an island in a large reservoir. The extensive system of interlocking branches and gnarled trunks makes the 'Beautiful Banyon' look like a small forest.
reviewed
-
E
Wat Phra Narai Maharat
This large temple is of interest because of three holy Khmer sandstone sculptures, of which Phra Narai (Vishnu) is the holiest, that were unearthed here. To see them, follow the signs with red arrows back to the special Naranya Temple at the southeast corner. The temple's bòht sits on an island and there are some enormous monitor lizards living in the pond.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Kwian Museum
The ramshackle private Kwian Museum, at the north end of the strip, displays a variety of old carts from around Isan, as well as some farming implements and examples of old-style pottery.
reviewed
-
F
Meru Bhramathat
Meru Bhramathat is a brick chedi (stupa) dating back to the late Ayuthaya period. Its name is derived from a folk tale that refers to it as the cremation site of King Bhramathat.
reviewed
-
G
Thao Suranari Museum
Just north of her shrine, in the little white building, is a sort of Thao Suranari museum, which has a cool diorama and even cooler sculpted mural of the famous battle.
reviewed
-
Macchada
Macchada is at the southern end of the main road through town, where you can watch weavers working, is worth seeking out if you do come here.
reviewed
-
Tha Nang Sa Phom
Tha Nang Sa Phom, a 13th-century landing platform constructed out of laterite is now on the grounds of the Fine Arts Department compound.
reviewed
-
H
Thao Suranari Museum
Just north of her shrine, in the little white building, is a sort of Thao Suranari museum, which has a cool diorama and even cooler sculpted mural of the famous battle.
reviewed
-
Thao Suranari Monument
Thao Suranari, wife of the city's assistant governor during the reign of Rama III, is something of a Wonder Woman in these parts. Ya Mo (Grandma Mo), as she's affectionately called, became a hero in 1826 by organising a successful prisoner revolt after Chao Anou of Vientiane had conquered Khorat during his rebellion against Siam. As one version of the legend has it, she convinced the women to seduce the Lao soldiers and then the Thai men launched a surprise attack, which saved the city.
Her exploits have probably been greatly exaggerated or completely concocted – some reputable scholars suggest that she didn't even exist – to instil a sense of Thai-ness in the ethnic-Lao p…
reviewed
-
Phimai Historical Park
Started by Khmer King Jayavarman V (AD 968–1001) during the late 10th century and finished by his successor King Suriyavarman I (AD 1002–49), this Hindu-Mahayana Buddhist temple projects a majesty that transcends its size. It has been painstakingly reconstructed by the Fine Arts Department and is one of the most complete monuments on the circuit. It may well be wishful thinking, but the visitor centre suggests Prasat Phimai was the model for the much grander Angkor Wat.
You enter over a cruciform naga bridge, which symbolically represents the passage from earth to heaven, and then through the southern gate (which is unusual since most Khmer temples face east) of the ou…
reviewed
-
Maha Viravong National Museum
Though the collection at this seldom-visited museum is very small, it's also very good. There's ancient pottery – don't miss sneaking a peak at what's stored in the back – and a variety of Buddha images spanning the Dvaravati to Rattanakosin eras.
reviewed
