Sights in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province
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Phra Ratchaniwet Mrigadayavan
With a breezy seaside location 10km north of Hua Hin, this summer palace was built during the reign of Rama VI (King Vajiravudh) in 1923 as a health-promoting retreat for the king who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. The court's Italian architect built the palace to maximise air circulation and admire the sea. The result is a series of interlinked teak houses with tall shuttered windows and patterned fretwork built upon stilts forming a shaded ground-level boardwalk. It is functional and elegant without excessive opulence. Surrounding the palace is a beautiful garden with statuesque trees, some nearing a century old. A traditional Thai orchestra helps transport visitor…
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Tham Phraya Nakhon
Tham Phraya Nakhon is probably the most photographed cave in Thailand and can be reached by boat or foot. The boat trip takes about 30 minutes there and back, while it's 30 minutes each way by foot along a steep, rocky 430m trail from Hat Laem Sala. The cave is made up of two large sinkholes, and when the sun shines through in the early morning the effect is truly mystical. In one cave there's a royal săh·lah (often spelt sala; an 'open room' with a roof but no walls).
It was built for King Chulalongkorn, who would stop off here when travelling back and forth between Bangkok and Nakhon Si Thammarat. Check out 'Pagoda Rock', covered with colourful talismans, and 'Crocodi…
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Tham Kaew
Not a popular daytrippers' stop, Tham Kaew is a series of underground chambers and narrow passageways accessed by a steep scramble 128m up the mountain. Stalactites and limestone formations here glitter with calcite crystals (hence the cave's name, 'Jewel Cave') are plentiful. You can hire lamps from the booth at the footpath's entrance, and exercise caution as the path can be slippery and dangerous.
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King Mongkut Memorial Park of Science & Technology
The King Mongkut Memorial Park of Science & Technology, is at Hat Wa Kaw, a pleasant casuarina-lined beach, around 9km south of Ao Manao. It commemorates the 1868 solar eclipse that the king and his 15-year-old son Prince Chulalongkorn came south to witness. Unfortunately, not much is translated into English, but there is a good aquarium.
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Hat Laem Sala
Hat Laem Sala, a sandy beach flanked on three sides by dry limestone hills and casuarinas, has a small visitors centre, a restaurant, bungalows and a camping area. The trail to Tham Phraya Nakhon starts here. Boats to the beach, which take up to 10 people, can be hired from Bang Pu. You can also reach the beach from Bang Pu via a steep trail (20 minutes' walk).
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King Mongkut Memorial Park of Science & Technology
The King Mongkut Memorial Park of Science & Technology, is at Hat Wa Kaw, a pleasant casuarina-lined beach, around 9km south of Ao Manao. It commemorates the 1868 solar eclipse that the king and his 15-year-old son Prince Chulalongkorn came south to witness. Unfortunately, not much is translated into English, but there is a good aquarium.
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Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park
Towering limestone cliffs, caves and beaches produce a dramatic landscape at this 98-sq-km park, which means Three Hundred Mountain Peaks in English. The park’s lagoons and coastal marshlands are excellent for birdwatching, and with a little exercise you’ll be rewarded with magnificent views of the gulf coastline.
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Tham Sai
This cave sits at the end of a 280m hillside trail and features a large single cavern filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Be careful of steep drop-offs inside and slippery footings. Usually only the more adventurous types undertake this one. Villagers rent out lamps near the cave mouth. It is just north of Hat Sam Phraya.
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Wat Thammikaram
If you really need some exercise, hike the 418 steps to the golden-spired Wat Thammikaram, established by King Rama IV. Hordes of monkeys provide endless entertainment along the way. The view from the top stretches west to Myanmar's border, only 11km away.
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Hat Sam Phraya
This shady casuarina-lined beach is about 1km long and is a pleasant stop for a swim after a sweaty hike. There is a restaurant and toilets.
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Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park
Towering limestone cliffs, caves and beaches produce a dramatic landscape at this 98-sq-km park, which means Three Hundred Mountain Peaks in English. The park’s lagoons and coastal marshlands are excellent for birdwatching, and with a little exercise you’ll be rewarded with magnificent views of the gulf coastline.
reviewed
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Wat Ao Noi
From Ao Prachuap, follow the coastal road 8km north as it skirts through the fishing village and flower-filled lanes to reach this beautiful teak temple that straddles two bays (Ao Noi and Ao Khan Kradai). Limestone mountains pose photogenically in the background, while a dramatic nine-headed naga protects the temple's exterior. Inside are unique bas-relief murals depicting the jataka stories (Buddha's previous lives).
The temple grounds are forested with a variety of fruit trees (jackfruit, pomegranate, mango and rose apple) and a lotus pond filled with ravenous fish, eager to be feed by merit-makers. You'll catch an unpleasant odour nearby indicating that the temple is i…
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Tham Phraya Nakhon & Hat Laem Sala
The park's most popular attraction is this revered cave sheltering a royal săh·lah (often spelt sala; meeting hall) built for Rama V in 1890 that is often bathed in streams of light.
The cave is accessed by a walking trail from picturesque Hat Laem Sala, a sandy beach flanked on three sides by limestone hills and casuarinas. The beach hosts a small visitors centre, restaurant, bungalows and camp sites. The cave trail is 450m long and is steep, rocky and at times slick so don't wear your ballet flats. Once there you'll find two large caverns with sinkholes – the meeting hall is the second of the two.
Reaching Laem Sala requires alternative travel since there is no road c…
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Plearn Wan
More of an art installation than a commercial enterprise, Plearn Wan is a vintage village containing stylized versions of old-fashioned shophouses that once occupied the Thai-Chinese districts of Bangkok and Hua Hin. There's a pharmacy selling (well actually displaying) roots, powders and other concoctions that Thai grandmothers once used; a music store specialising in the crooner era of the 1950s and 1960s; and other bygone shops and attractions that pre-date the arrival of 7-Eleven. It would be a tourist trap if it charged an admission fee but most visitors just wander the grounds snapping photos without making any impulse purchases. If you want to support this bit of n…
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Khao Chong Krajok
At the northern end of town, Khao Chong Krajok ('Mirror Tunnel Mountain', so named for the mountain-side hole that seemingly reflects the sky) provides a beloved Prachuap tradition: climbing to the top, dodging ill-behaved monkeys and enjoying a cascading view of a curlicue coastline. A long flight of stairs soiled by the partly wild monkeys leads to a mountain-top temple established by Rama VI. From here there are perfect views of the town and the bay and even the border with Myanmar, just 11km away. Don't bring food, drink or plastic bags with you as the monkeys will assume it is a prize worth nipping.
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Hua Hin Train Station
An iconic piece of local architecture, the red-and-white pavilion that sits beside Hua Hin's train station once served as the royal waiting room during the reign of Rama VI. It was the railway that made Hua Hin's emergence as a tourist destination possible for the Bangkok-based monarchy and the city's elite. In the early 20th century, the four-hour journey between Hua Hin and Bangkok was a transportation revolution. That was before the emergence of speeding minivan drivers fuelled by energy drinks.
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Hua Hin Hills Vineyard
Part of the New Latitudes wine movement, this vineyard is nestled in a scenic mountain valley 45km west of Hua Hin. The loamy sand and slate soil feeds several Rhone grape varieties that are used in their Monsoon Valley wine label.
You can spend the day here learning about viticulture in a tropical climate on a vineyard tour, doing a wine tasting or eating at the picturesque Sala Wine Bar & Bistro. There is also a pétanque course, mountain-biking trails and elephant riding.
A vineyard shuttle leaves the affiliated Hua Hin Hills Wine Cellar store at 10.30am and 3pm and returns at 1.30pm and 6pm; return ticket is 200B.
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Hat Hua Hin Neua
Genteel but modest Thai-Victorian garden estates bestowed with ocean-inspired names, such as 'Listening to the Sea House', line this end of the coast. The current monarchy's palace lies about 3km north of town but visitors are only allowed on the grounds. On weekends, Th Naebkehardt is the preferred getaway for Bangkok Thais, some of whom still summer in the old-fashioned residences while others come to supper in the houses that have been converted into restaurants.
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Baan Silapin
Local painter Tawee Kase-ngam established this artist collective in a shady grove 4km west of Th Phetkasem. The galleries and studio spaces highlight the works of 21 artists, many of whom opted out of Bangkok's fast-paced art world in favour of Hua Hin's more relaxed atmosphere and its scenic landscape of mountains and sea. Outlying clay huts shelter the playful sculptures of Nai Dee and Mae A-Ngoon. Khun Nang, a skilful and charismatic teacher, leads art classes for adults on Tuesday and Thursday and for children on Saturday.
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Ao Prachuap
The town's crowning feature is Ao Prachuap (Prachuap Bay), a gracefully curving bay outlined by an oceanfront esplanade. In the cool hours of the morning and evening, locals run, shuffle or promenade along this route enjoying the ocean breezes and sea music. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the esplanade hosts a Walking Street market, selling food, souvenirs and clothes.
North of Khao Chong Krajok, just over the bridge, the bay stretches peacefully to a toothy mountain scraper with less commercial activity than its in-town counterpart. There is a nice sandy beach here though it does lack in privacy due to its proximity to passing motorists. Nonetheless, weekending Thais of…
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Wat Tan Sai
Sitting atop a headland to the north, Wat Tan Sai has multiple golden spires that reach to the sky like a fantasy Disneyland castle. You can clamber up to the top for sensational views of the area.
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