Must-see attractions in Nakhon Ratchasima Province

Prasat Phimai is one of the most impressive Khmer ruins in Thailand, both in its grand scale and its intricate details. Though built as a Mahayana…

Cool and lush, Khao Yai National Park is an easy escape into the primordial jungle. The 2168-sq-km park, part of a Unesco World Heritage site, spans five…

Nam Tok Haew Narok ('Hell Gorge Waterfall') is in the far south of Khao Yai National Park, 23km from the visitors centre. Its three levels combine to form…

Thao Suranari, wife of the assistant governor during Rama III's reign, is something of a Wonder Woman in these parts. Ya Mo (Grandma Mo), as she’s…

The city's most interesting temple was said to be founded by local heroine Thao Suranari and her husband in 1827. Half of her ashes are interred in a…

One of the biggest and best museums in Isan, the Phimai National Museum is well worth a visit. Situated on the banks of Sa Kwan, a 12th-century Khmer…

This excellent private gallery has three rooms of modern art from some of Thailand's top artists, including Anupong Chantorn and Lampu Kansanoh, and a…

Though the collection at this seldom-visited museum is very small, it's very good. There's prehistoric pottery (don't miss sneaking a peek at what's…

An enormous market that's almost a city unto itself, 'safe wan' doesn't just stand out for its size, it offers more than just the usual Thai market tat…

A bit east of town is Thailand's largest and oldest banyan tree, a 350-plus-year-old giant spread over an island. The extensive system of interlocking…

Three excavation pits with replica skeletons (the originals were damaged over time) and pottery left in situ from the 1991 excavations are on display in…

Locally known as Wat Phra Norn ('Temple of the Reclining Buddha'), this temple is significant for housing a 1300-year-old, 13.3m-long reclining Buddha…

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…

The top-tier winery closest to the Khao Yai National Park entrance, which is 16km away, is home to Thailand's first female oneologist, Nikki Lohitnavy. It…

One of the first wineries in Thailand (it corked its first bottle in 1998), PB Valley is 22.5km from the Khao Yai National Park gate. It's scenically set,…

This large temple is of interest primarily for three holy Khmer sandstone sculptures that were unearthed here – Vishnu (Phra Narai in Thai) is the holiest…

This little white building is a sort of museum to local heroine Thao Suranari, with a cool diorama and an even cooler sculpted mural of the famous battle…

The park's loveliest waterfall, 25m-high Nam Tok Haew Suwat scooped a starring role in Danny Boyle's film The Beach. It has water year-round (though very…

Khorat's city pillar shrine is pretty ordinary, but it has a large Dan Kwian (a nearby pottery village) ceramic mural on the wall beside it. It shows…

The city's only original gate left standing. It was a part of the city walls erected in 1656 by French technicians on the orders of King Narai (Ayuthaya)…