Must-see attractions in Northeastern Thailand

  • Tourists visit the Prasat Phanom Rung Historical Park.

    Prasat Phanom Rung

    Buriram Province

    Prasat Phanom Rung has a knock-you-dead location. Crowning the summit of a spent volcano, this sanctuary sits 200m above the paddy fields below. To the…

  • Prasat Hin Phimai(Phimai Historical Park)

    Phimai Historical Park

    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…

  • Khao Yai National Park

    Nakhon Ratchasima Province

    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…

  • Prasat Muang Tam, an ancient Khmer-style temple complex built in Buriram Province, Thailand.

    Prasat Muang Tam

    Buriram Province

    In the little village of Khok Meuang, the restored Khmer temple of Prasat Muang Tam is an ideal bolt-on to any visit to Phanom Rung, which is only 8km to…

  • Wat Phu Thok

    Northeastern Thailand

    With its network of rickety staircases and walkways built in, on and around a giant sandstone outcrop, Wat Phu Thok is one of the region’s wonders. The…

  • Sunrise at the sea of red lotus, Lake Nong Harn, Udon Thani, Thailand.

    Red Lotus Sea

    Udon Thani Province

    You'll see pictures of the Red Lotus Sea (really, it's a pink water-lily lake) all over Udon as it's now one of Isan's top attractions, but few Westerners…

  • Sala Kaew Ku

    Nong Khai

    One of Thailand’s most enigmatic attractions, Sala Kaew Ku can't fail to impress. Built over 20 years by Luang Pu Boun Leua Sourirat, a mystic who died in…

  • Wat Pa Non Sawan.

    Wat Pa Non Sawan

    Northeastern Thailand

    Wat Pa Non Sawan is home to hundreds of colourful sculptures ranging from merely peculiar to ‘what the…?!’ Whether it’s the immense dragons, waving…

  • Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, also known as the Temple of a Million Bottles, is a Buddhist temple in Khun Han district of Sisaket province, Thailand.

    Wat Lan Khuat

    Northeastern Thailand

    Officially it’s Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaeo, but these days nearly everyone calls it Wat Lan Khuat, the ‘Million Bottle Temple’. In 1982 the abbot dreamt…

  • Wat Phra That Phanom

    Nakhon Phanom Province

    This temple is a potent and beautiful place – even if you're feeling templed out, you'll likely be impressed. At its hub is a stupa (tâht), more…

  • Pha Taem National Park, Thailand.

    Pha Taem National Park

    Ubon Ratchathani Province

    One of our favourite national parks in Thailand, Pha Taem is named after and centred on a large cliff above the Mekong River. The cliff's ancient rock…

  • Suan Sawan

    Loei Province

    A more adventurous destination than the famous Suan Hin Pha Ngam, the walking path through 'Heavenly Garden' requires a little climbing over rocks and…

  • Pha Taem

    Ubon Ratchathani Province

    These ancient rock paintings, which are at least 1000 years old but probably much older, sit on a cliff face down below the visitors centre. A fantastic,…

  • Wat Nong Wang

    Khon Kaen

    Down at the south end of the lake, Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon, the gorgeous nine-storey stupa at the heart of this important temple, makes this Khon Kaen's…

  • Nam Nao National Park

    Khon Kaen Province

    Unheralded Nam Nao National Park is one of Thailand's most wildlife-rich parks, although its remote location means it never gets busy. Good visibility and…

  • Phu Phrabat Historical Park

    Udon Thani Province

    Steeped in mythical intrigue and peppered with bizarre rock formations, Phu Phrabat Historical Park is one of the region’s highlights. The formations are…

  • Chansoma

    Northeastern Thailand

    You may find the village of Ban Tha Sawang, 8km west of Surin along Rte 4026, a fascinating stop, even if you're not particularly turned on by weaving…

  • Walking Street Market

    Khon Kaen

    In the spirit of Chiang Mai's weekend street markets (but not touristy like them), hundreds of vendors take over Th Na Sunratchakan. Many of them sell…

  • Nam Tok Haew Narok

    Khao Yai National Park

    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…

  • Wat Pha Tak Sua

    Nong Khai Province

    The forest wát peering down on the town lies just 2km away as the crow flies, but it's 19km to drive. Once a very serious meditation temple, it's now…

  • Nam Tok Saeng Chan

    Ubon Ratchathani Province

    One of the most amazing waterfalls you'll ever see, Saeng Chan ('Moonbean') flows through a hole cut naturally into the overhanging rock. There's water…

  • Prasat Ta Meuan

    Northeastern Thailand

    The most atmospheric of Surin's Khmer ruins is a series of three sites in the forest on the Cambodian border known collectively as Prasat Ta Meuan. They…

  • Wat Pho Chai

    Nong Khai

    Luang Po Phra Sai, a large Lan Xang–era Buddha image awash with gold, bronze and precious stones, sits at the hub of Nong Khai's holiest temple. The head…

  • Prasat Sikhoraphum

    Northeastern Thailand

    Built in the 12th century, Sikhoraphum features five brick prang (Hindi/Khmer-style stupas), two of which still hold their tops (these were later modified…

  • Wat Ban Na Meuang

    Ubon Ratchathani

    This temple, also known as Wat Sa Prasan Suk, stands out from other temples in many ways. Most famously, the bòht sits on a boat: a ceramic-encrusted…

  • Thao Suranari Monument

    Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat)

    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…

  • Wat Pa Nanachat

    Ubon Ratchathani

    English is the primary language of Wat Pa Nanachat, a Western-oriented temple opened in 1975 by Ajahn Chah specifically for non-Thais. There's nothing…

  • Hin Chang Si

    Khon Kaen Province

    The core attraction of Nam Phong National Park and the nearest nature reserve to Khon Kaen city, the Hin Chang Si ('Elephant-Rubbing Rock') area is full…

  • Tham Erawan

    Loei Province

    High up in a beautiful karst mountain, directly on the Loei–Nong Bualamphu border, Tham Erawan is an amazing cave shrine reached by a steep but easily…

  • Wat Salaloi

    Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat)

    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…

  • Wat Pho Chai Sri

    Udon Thani Province

    With brightly painted statuary that's even more bizarre than Nong Khai's Sala Kaew Ku, this wát is a perfect add-on to Phu Phrabat if you have your own…

  • Wat Phra That Nong Bua

    Ubon Ratchathani

    This spectacular, gleaming gold-and-white chedi is sure to dazzle. It loosely resembles the Mahabodhi stupa in Bodhgaya, India (where the Buddha reached…

  • Phu Bo Bit Forest Park

    Loei Province

    If you want to harden up your legs for Loei's national parks, Phu Bo Bit gives you about 1400 steep steps to practise on, and rewards your effort with…

  • Suan Hin Pha Ngam

    Loei Province

    The actual 'Beautiful Rock Garden', which lent its name to the greater region, is a strange patch of eroded rocks known to Thais as Kunming Mueang Thai, …

  • Phimai National Museum

    Nakhon Ratchasima Province

    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…

  • Ban Chiang National Museum

    Udon Thani Province

    This excellent museum, developed with some assistance from the Smithsonian Institution, exhibits a wealth of pottery from all Ban Chiang periods, plus…

  • Wat Klang Ming Muang

    Northeastern Thailand

    The first thing most people notice about this old temple, which dates from the late Ayuthaya era, is the unusual four-storey stupa at the back, but the…

  • Prasat Ban Phluang

    Northeastern Thailand

    The 11th-century Prasat Ban Phluang, 33km south of Surin, is just a solitary sandstone prang (Hindi/Khmer-style stupa) without its top, but the wonderful…

  • Ban Singha Tha

    Northeastern Thailand

    The most endearing neighbourhood in Yasothon is Ban Singha Tha, a collection of quiet residential streets just below Wat Mahathat. It has several classic…

  • Phi Ta Khon Museum

    Loei Province

    Wat Phon Chai, the temple behind the big white gate, plays a major role in the Phi Ta Khon festivities, so it's an appropriate home for this museum, also…