Overview
Facts About The Country
Facts for The Visitors
Places To Visit

THAILAND > PLACES TO VISIT

The Central Region is extremely rich in historical sites and these include Nakhon Pathom, Kanchanaburi, Bang Pa-In, Ayutthaya, Saraburi, Lop Buri and, most important of all, Bangkok, Thailand's capital and major point-of-entry.

BANGKOK
The cosmopolitan & international city of Bangkok offers an exciting, vibrant and chaotic mixture of Buddhist temples, opulent palaces, ultramodern architecture, classy hotels, street vendors, tuk tuks, elephants, floating markets, transportation canals, delicious cuisine, and huge open air markets. It is truly a place where east meets west.
Bangkok's major tourism attractions include the fabulous Wat Phra Kaeo (Emerald Buddha Chapel) and Grand Palace complex; Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), Wat Saket (Golden Mount); Wat Benchannabophit (Marble Temple),Vimanmek Palace, favorite residence of King Chulalongkorn, the royal barges, the Pasteur Institute's Snake Farm where poisonous snakes are milked for their venom to make invaluable serum. Jim Thompson's House Museum contains a superb collection of Asian objets d'art, and Suan Pakkand Palace's lacquer pavilion is decorated with medieval gold leaf murals. Also well worth a visit is the world's largest Crocodile Farm, and a 200-acre open-air museum called the Ancient City. Bangkok also boasts entertainment and recreational complexes such as Siam Water Park, Safari World, King Rama IX Park and Dusit Zoo, together with exceptional shopping, fine dining and a legendary nightlife.

The Rose Garden, a riverside tropical country club one hour west of Bangkok, offers an 18-hole championship golf course, fine accommodation and a Thai Village where daily shows feature traditional activities such as folk dancing, the Thai wedding ceremony, a Buddhist ordination and elephants at work.

At NAKHON PATHOM, 60 kilometers from Bangkok, you will find the world's tallest Buddhist monument, the Phra Pathom Chedi, which marks the spot where Buddhism was introduced, 2,300 years ago.

DAMNOENSADUAK, 40 minutes south of Nakhon Pathom, is Thailand's most vibrant floating market where farmers congregate in their boats on the canals each morning to sell their produce.

The "BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI", an Allied war cemetery and beautiful surrounding countryside with waterfalls, wide fertile valleys, and caves once inhabited by Neolithic man. The Saiyok Noi, Saiyok Yai, Erawan and Huai Khamin Waterfalls and 12th-century Khmer Prasat Muang Sing are well worth visiting.

AYUTTHAYA was the old Siamese capital. It is situated about 70 kilometers upstream from Bangkok and offers magnificent ruins of temples, palaces and crumbling fortresses. Wat Panan Choeng, Wat Si San Phet, Wat Mahathat, Wat Ratchaburana, Phu Khao Thong and the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum should not be missed.

BANG PA-IN PALACE just south of Ayutthaya was the summer residence of early Chakri kings. The local Wat Niwet Thamaprawat is one of Thailand's most unusual Buddhist temples.

PHRA BUDDHA BAT, Shrine of the Buddha's Footprint, is just north of Saraburi, about 110 kilometers north of Bangkok. The Buddha's Footprint was discovered 350 years ago when a deer hunter found that a pool of water in the shape of a human foot had healing powers.

LOP BURI, an ancient city dating from the 9th century, contains Hindu and Khmer ruins and the imposing Ramratchaniwet Palace built by Ayutthaya's King Narai during the 1600s as a summer retreat.

PHETCHABURI, 120 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, is known for the Khao Luang Caves, the hilltop Phra Nakhon Khiri palace, the Wat Suwanaram with its Ayutthayan meeting hall, murals and scriptural repository, and Thailand’s largest National Park, the stunning, mountainous Kaeng Krachan.

CHA AM, 773 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, is a popular beachside resort.

HUA HIN, 198 kilometers from Bangkok, is Thailand's oldest beach resort and has been the Thai royal family's summer residence since the 1920s with a fine beach, excellent accommodation and a wide range of sports and activities.

SAM ROI YOT National Park is one hour south of Hua Hin and covers 60 square kilometers of coastal land.

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN is a fishing town with a scenic bay and the beachside Khao Chong Krachok (Mirror Mountain) with its resident monkey tribe.

THE NORTH

SUKHOTHAI, 427 kilometers north of Bangkok, is famous for its massive sentinel stone Buddha images. Be sure to visit the largest temple, Wat Mahathat, together with Wat Si Chum that houses a massive seated Buddha measuring 11 meters across.

PHITSANULOK is famous as the site of the riverside Wat Phra Si Rattana Maha enshrining the venerated Phra Buddha Chinarat, cast in 1357, and commonly regarded as Thailand's most beautiful Buddha image.

SI SATCHANALLAI, 55 kilometers north of Sukhothai, is noted for several magnificent ruins, including Wat Chang Lom and Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo.

LAMPANG, 600 kilometers north of Bangkok, Lampang is the sole provincial Thai capital where horse drawn carriages remain in daily use. It is noted for several Burmese-style temples, including Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao and Wat Si Chum, the magnificent Wat Lampang Luang, and a Thai Elephant Conservation Center.

LAMPHUN is famed for the stunning Wat Phra That Hariphunchai, a classic example of northern religious architecture.

CHIANG MAI, the principal northern city, approximately 700 kilometers north of Bangkok, was founded in 1296 and is located in a fertile valley 1,000 feet above sea level. It is famous for its historic temples, beautiful mountains, distinctive festivals and handicrafts, and several formerly itinerant hill tribes of Tibeto-Burman origin. Wat Phra Sing, Wat Chiang Man, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Suan Dok, Wat Ku Tao and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep are all worth visiting.

The BOR SANG-SAN KAMPAENG area is particularly rich in cottage industries producing handicrafts such as parasols, silks, cottons, jewelry, woodcarvings, silverware, ceramics and lacquer ware.

DOI INTHANON, Thailand's highest mountain, lies to the west near the cascading Mae Klang, Wachirathan and Siriphurn waterfalls.

MAE HONG SON, a 35-minute flight northwest of Chiang Mai, is the tiniest and most isolated northern provincial capital, nestling in a valley surrounded by mountains containing several hill tribes and Burmese style temples.

CHIANG RAJ, northeast of Chiang Mai, and 785 kilometers from Bangkok, lies in the very heart of the Golden Triangle and is particularly famed for majestic mountains and hill tribe villages. Popular attractions include Chiang Saen, an ancient capital facing Laos across the Mekong River, and the mountaintop Wat Phra That Doi Tung that commands a spectacular view of surrounding mountains, and several Akha hill tribe villages.

NAN is the site of famous annual boat races, and several historic temples, including Wat Chang Kham, Wat Chae Haeng, Wat Phra That Khao Noi and Wat Phumin with its undulating Naga balustrades and famous murals.

THE NORTHEAST

KHAO YAII National Park, northeast of Saraburi and about 200 kilometers from Bangkok, covers an area of about 540,000 acres, its highest peak is 1,351 meters and within its rain forests and high grasslands there are numerous species of protected wildlife, such as deer, bears, tigers, elephants, giant hornbills, sunbirds and silver pheasants. The park is full of hiking trails, with rapids and waterfalls.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, 259 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, is the gateway to I-San. The provincial capital of Phimai is the site of an 11th-century prasat hin temple, one of the loveliest examples of classical Khmer architecture found outside Kampuchea.
Other major I-San attractions include Khon Kaen, a university town famous for its Mat Mi silk; Loei province's Phu Kra Dung National Park, a beautiful forested plateau, the Kaeng Khut Khu rapids at Chiang Khan; the scenic Si Chiang Mai to Nongkhai road along the Mekong River; Udon Thani's Ban Chiang village and museum which house priceless Bronze Age jewelry and pottery excavated from local burial mounds; Nakhon Phanom's Phra That Phanom, the most revered Northeast shrine, the spire of which dates from the 9th century; Ubon Ratchathani with its annual Buddhist Rains Retreat and Candle Festival, and the pre-historical rock paintings at Pha Taem in Khong Chiam district near the Mekong River; Yasothon, where, each summer, massive homemade rockets are ceremoniously fired into the air to ensure bountiful rains; Surin, where an annual Elephant Round-Up each November attracts visitors from all over the world; and Buri Ram's Prasat Hin Phanom Rung, a lovely hilltop Khmer sanctuary once connected by road with Angkor.

THE EAST COAST

BANDSAEN, This is Bangkok’s nearest resort boasting a palm-lined promenade, a long crescent shaped beach, and a water amusement park.

KHAO KHIAO Open Zoo. Here you can observe Asian, African and European mammals in spacious enclosures, and visit Thailand's most spectacular aviary.

SI RACHA is a fishing community famed for a delicious, tangy sauce and excellent seafood.

PATTAYA, 147 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, is Thailand's "Riviera" and internationally famous beach resort. The main attractions here include a vibrant nightlife, numerous water sports, motor racing, offshore coral islands and luxury accommodation.

BANG SARE is a fishing village, from where game fishermen seek marlin, sharks, king mackerel, and tuna.

RAYONG is best known for Ban Phe fishing village and Samet Island. At just 6 kilometers in length, Ko Samet offers sun-soaked beaches, coral reefs and clear waters ideal for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing.

CHANTHABURI is famous for historic sites, Thailand's largest Christian church, locally mined star sapphires, abundant orchards and the lovely waterfalls of the Khao Khitchakut and Namtok Phlui national parks.

TRAT, the province bordering Kampuchea, is best known for the 52-island Ko Chang Marine National Park.

THE SOUTH

CHUMPHON has lovely beaches, birds' nest islands and some excellent diving sites.

RANONG has a Hot Spa Health Resort fed by Thailand's only Geo-Thermal Mineral Water Spring.

SURAT THANI is best known for the beautiful Ko Samui, Thailand's third largest island encompassing the wondrous Angthong (Golden Bowl) Marine National Park.

NAKHON SI THARNMARAT is an ancient city, home of the historically important Wat Phra Maha That, and a major handicrafts center.

SONGKHLA, a medieval pirate stronghold, is a historic town with a thriving fishing community and the beautiful Samila beach. The Great Songkhla Lake and Khu Khut Waterfowl Park is home to about 140 species.

PATTANI. At Pattani you can find Thailand's most beautiful mosque and many fishing communities with hand painted, decorated boats.

NARATHIWAT, bordering Malaysia, is noted for the Ba Cho Waterfall, a massive seated golden Buddha at Wat Khao Kong, and the lively town of Sungai Golok.

HAT YAI is southern Thailand's principal commercial and entertainment center, regularly attracting visitors from nearby Malaysia.

PHATTHALLUNG offers the Talay Noi Nok Nam bird sanctuary at the northwestern end of the Songkhla Great Lake.

TRANG’S Khao Chong Nature Reserve contains one of southern Thailand’s most beautiful waterfalls.

KRABI'S boasts the beautiful Phi Phi islands, the 75-million-year-old Susan Hoi shell graveyard, and the sweeping Noppharat Beach.

PHANG NGA’S major attraction is the mysterious Phang Nga Bay where limestone islands full of caves and grottoes rise to heights of 300 meters from smooth calm waters.

PHUKET is Thailand's largest and most famous island; blessed with magnificent beaches, a vibrant nightlife and offers what is probably the best seafood in Thailand.