Khon Kaen Attractions

Prasat Pueai Noi - is the largest Khmer sanctuary in the upper Northeast. The compound comprises 3 brick buildings built on the same laterite base. All face to the east. Each pagoda has a sandstone lintel with designs. Each pagoda has a smaller chapel and a lintel with clear, lovely designs. A laterite wall surrounds the compound and there is a pool just beyond it. From Khon Kaen, take Highway No. 2 for 44 kilometres to Ban Phai, then take Highway No. 23 for 11 kilometres to Borabu district, then take a right-hand road for 24 kilometres to Ku Pueai Noi.

Buffalo Conservation Village - Supported by the provincial livestock offices, villagers have kept lots of water buffaloes until the village was honoured as the centre to conserve and develop Thai water buffalo. For more information, call Nawa Subdistrict Administration Organisation at Tel. 0 4321 1466.



Phu Pha Man National Park - The obvious natural landmark of this park is the towering limestone cliff that looks like a huge curtain. Lush jungle and mixed forest keep this place cool almost all the year round. Acquiring a total area of 218,750 rai, the park covers areas in Amphoe Phu Pha Man and Amphoe Chum Phae of Khon Kaen as well as Amphoe Phu Kradueng of Loei.

Attractions in this national park include:

Tham KlangKhao The cave is in Phu Pha Man Mountain, 2.5 kilometres from Amphoe Phu Pha Man. The caves entrance is some 100 metres above ground level. Inside is the habitat of millions of bats, whose accumulated droppings cause a strong smell.

Every evening, around 6 pm., these bats always leave the cave in line, over ten kilometres long. It takes some 30-45 minutes until the last bat leaves the cave.



Phrathat Kham Kaen - Located in Wat Chetiyaphum, the Phrathat is believed to be the origin of Khon Kaen city since ancient times. Phrathat Kham Kaen can be date the 20th century A.D. According to the legend, a back to king who ruled Mori town in the Khmer kingdom assigned 9 senior monks to bring relics of the Lord Buddha to be placed in Phrathat Phanom. On the way, the caravan spent a night here, setting a camp by the heartwood of a dead tamarind tree. The caravan reached Nakhon Phanom on the next day just to learn that Phrathat Phanom had already been completed, so they returned on the same route with a wish to place the relics at their hometown instead. On the way back, they were surprised to find the dead tamarind tree buddingly lush. Therefore, they decided to build a Phrathat here and placed the relics and Buddha images inside, naming Phrathat Kham Kaen which means the stupa of tamarind heartwood.

Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon or The 9-storey stupa - Located in Wat Nong Waeng, a royal temple on Klang Mueang Road, the Phra Mahathat houses relics of the Lord Buddha and important Buddhist scriptures. Doors and windows of the 9 storeys of the stupa are beautifully carved, featuring the life and former reincarnations of the Lord Buddha, 16 classes of visible deities in the Brahmas world, and Buddhist rites. Murals within the stupa feature history of the town. The top floor, on the 9th storey, houses relics of the Lord Buddha. Visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the town from there.

Tham Pha Phuang Forest Park - is in Ban Dong Lan, Tambon Pha Nok Khao, 123 kilometres from Khon Kaen on the Khon Kaen-Chum Phae road by Highway No. 12 and 201. A 4-kilometre road on the right then takes you to the park. Tham Pha Phuang is a huge limestone cave. Inside, is a large chimney-shaped rock and lovely stalagmites and stalactites.

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