Must-see attractions in Northeastern Thailand

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Kuti Rusi

    Nakhon Ratchasima Province

    This minor ruin was the temple for a health centre built in the early 13th century by Jayavarman VII. It's aligned generally to the east, typical of Khmer…

  • 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…

  • That Khang Khao Noi

    Northeastern Thailand

    A rather sinister myth surrounds this ‘Small Sticky-Rice Basket Stupa’, a brick-and-stucco chedi dating from the late Ayuthaya period, 5km outside town…

  • Ban Si Than

    Northeastern Thailand

    Residents of Ban Si Than can’t leave their work behind when they sleep: this is a pillow-making village. All around the village (and most others…

  • 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…

  • Udon Sunshine Orchid Farm

    Udon Thani

    The Udon Sunshine Orchid Farm, just northwest of town, earned fame for producing the first orchid-based perfume. It has since developed a hybrid of…

  • 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…

  • Prasat Wat Sa Kamphaeng Yai

    Northeastern Thailand

    Thirty kilometres west of Si Saket via Rte 226 in Amphoe Uthumphon Phisai, Prasat Wat Sa Kamphaeng Yai, built as a shrine to Shiva, features four 11th…

  • 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…

  • Wat Nong Pa Phong

    Ubon Ratchathani

    Peaceful Wat Nong Pa Phong, founded by the venerable Ajahn Chah, who was born here, is known across Thailand for its quiet discipline and the complete…

  • Wat Ahong Silawat

    Northeastern Thailand

    Wat Ahong Silawat, 20km west of the capital along Rte 212, is built amid ruddy boulders at a river bend known as Sàdeu Námkong (the Mekong River’s Navel)…

  • 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 Thung Sadao

    Northeastern Thailand

    That Khang Khao Noi, the ‘Small Sticky-Rice Basket Stupa’, is one of the best-known icons of Yasothon. The famous stupa southeast of town on the Ubon…

  • 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…

  • Dinosaur Excavation Sites

    Khon Kaen Province

    Enclosed excavation sites, including one with a partial skeleton of Siamotyrannus isanensis, an early ancestor of Tyrannosaurus rex, can be reached on…

  • Ho Chi Minh Historical Site

    Udon Thani

    During 1928 and 1929, Ho Chi Minh used the jungle around Nong Hang village as one of his bases to train soldiers and rally Isan's sizeable Vietnamese…

  • 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…

  • Phra That Klang Nam

    Nong Khai

    The ‘Stupa in the Middle of the River’ (sometimes called Phra That Nong Khai) is a ruined Lao-style chedi submerged in the middle of the river and can…

  • 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…

  • Bo Eka

    Nakhon Ratchasima Province

    Right in the centre of the main moat, this is the most significant of Muang Sema's ruins, after Wat Dhammachakra Semaram. Labelled as Monument 1 on the…

  • 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…

  • Wat Maha Wanaram

    Ubon Ratchathani

    Also known as Wat Pa Yai, the 'Large Forest Temple' (from long ago when Ubon was just a small town and this area lay beyond the city limits), this is one…

  • Wat Dhammachakra Semaram

    Nakhon Ratchasima Province

    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…

  • Bueng Phalan Chai

    Northeastern Thailand

    Tree-shaded, nicely landscaped and criss-crossed by pathways, this island park and its pretty lake are the focal point of Roi Et and attract picnickers,…

  • Prasat Puay Noi

    Khon Kaen Province

    The 12th-century Prasat Puay Noi is the largest and most interesting Khmer ruin in northern Isan. About the size of Buriram’s Prasat Meuang Tam but far…

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