Nakhon Sawan Attractions and Travel Guide

Attractions

Bueng Boraphet Aquarium Commemorating the King’s 80th Birthday

Situated in the area of Bueng Boraphet, Thailand’s largest lake, located in Tambon Kwae Yai, Amphoe Mueang, Nakhon Sawan, the Bueng Boraphet Aquarium is fertile with abundant aquatic plantlife, and is home to rare birds and fishes.  After relaxing with the breathtaking scenery of Bueng Boraphet, as well as its ecotourism activities such as boat rowing and bird watching, visitors can enjoy the aquarium’s displays.At 37 m in width and 49 m in length, the aquarium was built in the shape of a boat, specifically a ‘Rua Krachaeng’, also called a ‘Rua Iamchun’, which were formerly used to transport goods in Chao Phraya River.  The aquarium’s interior consists of a 24-m long main tank exhibiting more than 100 kinds of freshwater tropical fishes.  Besides, there are more than 30 fish tanks exhibiting rare and beautiful fish.  Visitors, especially children, will be amazed by a close look at Archer Fish and Siamese Tiger Fish.  Other tanks display marine fish.  Moreover, the Aquarium has Leopard Sharks and Sea Urchins in the Touch Pool.The aquarium’s facilities include restaurants and souvenir shops.  It is open from 10am – 5pm weekdays, and 9.30am – 6pm weekends and public holidays.  It is closed on Wednesday.  Admission is 30 baht for adults and 20 baht for children.  For further information, contact the department of tourism promotion and development, Provincial Administration Organization, tel. 0 5627 4251-5.

Chan Sen Ancient City and Chan Sen Museum 
 
Chan Sen Ancient City and Chan Sen Museum is in Mu 2 in Tambon Chan Sen. It is believed that in the Thawarawadi period, the city was surrounded by a moat with an earth mound.  The city had a square shape but with rounded corners almost like a circle.  The moat was about 20 meters wide.  The area is now a waterlogged valley but traces of the moat can still be seen.  The city is about 800 meters long and 700 meters wide with an area of about 480,000 square meters.  As the part within the moat is higher than that outside, locals call it Khok Chan Sen. A number of artifacts have been discovered in the ancient city; earthenware items like amulets, dolls, lamps; stone items like pedestals, Buddhism wheels, and axes; metal objects like earrings made of lead or tin, spearheads, and iron; and bronze objects like Buddha images in the Man Wichai posture.  All of the objects are now kept at Chan Sen Museum in Chan Sen Temple.  It is open on weekends.  Those wishing to visit the site on weekdays can request permission from the temple.  Youth volunteers from Chan Sen School can guide you around the city and take you on a tour of the museum.  For more details, please contact tel. 66 5633 9116.

Wat Woranat Banphot

Wat Woranat Banphot (Khao Kop) is an old temple of the province on the peak of Khao Kop 185.5 meters above sea level.  There are 2 ways up; a stairway of 439 steps and an asphalt road 3 meters wide.  The peak has a replica of Lord Buddhas Footprint and a pagoda encasing the relic of Lord Buddha built when Sukhothai was the countrys capital.  The temple was praised by the Department of Religious Affairs as the best development temple of 1966.  A nearby hill is the site of some television relay stations.

Wat Krieng Krai Klang

Wat Krieng Krai Klang is at Mu 5, Tambon Kriang Krai, on the bank of Nan River.  Inside is a Sukhothai-style bronze Buddha image in the Man Wichai posture and an old hall over a hundred years old.  There is also a replica of Lord Buddhas Footprint and a mural of Lord Buddhas life.  The area in front of the temple is inhabited by many monkeys and it is where a crocodile farm can be found.

Wat Chom Khiri Nat Phrot 
 
Wat Chom Khiri Nat Phrot is on the peak of Khao Buat Nak between the foot of Dechatiwong Bridge and Chiraprawat Fort.  Legend says that when Burmese troops sacked Ayutthaya for the second time, they built this temple to show that they also hold the Buddhism faith.  The most interesting objects here are the replica of Lord Buddhas Footprint and a convocation hall that locals call Bot Thewada Sang.  There is a fair to pay homage and attach gold leaves to the footprint in November.  Boat races are held in conjunction with the fair.

Sawan Park


Sawan Park is in Nakhon Sawan Municipality beside the Asian Highway.  It was originally a large swamp with an area of 502,400 square meters called Nong Som Bun.  It was later made into a sizable public park with 2 ring roads encircling it.  The middle of the park is an island with an area of 6,400 square meters.  The park has a garden, lawn, fountain, outdoor stage, waterfall, and rose garden. 

Nakhon Sawan Provincial Cultural Building

Nakhon Sawan Provincial Cultural Building is in the Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat Institute.  This two-story building is in the contemporary Thai style and has a beautiful front porch.  It is the center of historical, archaeological and cultural information of the province.  The building has an exhibition room displaying cultural development and various archaeological sites.  It was completed in June 1992 and was opened by H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on 17 August 1992.  

Chao Pho Thepharak-Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine

Chao Pho Thepharak-Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine is in the area of Pak Nam Pho Community on the right bank of the Chao Phraya River.  The shrine is revered by locals and is the spiritual magnet of the people in the area as well as passersby using the river.  The shrine also offers the best view of the beginning of the river.

Bung Boraphet 
 
Bung Boraphet is the largest freshwater swamp in Thailand.  It has an area of around 212 square kilometers.  It covers parts of Amphoe Muang, Amphoe Tha Tako and Amphoe Chum Saeng.  In the past Bung Boraphet was called the northern sea or Chom Bung as there was an abundance of aquatic animals and plants.  According to surveys, there are still some 148 species of animals and 44 species of plants here.  Rare animals include white-eyed river-martin and tiger perch.  During November to March a large number of waterfowls migrate here.  Some parts of the swamp have been declared the Bung Boraphet Non-Hunting Area under the care of the Wildlife Conservation Division.  Bung Boraphet is also a fish breeding ground where the Department of Fisheries has set up the Bung Boraphet Fishery Development Station.Getting There: Bung Boraphet can be reached by many ways.By Boat From the Nakhon Sawan Municipal Pier Market, go north along Nan River for about 6 kilometers to the mouth of Bung Boraphet that is called Khlong Nong Duk.  Go under the train bridge into the swamp.

Wat Bang Pramung Floating Market

Wat Bang Pramung Floating Market is on the bank of Bang Pramung Canal in front of Wat Bang Pramung, about 14 kilometers from the city on the Nakhon Sawan-Krok Phra road.  Locals will paddle to the market to sell goods and agricultural produce every weekend during 07.00-16.00 hrs.  In addition, there are other services like traditional Thai massage, boat tours of Bang Pramung Canal, tours of orchid farms, and boats and water bicycles for hire.  For more information, please contact Krok Phra District Office at tel. 0-5629-1006.

Khao No-Khao Kaeo  
 
Khao No-Khao Kaeo is a limestone mountain that has Wat Khao Lo at its foot.  A stairway leads to the cave at the peak where a large Buddha image sits in front.  When King Rama V visited here via the Ping River, he stayed overnight on the mountain.  The province later built a monument to commemorate the occasion.  There are numerous monkeys at the foot of the mountain and you can see plenty of bats that live in the cave flying out to feed in the evening, making a long black line in the night sky.  Khao Kaeo nearby also has a number of bats flying out at night.

Sri Buddha Kaya Stupa

Buddhists and disciples' group of Rachapatikaram Temple, led by the deputy abbot Prathepmolee, joined in building the Sri Buddha Kaya Stupa on top of the Bodhisattva peak in Siriwatanawisut Temple of Nakhonsawan's Tha Tako district. The structure and artwork of the stupa is modeled after the Buddha Kaya Stupa in Bihar State of India. It is approximately 16 x 20 meter wide and 28 meters high, the number 28 representing Lord Buddha.

 Sri Buddha Kaya Stupa is structure in a dome shape. On the top part of the stupa lies a small bell-shape structure which is beautifully decorated with patterns made of cement. It will house a sacred Buddha relic. Its top-most part is a seven-tiered umbrella made of bronze with a lotus blossom on top, representing the enlightenment.

 There are three levels in the stupa. The lowest level houses a bronze Metta Santipap (Mercy and Peace) Buddha statue, built to commemorate His Majesty the King 80 Birthday in 2007. The statue is 89 inches wide and 4.19 meters high.
..... The second level houses the Sri Ariyametrai Srisakayasing Buddha statue, built to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's 72 Birthday. It is 109 inches wide and 4 meters high.

Wat Tham Phon Sawan 
 
Wat Tham Phon Sawan is in Tambon Lamphayon.  An asphalt road of 105 kilometers from the city leads to the temple.  It is around 10 kilometers from Tak Fa District Office on the Tak Fa-Khok Samrong road.  The temple has a modern three-story pavilion.  At the rear of the temple is Phon Sawan Cave that is divided into 2 sections.  The first section is a small room while the second section is a larger room with Buddha images and various structures like a replica waterfall with a stream in the caves center.  The cave is cool and cozy and has electricity and waterworks.

Khok Mai Den Ancient City
 
Khok Mai Den Ancient City is in Tambon Tha Nam Oi.  The city is quite expansive.  Traces of the old city wall remain and an artifact in the form of a sculpture of the elephant Phaya Chatthan was discovered here.  It is over 1,000 years old.  The word Khok Mai Den refers to a kind of tree.  People in the old days called Ban Khok Mai Den Muang Bon.  The city was founded in the Thawarawadi period around 11th-16th Buddhist centuries (457-957 AD).  The city is similar to Nakhon Pathom and is around 250 meters long and 600 meters wide.  It is very much alike the city wall of Nakhon Pathom, Muang Sema of Nakhon Ratchasima and Muang Phaya Rae of Chon Buri.

Wat Si Sawan Sangkharam

Wat Si Sawan Sangkharam (Wat Thu Nam) is at Tambon Nakhon Sawan.  It is an old temple that was used as the site for government officials to pledge allegiance to the king.  Evidence from the period remains in the form of spear blades, oars, knives and swords, a gold Buddha image in the Pathom Thetsana posture, and a silver Buddha image.  The main image in the old convocation hall is over 100 years old.  In 1976, His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen and their 2 princesses came here to open the new hall.  Now there is also the pagoda built to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of His Majesty.  Wat Si Sawan Sangkharam is regarded as an old temple with immense historical value.

The Origin of the Chao Phraya River

The Origin of the Chao Phraya River is the point where the Ping and Nan rivers converge at Tambon Pak Nam Pho in front of the dam in the city.  Here, one can clearly distinguish the difference between the two rivers.  The Nan River is reddish in color while the Ping River is somewhat green.  They flow to form the Chao Phraya River, the most important waterway of the country.  The Chao Phraya flows past several provinces before going through Bangkok and ending into the Gulf of Thailand in Samut Prakan.  It is about 370 kilometers long.  The best place to view its origin is at the Chao Pho Thepharak-Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine.

Bo Ya Cave

Bo Ya Cave is Hin Kon Village in Tambon Nong Krot, around 30 kilometers from the city on the San Nakhon Sawan-Lat Yao road.  Another 6-kilometer road leads to Wat Tham Bo Ya (Wat Thep Nimit Song Tham).  A stairway at the foot of the hill leads up to the cave.  The cave itself has 3 sections.  The first has a large main Buddha image, the second further in is a dead end with a pond called Bo Nam Thip that is believed by locals to be sacred and the third section is an exit out the other way.  Apart from the sacred pond, the cave has beautiful stalagmites and stalactites.

Mae Wong National Park 
 
Mae Wong National Park is on the Thanon Thong Chai Mountain Range.  The area consists of winding mountains and is the source of several waterways, including the Mae Wong River and some parts of Khlung Canal.  The waterways flow into the Ping River and the Chao Phraya River.
Mae Wong National Park is in Amphoe Pang Sila Thong in Kamphaeng Phet (446.4 square kilometers) and in Amphoe Mae Wong-Mae Poen in Nakhon Sawan (446.48 square kilometers), totaling 892.88 square kilometers.  The north borders Khlong Lan National Park of Kamphaeng Phet, the south borders Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Reserve of Uthai Thani, the east borders villages in Kamphaeng Phet and Nakhon Sawan, and the west borders Um Phang Wildlife Reserve in Tak.  The area was proclaimed a national park on 14 September 1987 and was the 55th national park of Thailand.  The park headquarters are at No. 65, Khlong Lan-Um Phang Road, Amphoe Pang Sila Thong, Kamphaeng Phet.

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