City Attractions

Pratu Chum Phon is behind the monument. It is an old city gate built during the reign of King Narai the Great in 1656. The king commanded that a strong city wall be built. Engineers from France, then an ally of the country, designed the city plan. Nakhon Ratchasima at that time was an outpost in the shape of a rectangle of 1,000 x 1,700 metres. The western Chum Phon Gate is the only 1 of 4 city gates that still stands. The other three gates have been rebuilt. Chum Phon Gate is built of large stones and bricks and covered with plaster. The top is a watchtower made of wood with a tiled roof and decorated in the Thai style.

Thao Suranari Monument is a memorial to the Thai heroine called ‘Ya Mo’ by locals. Built in 1933, it is located in the city centre. People from other provinces who visit Khorat and locals usually come to pay homage here and ask for blessings. The statue is made of black copper. It is 1.85 metres high and is dressed in regalia in a standing posture. The right hand holds a sword and the statue faces west towards the capital of Bangkok. The monument base holds her ashes.

Thao Suranari was originally Khunying Mo, the wife of the assistant governor of Nakhon Ratchasima. In 1826, Chao Anuwong of Vientiane had Khorat under siege but Khunying Mo rallied villagers to fight againt Chao Anuwong. After the battle was over, King Rama III promoted her to Thao Suranari. Every year during 23 March to 3 April, the people would hold a festival to honour her bravery.

City Pillar is at the corner of Chom Phon and Prachak roads. This Chinese-style shrine houses the city pillar that is worshipped by Thais and Chinese. Built in the reign of King Narai the Great during 1656-1688, both the shrine and city pillar were made of wood. The inner eastern wall is covered with fired clay tiles with raised designs of the battle of Thao Suranari and the way of life of Thais in ancient times.

Chang Phuak Shrine is a small shrine on the northern part of the city moat, at the corner of Manat and Phon Saen Roads. It houses a Takhian Hin tree stump that was the site where the people of Phu Khiao tied elephants for inspectors to look at before presenting them to King Rama I for his transport.

Rajabhat Nakhon Ratchasima Arts and Cultural Centre is on Suranarai Road. Upon entering Rajabhat Institute, turn left at the sign to a two-story wooden house and Khorat House where information is collected and kept. Also displayed are tools and artefacts that are used to study the way of life of Khorat and northeastern people of the past. The centre is divided into sections, such as Khorat city, ancient documents, local occupation, Isan fabrics, Khorat goods, music, and Khorat people. It is open on weekdays during public hours. For information, call 0 -4424-6341 ext. 1216 and fax 0-4424-4739.

Maha Wirawong National Museum is in Wat Sutthachinda opposite the provincial hall. It displays items that Somdet Phra Maha Wirawong, the ex-abbot of Wat Sutthachinda, collected, as well as artefacts that the Fine Arts Department found in Nakhon Ratchasima and nearby provinces and donations. Most items are Buddha images, including stone images of the Khmer period, images from the Ayutthaya period, bronze images, earthenware, ancient utensils, and woodcarving. The museum is open during 9 a.m.-4 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday. It is closed on public holidays. The entry fee is 10 baht. For information, call tel. 0- 4424-2958.

Wat Sala Loi is to the northeast of the city, 500 metres from Rop Mueang Road. Thao Suranari and her husband built the temple in 1827. The highlight is the convocation hall that was awarded the prize as the best avant-garde religious building from the Siam Architects Society in 1973. The hall is in an applied Thai style in the shape of a junk riding the waves. Local Dan Kwian clay tiles were used to decorate the building to tell the life of Lord Buddha. The door is made of metal with raised designs of the Buddhist tale. The hall houses a large standing white Buddha image. In front of the door is a plaster sculpture of Thao Suranari sitting praying in the middle of a pond. Beside the building is a small pagoda that formerly housed the ashes of Thao Suranari. A glass wall in the shape of heart-shaped temple boundary markers surrounds the hall.

Wat Sala Thong is in Tambon Hua Thale, about 1 kilometre southeast of the city. This is temple of the Dhamayuti sect. The area around the temple was originally a dense forest where a large sitting stone Buddha image in the Pa Lelai posture was located out in the open. A convocation hall was later built to cover it. The temple has a large pagoda that was built over a smaller one containing the holy relics of Lord Buddha that were taken from Myanmar’s Chiang Tung.

Wat Pa Salawan is in the city behind the train station. The temple houses the ashes of the most revered Buddhist monks, Achan Sao and Achan Man, as well as those of Achan Sing, the ex-abbot of the temple who built it.

Miss Bun Luea Memorial is in Bun Luea Witthayanuson School in Tambon Khok Sung, 12.5 kilometres from the city on the Nakhon Ratchasima-Chaiyaphum road on the left. It was opened on 6 July 1986. The monument is made of bronze and is 175 centimetres high. It was built to honor the heroism of Miss Bun Luea and Nakhon Ratchasima people who gave their lives fighting Chao Anuwong in 1826 at Thung Samrit by tossing lighted coal bundles into a wagon carrying gunpowder of the Lao army and totally destroying it. The explosion killed Miss Bunlua.

Prasat Phanom Wan is in Ban Makha, Tambon Pho, around 15 kilometres from the city on the Nakhon Ratchasima-Khon Kaen Road. A sign on the right shows the way on a road 5 kilometres more. This is an interesting Khmer sanctuary. It is believed that it was built in the 10th century. Later during the 13th-14th centuries, a stone building was built over it. From inscriptions found at the site, it is known that the sanctuary was used in the Hindu religion and later became a Buddhist site. Although most of it is in ruins, there is a clear form present, like the square main pagoda facing east and a tiered pagoda in front, as well as a path linking the two structures.

To the southwest is a building of red sandstone called “Prang Noi.” Inside is a large stone Buddha image. A roofed sandstone walkway and a laterite wall go around the sanctuary. A Gopura (a sanctuary doorway or porch) in the form of a tall tower is situated in all 4 directions. Around 230 metres east of the sanctuary are traces of a moat and an earth hill that was the site of another Khmer building called “Noen Oraphim.”

Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo is 18 kilometres south of the city on Highway No. 304 (Nakhon Ratchasima-Pak Thong Chai), then take a left onto Highway No. 2310 for approximately 1 kilometre. If travelling by bus from the city, use air-conditioned bus No. 1415.

The zoo has an area of 545 rai (218 acres) and is one of the most modern in Asia. The enclosures are large and the zoo has landscaped each section so it matches the habit of each animal. Most of the animals here are from Africa. Of note are penguins, seals, African elephants, rhinoceros, cheetahs, lions, zebras, and giraffes. There is also a reptile building and a hornbill garden. The zoo is ideal for biology study and relaxation. The area is decorated with lovely flowers. A trailer takes visitors around the zoo, and there are bicycles for rent. The zoo is open daily during 8 a.m.-6 p.m. The fee is 10 baht for children, 30 baht for adults, and 30 baht for four-wheel cars. For information, call 0 4435 7355, 0 4421 6251-3 or visit www.zoothailand.org.

Petrified Wood Park at Ban Krok Duean Ha, Tambon Suranari. Take Highway No. 304 (Nakhon Ratchasima-Pak Thong Chai) for 19 kilometres, turn right into Suranari University of Technology (second gate) and drive for 3 kilometres, turn left onto the Mittraphap-Nong Pling city bypass and drive for 2 kilometres to Wat Krok Duean Ha. The area has a collection of over 10,000 petrified wood pieces. Petrified wood was unearthed here just beneath the surface to 8 metres underground.

The wood is of various sizes from pebbles to rocks with a diametre of over 50 centimetres and some pieces are more than 1 metre long. The wood comes in many colours in the same stone and in different ones. They are aged between 1 to 70 million years old. Provincial authorities plan to make this area a petrified wood park and the first museum of its kind in Asia to conserve these prehistoric treasures for future generations to study.

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