Phra That Phu Phek (พระธาตุภูเพ็ก), about 22 kilometers west (32 kilometers by road) of Sakon Nakhon city, crowns a mountain about 520 meters above sea level. There’s a simple, modern Buddhist temple near the ruins, so you can drive most of the way […]
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Ku Kaew (กู่แก้ว) is a far cry from Prasat Puay Noi, Khon Kaen’s best preserved Khmer ruin, but there’s still enough standing to make a visit interesting. It was built in the early 13th century by King Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219) as a […]
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There’s no structure remaining from Prasat Phra Yuen (ปราสาทพระยืน), which is just called prang ku (ปรางค์กู่) by locals, but a pair of shrines have been made from the remnants. The main shrine is a small modern building with four old Buddhas. Legend says […]
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All that’s left of Ku Ban Non Ku (กู่บ้านโนนกู่) are some laterite blocks that have been piled up to make an 8×16-meter platform for a four-meter tall Buddha image built in 1995. The only estimate for an age is late-10th to early-13th century, […]
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The only Khmer ruin in Phitsanulok province, Prang Wat Chulamani (ปรางค์วัดจุฬามณี) is part of its large namesake temple. It’s six kilometers southwest of the modern city center near the Nan River and this was probably the city’s original location. It’s not worth making […]
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Ku Buamat (กู่บัวมาศ) is in pretty bad condition overall, with no complete structures remaining, but there’s enough left to give an overall idea of how it used to be. And, surrounded by rice fields, it’s a peaceful place. Possibly built in the 11th […]
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The few laterite blocks from Ku Mithila (กู่มิถิลา) that remain, with the addition of some new laterite, have been used to construct a small modern shrine. At its core is an old (though after the Khmer era) Buddha statue in subduing Mara posture […]
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The monks of Wat Khok Ku have transformed what little remains of the original Ku Sampan Ka (กู่สัมพันธ์ค่า) Khmer temple into a small sacred area. They dug a square-shaped pit into the ground, lined it with the few dozen remaining laterite blocks that […]
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Ku Ban Daeng (กู่บ้านแดง) is a small Mahayana Buddhist temple that appears to be from the reign of Jayavarman VII (r. 1182-1219) in the early 13th century. The only structure remaining is the central sanctuary, which has three laterite towers on a single […]
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The laterite enclosure around Ku Sunthararam (กู่สุนทราราม) is nearly complete, which isn’t often the case in Thailand, but that’s the only Khmer era structure visible here. Concrete fills in some gaps in the wall, but it has aged so much that it’s not […]
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Ku Phanna (กู่พันนา), about an hour northwest of Sakon Nakhon city, is the northernmost Khmer ruin; beating Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat by about 1/100th of a degree latitude . It’s one of the many arogayasala (hospital) temples built across the empire by […]
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All that remains visible of Ku Bueng Jiew (กู่บึงจิว) is a single carved sandstone pedestal with two holes in it. Locals believe this stone now covers a naga hole. The large Buddha that’s inside the sala in front of the naga hole was built […]
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This page has links to all my posts about Khmer-era historical sites in Thailand, from the grand, inspiring monuments of Phimai and Phnom Rung to various small piles of rubble. Besides temple ruins, there are also some sandstone quarries, piers, and rock carvings. […]
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Prasat Ban Phluang (ปราสาทบ้านพลวง) is not one of Thailand’s well-known Khmer ruins, but it’s a great place to visit for people interested in ancient art. It was built in the second half of the 11th century in Baphuon-style during the reign of Udayadityavarman […]
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