Phimai Historical Park, Nakhon Ratchasima
One of the largest Khmer temples in Thailand, and a probable model for Angkor Wat.
Phimai Historical Park, Nakhon Ratchasima
Phimai stands at the end of the ancient Khmer road from Angkor, about sixty kilometres north-east of Nakhon Ratchasima, and is the largest Khmer sanctuary in Thailand. It was built in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries - before Angkor Wat - and its plan and proportions are close enough that it is generally treated as a precursor rather than a copy.
The complex is enclosed by a rectangular wall with four gopura gates, and a raised causeway with naga balustrades leads to the central sanctuary: a white sandstone tower with a curved profile, carved lintels and pediments showing scenes from the Ramayana and from Mahayana Buddhist iconography. Unusually for a Khmer temple, Phimai was Buddhist from the outset and faces south-east, towards Angkor.
A national museum in the town holds sculpture and lintels recovered from the site and from the region.
- The Thao Suranari Monument, Korat — The bronze statue of Ya Mo at the old city gate - the most venerated figure in Nakhon Ratchasima.
- Wat Ban Rai, Nakhon Ratchasima — A temple built as a giant naga standing in a lake, its surface covered in millions of ceramic tiles.
- Dan Kwian Pottery Village, Korat — A village that has worked the same iron-rich clay for centuries, producing rust-brown unglazed pottery.
