Khon Kaen Attractions

Amphoe Chonnabot
Chonnabot Mat Mi silk
Chonnabot Mat Mi silk is the main product of the people of this district. Tourists can buy beautiful, quality silk in the town and see an exhibition on silk production, patterns and old fabrics at Sala Mai Thai, which is the centre for studying, developing and preserving silk products. To get there, take Highway No. 2 (Khon Kaen-Nakhon Ratchasima) for 54 kilometres to Ban Phai and take a right-hand road for 10 kilometres.

Amphoe Chum Phae
Non Muang archaeological site
Non Muang archaeological site is where a city from the Dvaravati period was situated. It is at Ban Na Pho, 80 kilometres from Khon Kaen. Before getting to Chum Phae, there is a road on the left. Take that road and drive for 5 kilometres. The site is an egg-shaped earth mound with an area of 170 acres. Two city moats have been found, as well as sandstone heart-shaped temple markers and pieces of earthenware pottery with red designs like scratches and ropes. In addition, human skeletons were found buried with tools, which was according to ancient beliefs.

Tham Pha Phuang Forest Park
Tham Pha Phuang Forest Park is in Ban Dong Lan, Tambon Pha Nok Khao, 123 kilometres from Khon Kaen on the Khon Kaen-Chum Phae road by Highway No. 12 and 201. A 4-kilometre road on the right then takes you to the park. Tham Pha Phuang is a huge limestone cave. Inside is a large chimney-shaped rock and lovely stalagmites and stalactites.

Amphoe Mancha Khiri
Tao (turtle) village
Tao (turtle) village is at Ban Kok, about 2 kilometres from the district office on Highway No. 2062 (Mancha Khiri-Phra Yuen). The entrance to the village is easily noticeable from the 2 replica turtles there. The village is a unique mix of people and turtles that have lived together in harmony for generations. The locals call the land turtle found here ’Tao Pek’ and each is about 1 foot long. It has a yellow and brown shell and likes to live in damp and cold places. It feeds in the morning and at night. Legend says that these turtles are the servants of holy spirits. Thus, no one will harm the turtles in this village.

Amphoe Muang
Bung Kaen Nakhon
Bung Kaen Nakhon has a large area of around 600 acres. It is the rest and exercise spot of city people. It is at its most beautiful at sunset. A road circling the lake is lined with numerous restaurants. The northern end of the lake is the Chao Phia Mueang Phaen monument that was built to honour Khon Kaen’s founder.

Hong Mun Mang Muang Khon Kaen
Hong Mun Mang Muang Khon Kaen, Kaen Nakorn Lake, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province.

Hong: means a tower for keeping treasures, Hong Mun Mang Muang, Khon Kaen, is a tower where accumulated historical articles of Khon Kaen are preserved. It is a museum which reflects the way of life of Khon Kaen people from the past to the present.

This museum was established in order to link each community in Khon Kaen province and to make people feel pride in their community. It is also a center of study and research on the history of Khon Kaen. There are 5 zones:

Zone 1 : Introduction to Khon Kaen province
Zone 2 : History and Culture of Khon Kaen
Zone 3 : The founding of the city
Zone 4 : Towns and lifestyles of Khon Kaen people
Zone 5 : Khon Kaen Today.

The museum is open daily, except Mondays, from 12.00 a.m. - 20.00 p.m. Entrance fee : adult 20 baht children 10 baht foreigner 90 baht For more information please contact The Town Council Office of Khon Kaen, Prachasamran Road, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, Tel.0 4327 1173,04322 4032 during office hours.

Khon Kaen National Museum
Khon Kaen National Museum is on Lang Sun Ratchakan Road. It has on display exhibits on ancient civilisations and artefacts found in the Northeast, including the prehistoric civilisation of Ban Chiang, human skeletons, tools, earthenware pottery, heart-shaped stone temple markers, bas relief of the Dvaravati period from Fa Daet Song Yang in Kalasin, Khmer or Lop Buri period art objects found in the Northeast and the Central Region such god figures and earthenware pottery, and sandstone lintels. It is open daily except holidays from 09.00-16.00 hrs

Amphoe Nam Phong
Ban Khok Sanga king cobras
Ban Khok Sanga king cobras are at Tambon Sai Mun, 33 kilometres on the Khon Kaen-Udon Thani road and left onto Road No. 2039 (Nam Phong-Kranuan) for 14 kilometres. A 2-kilometre road leads into the village. The villagers here traditionally catch cobras for a living and put on occasional cobra shows to supplement their income. There is now a king cobra breeding house at Wat Si Thamma in the village. Visitors can view these reptiles and see an exhibition on them. In addition, there are local herbs for sale. Interested parties can contact the King Cobra Club of Thailand, 96 Mu 6, Ban Khok Sanga, Tambon Sai Mun, Nam Phong, Khon Kaen. Villagers here established the club.

Phra That Kham Kaen
Phra That Kham Kaen is in Wat Chetiyaphum, Tambon Ban Kham. It can be reached by driving for 16 kilometres on Highway No. 209 (Khon Kaen-Kalasin road) and going left for 14 more kilometres. This is Khon Kaen’s main historical site. Legend has it that a dead tamarind stump miraculously grew branches and leaves again after a procession bearing the holy relics of Lord Buddha walked past. A pagoda was then built the area, and the name of the province was actually derived from this sacred place.

Amphoe Nong Ruea
Nam Phong National Park
Nam Phong National Park covers several districts in Khon Kaen and Chaiyaphum. The park headquarters is beside Ubolratana reservoir. To get to the park, take the Khon Kaen-Chumphae road to Km. 30 and turn right for 19 kilometres, totalling 49 kilometres. It is the watershed of the Chi and Phong rivers. The topography is mountainous and covered with hard timber and dry virgin forests. Numerous barking deer inhabit the park. Vantage points give great views of the reservoir. There is a natural rock pool that is shaped like a volcano cone.

Amphoe Phu Pha Man
Pha Nok Khao
Pha Nok Khao is a high mountain on the bank of the Phong river, 125 kilometres from Khon Kaen city on Highway No. 2 and 201 (Khon Kaen-Wang Saphung). Visitors can easily see its resemblance to a bird if they view it from the wood sprout cultivation centre across the road. The mountain has a head, a crest, a beak, and two wings spread out.

Phu Pha Man National Park
Phu Pha Man National Park has an approximate area of 350 square kilometres. It covers a verdant forest area in Khon Kaen and Loei. Tourist spots in the park are scattered throughout and can be separated into 2 groups. The first group is in the southern part, comprising a mountain with a 90-degree cliff stretching out like a curtain. Caves large and small dot the cliff. In the evening flocks of bats fly out to hunt, forming a continuous line not unlike smoke from a mountain. There are also 2 nice waterfalls, which are Tat Yai and Tat Fa. The second group is in the north adjacent to Amphoe Phu Kradung. Tat Rong waterfall is the highlight here and there are also caves with stalagmites and stalactites. Phaya Nakharat and Lai Thaeng caves of prehistoric paintings.

To get to the park, take the Khon Kaen-Chum Phae-Wang Saphung route for 100 kilometres. Then take another road for 12 kilometres. The park headquarters is at Pha Nok Khao that is just past the Phu Pha Man district office on Road No. 201.

Amphoe Phu Wiang
Phu Wiang National Park
Phu Wiang National Park has an area of 325 square kilometres. Shaped like a smokestack, the middle part is a plain surrounded by mountains. A hard timber forest is around the plain while a dry virgin forest is on a plateau. The park can be reached by taking Highway No. 12 (Khon Kaen-Chum Phae) for 48 kilometres, then turn right on Road No. 2038 and drive for 38 kilometres to the park headquarters.

Phu Wiang is where geologists looking for uranium first discovered dinosaur fossils in Thailand. Many more locations were later found in the park. Fossils of both large herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs have been unearthed here. Furthermore, dinosaur footprints are evident at Lat Pa Chat rock plateau, comprising over 50 prints of many kinds of small predator dinosaurs in the rock formation. These prints are around 140 million years old.

Amphoe Pueai Noi
Prasat Pueai Noi
Prasat Pueai Noi is the largest Khmer sanctuary in the upper Northeast. The compound comprises 3 brick buildings built on the same laterite base. All face to the east. Each pagoda has a sandstone lintel with designs. Each pagoda has a smaller chapel and a lintel with clear, lovely designs. A laterite wall surrounds the compound and there is a pool just beyond it. From Khon Kaen, take Highway No. 2 for 44 kilometres to Ban Phai, then take Highway No. 23 for 11 kilometres to Borabu district, then take a right-hand road for 24 kilometres to Ku Pueai Noi.

Amphoe Uboiratana
Ubolratana dam
Ubolratana dam is the largest multi-purpose dam in the Northeast. To get there, take Highway No. 2 (Khon Kaen-Udon Thani) for 26 kilometres, turn left and drive for 24 kilometres. The dams is across the Phong river at the pass connecting Phu Kao and Phu Phan mountains. The view at the dam is magnificent. Tourists regularly frequent the area to look at the lake and sample local delicacies, including the famous grilled fish famous here.