Si Sa
Kes is 571 kilometres from Bangkok. This is another
province in the lower Northeast that received Khmer
influence. Several interesting Khmer historical sites
are in the province.
Si Sa Ket has an area of 8,840 square kilometres,
comprising the following districts: Mueang Si Sa
Ket, Kanthararom, Kantharalak, Khun Han, Phrai Bung,
Khukhan, Prang Ku, Uthumphon Phisai, Rasi Salai, Yang
Chum Noi, Huai Thap Than, Non Khun, Si Rattana, Wang
Hin, Bueng Bun, Nam Kliang, Phu Sing, Benchalak, Mueang
Chan, Pho Si Suwan
and Sila Lat.
City
PillarShrine
The
city pillar shrine is near the provincial hall. This
square structure is decorated with marble and
stained glass.
Si Sa Ket Zoo
This
zoo is in Rama IX Chaloem Phra Kiat Forest Park in
Non Nong Kwang, 4 kilometres from the provincial
hall. It is a good place to relax and to see wild
animals in the zoo.
Somdet Phra Si Nakharin Park
This
is a large public park inside an agricultural
college 2 kilometres from the provincial hall. At
the park one can see flowering shrubs called Lamduan
that are the official plants of the province.
Lamduan is a Thai flower that is at its most
enchanting when it blooms from March to April as its
sweet fragrance covers the whole area.
Wat Phra That Rueang Rong
This
temple is 8 kilometres away on the Si Sa Ket-Yang
Chum Noi road. The site has a traditional design.
The area is used for religious ceremonies and as a
museum to display the life of Isan tribes such as
Lao, Khmer, Suai, and Yoe.
Kantharalak
Khao Phra
Wihan National Park
This park covers an area along the Thai-Cambodian
border. Tourist attractions in the park include
viewpoints on a cliff and a khmer bas-relief.
The park is at the end of Highway No. 221, 36
kilometres south of the district office and 98
kilometres from Si Sa Ket town.
Pha Mo I Daeng, a major attraction of the park, is
a wide rock plateau on a high cliff on the
Thai-Cambodian border. This is a good spot to
view the Phanom Dong Rak range and Khao Preah
Vihear sanctuary 1 kilometre away in Cambodia. A
chapel here houses the Nak Prok Buddha image and
the oldest Khmer-style bas-relief in Thailand
from the 15th Buddhist century.
Namtok Phu La-O
This is a medium-sized waterfall at its loveliest
in the rainy season. It is on the Ban
Phumisaron-Ban Samrong Kiat road. A
2.5-kilometre road on the left then leads to the
waterfall. One can find interesting flora along
the way which makes for fine nature study.
Prang Chong Don Tuan
This is on a steep cliff in the Phanom Dong Rak
mountain range near the Thai-Cambodian border, 8
kilometres from Ban Phumisaron or 38 kilometres
from the district office. This small Khmer site
has a square pagoda built of brick, a doorway of
stone and a lion guarding the entrance.
Prasat Khao Phra Wihan
Prasat Khao Phra Wihan or the Preah Vihear
Sanctuary is a grand historical site and the
centre of a Khmer community on the highlands of
Cambodia. The site was built during the
16th-17th Buddhist century and is more than 600
metres above level ground. Though physically in
Cambodia, the sanctuary is easier to reach from
the Thai side. From Pha Mo I Daeng, there is a
2-kilometre footpath with historical sites lined
all the way to the mountaintop. The sanctuary
offers a spectacular view of the Cambodian
lowlands.
Khun
Han
Namtok Huai Chan
This is 24 kilometres from the district office on
the Kanthrom-Ban Samrong Kiat road. The fall
drops down several rock levels and has water the
year round.
Namtok Samrong Kiat
Located 20 kilometres from the district office,
this medium-sized waterfall originates from a
stream in the Banthat mountain range. Above the
fall is a rock plateau. It is at its most
beautiful in the rainy season.
Prasat Tamnak Sai
Prasat Tamnak Sai is 19 kilometres from the
district office on the way to Samrong Kiat
waterfall. This site is a single square pagoda
made of brick while the lintel and the doorway
are made of sandstone. A Narai Banthom Sin
lintel was discovered here. Two stone Singha
(lions) guard the entrance.
Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaeo
Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaeo or Wat Lan Khuat is about
70 kilometres from Amphoe Mueang. The temple is
wonderfully decorated with numerous colored
bottles.
Prang
Ku
Prasat Ban
Samo
Prasat Ban Samo is 10 kilometres southeast of
Prang Ku. A laterite wall surrounds this small
Khmer site. The square pagoda has a lintel above
a fake doorway facing the south. An ancient pool
lies beyond the wall.
Prasat Prang Ku
Prasat Prang Ku is 10 kilometres from the district
office. Prang Ku is a small Khmer site built of
large laterite slabs. It is over a thousand
years old. The front part has a large pool that
is the habitat of waterfowls in the dry season.
Prasat Ta Leng
Prasat Ta Leng is at Ban Prasat, Tambon
Kanthrarom, 20 kilometres from the district
office. A square pagoda adorns the site. The
front doorway still has clear, beautiful
designs. The sanctuary was built around the
16th-17th Buddhist century.
Uthumphon Phisai
Prasat Wat
Sa Kamphaeng Noi
This khmer sanctuary is at Ban Klang, 14
kilometres from the district office on the road
to Si Sa Ket. The site consists of a pagoda, a
building made of laterite and a pool. Built in
the 16th Buddhist century as a religious place,
it received extensions in the 18th Buddhist
century to also become a community medical
centre.
Prasat Wat Sa Kamphaeng Yai
This is at Ban Kamphaeng, 22 kilometres from
Amphoe Mueang and 2 kilometres before Uthumphon
Phisai district office. This large Khmer
sanctuary has 3 pagodas on the same base. The
main pagoda is the middle one built of sandstone
and bricks. Its beautiful shape is still intact.
Lintels, Buddha images, fired clay Buddha image
prints, and bronze artwork have been found here.
This sanctuary was built in the 16th Buddhist
century as an offering to the god Shiva. It was
later transformed into a Buddhist temple in the
Mahayana sect in the 18th Buddhist century.
Huai Thap than
Prasat Ban
Prasat
This is 39 kilometres from Si Sa Ket town and 7
kilometres on a road on the right. This Khmer
structure was renovated after it was finished.
The site comprises 3 square pagodas with a
pointed top and all on the same laterite base.
All were built in the 16th Buddhist century.