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City
Walls and Old Fortifications
City
Walls and Old Fortifications mark
the
boundary of the rectangular town area, measuring 300-700 metre
wide and 2,200 metre
long. |
Kamphang
Phet Historical Park
 Major
features in the Kamphang
Phet
Historical Park
include
archaeological remains of ancient sites such as Muang
Chakangrao to the east of the Ping River, Mueang
Nakhon Chum to the west and Muang
Trai
Trueng some 18 kilometres
from the town to the southwest.
Services from the Tourist Centre
are available, the centre
itself
being located some 5 kilometres
from town on the Kamphaeng
Phet-Phran
Kratai route. Chakangrao, the ancient Kamphaeng
Phet
town, had the same town planning concept as the old Sukhothai and
Si Satchanalai, with separate zones for religious
sites both within and outside of town limits. Structures are
usually large and made of laterite.
Religious
sites on the west bank of the Ping River
at
Nakhon Chum are built of bricks and of smaller size. |
Muang
Nakhon Chum
Muang
Nakhon Chum
is
an ancient town
on the west bank of the Ping River. Its 2-3 metre-high
earthen walls run along the waterway. It is in this area that the famous religious
tablets of Kamphaeng
Phet have been discovered. Within the city walls
are a couple of ancient sites such as the Kamphaeng Pom Thung Sethi
located
on
Phahonyothin Road just
before entering
the town. It
is part of the laterite
fortifications 83 metres long and 6 metres
tall. |
Muang
Trai Trueng
Another
ancient town is Muang
Trai
Trueng.
It
was built by King Chaisiri of Chiang Rai who fled invading enemy in 1542 B.E.
(circa 999). Today most of the structures are in
disrepair with only ruins of Chedis
and ramparts.
The town is about 18 kilometres from Kamphaeng Phet on the Kamphaeng Phet-Khlong
Lan road. |
Sa
Mon
Sa
Mon
is
the site of the palace located
to the north of Wat Phra Kaeo
with a square earthen wall almost touching the northern city wall. Surrounded
the walls on three sides are moats with a pond in the middle. There are no standing
structures remaining today. |
Talat
Kluai Khai
Talat Kluai Khai
is
on the Kamphaeng Phet-Nakhon
Sawan highway at Km.343. Scores of roadside stalls display and
sell both raw and ripe Kluai Khai
(a type of bananas). |
The
Kamphang Phet Chalermphrakiat Museum
The
Kamphang Phet Chalermphrakiat Museum nearby
is made up of groups of Central Region applied architectural style structures.
There are exhibitions on the local history with replicas of the city, lifestyle
and urban and hilltribal customs and traditions. It also displays the development
of Kamphaeng
Phet
votive
tablets and other resources. The museum is open
daily. For more information,
call 0-572-2341. |
The
Kamphang Phet National Museum
The
Kamphang Phet National Museum , located
on Pindamri Road in Mueang
district, houses ancient objects and other antique arts articles from various
eras found in the provincial town. These include sculptured and earthen designs,
heads of Buddha statues, traditional celadon products, sculptures of demons and
celestial and human
beings used to decorate Chedi bases or Vihans.
It
is open Wednesday-Sunday from 9.00
a.m.-4.00 p.m. More information at Tel: 0-5571-1570. |
Wat
Chang Rop
Wat
Chang Rop
is
a large temple situated on a high hill. Its main chedi of Ceylonese style is in
the middle of the yard but its top part is broken down. The base is adorned with
68 half-elephants between which are Bhoti-shaped designs. There are also traces
of demon and female dancers figures remaining. Apart
from these temples, there
are also several ancient sites on the east bank of the Ping
River, including Wat Arwat
Yai, Wat Kalothai and Phra Ruang Road. |
Wat
Phra Borom That
Wat
Phra Borom
That
is
a temple situated in the centre
of Mueang
Nakhon Chum featuring a Burmese-style Chedi. To the south is an Ubosot
housing several Sukhothai- and Ayutthaya-style
bronze Buddha statues. The
Chedi
itself is believed to originally
have been a Sukhothai-type
structure, its style having been altered during a restoration work financed by
a wealthy Burmese about a century ago. |
Wat
Phra Kaeo
Wat
Phra Kaeo
is
a large
royal temple in town centre
near a site believed to have been a palace. The temple itself was used on important
city events and had no monks in residence. Major features include the principal
Chedi with lion-adorned base and a round Chedi with elephant-adorned
base. There are also other Chedis
of different bases and remains of several chapels. Its boundary is marked off
by laterite walls. |
Wat
Phra Non
Wat
Phra Non
is
fenced in by laterite walls on four sides. At the front of the temple are a square-shaped
pond, bathrooms and an ancient floating pavilion which is supported by a large
laterite column. The entire column was cut out in one single piece from its source
and measures 1.1 meters on each side and 6.4 meters in height, the largest such
stone
in the country. A lion
sculpture
and
Sema stones
(boundary stones) can
still be discerned. The large Vihan
which once housed the Reclining Buddha has crumbled entirely. |
Wat
Phra Si Iriyabot
Wat Phra Si Iriyabot
is
located to the north of Wat Phra Non and have similar pond and bathroom facilities
as its neighbour.
Walls on the four sides are of laterite materials with an
entrance also made of laterite.
A Mondop structure houses Buddha statues in four postures-walking, sitting, standing
and reclining in the Sukhothai artistic style. Today only the statue in the standing
posture still remains. |
Wat
Phra Sing
Wat
Phra Sing
is
believed to have been constructed during both the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya periods.
With laterite walls, it
has a square-shaped principal Chedi
with arches on four sides. In front of the Ubosot are ornamental lion and Naga
figurines. |
Wat
Phra That
Second
in size to Wat Phra Kaeo is Wat Phra That
. Here
the principal Chedi
is built of mixture of laterite
and bricks with a 15-metre
wide square base. The style is of Kamphaeng
Phet
architecture. |
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