7 Attractions to Explore Near Phu Phan National Park

Phra That Phu Pek is an ancient temple in Sakon Nakhon Province, in the Isan region of Thailand. This ancient Khmer ruin was built from sandstone, standing on a laterite base. This is a Buddhist temple ruin of Khmer origin in the form of a chedi, it was built in the 16th-17th Buddhist century. The ruin is special as it houses a solar calendar, a cube-shaped rock, in its stupa. The ancients used it for indicating the position of the sun, important for religious rites and agricultural seasons.

The Nong Han is a lake in the northeast of Thailand, northeast of the provincial capital town of Sakon Nakhon. The lake covers an area of 125.2 km² and is the largest natural lake in northeast Thailand. The main river feeding the lake is the Nam Pung, which originates in the Phu Phan Mountains south of the lake. The outflow of the lake is the Huai Nam Khan to the southeast, which flows into the Mekong. The average depth of the lake is 2–10 meters.

The Sirindhorn Museum is a dinosaur museum and has three main parts: the dinosaur fossil site museum, the fossil storage and research building, and the permanent museum building. There are many dinosaur fossil exhibits here and the facility is located at the bottom of Phu Kum Khao Mountain and has one of the largest concentrations of dinosaur fossils in Thailand. The site museum is the in situ fossil site covered with a permanent building which includes a small exhibition area and a small meetin

One of the most highly revered temples of North-East Thailand. The temple named Wat Phra That Phanom, with its beautiful chedi being the most recognizable landmark of the area, that is not much visited by foreign tourists. The chedi named That Phanom with its very elegant shape is painted in white and decorated with gold ornaments. The top of the chedi contains 110 kilos of gold. The base of the chedi is decorated with reliefs showing scenes from Brahman mythology.

Wat Songkhon Morana Sakkhee, the place to worship Virgin Mary, is located in Ban Songkhon,Mukdahan province, and is the most beautiful and largest Roman Catholic chapel in Southeast Asia, built with a modern architecture. The place has been awarded in 1996, on its outstanding architecture by Association of Siamese Architects Under the Royal Patronage. There were seven wax figures of the seven martyrs who dedicated their lives in the spiritual forest to prove their faith in God.

Third Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge is a bridge that connects Thailand with Laos. Located at Ban Hom, At Samat Sub-district, Muang District of Nakhon Phanom Province in Thailand, and at Thakhek of Khammouane in Laos, the bridge is a route for transportation, trade and tourism that links Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the south of China together.

The Sikhottabong Stupa and Ancient City site, on the east bank of the Mekong south of Thakhek, is the most important cultural and religious site in south central Laos. The Ancient City – remains that you can see of even older buildings – is important in the cultural background of the area. The region’s main event is the Sikhottabong festival