UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Thailand

UNESCO's Description

Founded c. 1350, Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. It was destroyed by the Burmese in the 18th century. Its remains, characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of its past splendour.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q1025100 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Sukhothai was the capital of the first Kingdom of Siam in the 13th and 14th centuries. It has a number of fine monuments, illustrating the beginnings of Thai architecture. The great civilization which evolved in the Kingdom of Sukhothai absorbed numerous influences and ancient local traditions; the rapid assimilation of all these elements forged what is known as the 'Sukhothai style'.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q865097 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Stretching over more than 600,000 ha along the Myanmar border, the sanctuaries, which are relatively intact, contain examples of almost all the forest types of continental South-East Asia. They are home to a very diverse array of animals, including 77% of the large mammals (especially elephants and tigers), 50% of the large birds and 33% of the land vertebrates to be found in this region.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Climate and rainfall

The climate of the region is characterised by three seasons: a hot, wet season from May to October, a cooler, dry period from November to January and a hot, dry season from February to April. Average minimum and maximum daily temperatures range from 20 to 33 °C (68 to 91 °F) in the wet season, 15 and 35 °C (59 and 95 °F) in the hot, dry season, and 10 and 29 °C (50 and 84 °F) in the cooler season. Day-time temperatures can exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in April, while nighttime temperatures of 7 °C (45 °F) are not uncommon in the cool season.

The average annual rainfall decreases from the western part of the sanctuary receiving 2,000 to 2,400 millimetres (79 to 94 inches) a year to annual rainfalls of between 1,600 and 2,000 millimetres in the eastern parts of the sanctuary.

History

Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic stone tools have been found in the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai River valleys and parts of the sanctuary were inhabited by Neolithic man. For at least 700 years, the Dawna-Tenasserim region has been home to Mon and Karen people, but burial grounds in Thung Yai and Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary have not been systematically researched.

The Thai name "Thung Yai Naresuan" refers to the "big field" (thung yai) or savanna in the centre of the sanctuary, and to King Naresuan, a famous Siamese ruler who supposedly based his army in the area to wage war against Burma sometime during his reign of the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605.

Location and topography

The sanctuary is at the western national border of Thailand with Burma, in the southern area of the Dawna Range. It extends northeast of the Three Pagodas Pass from Sangkhla Buri District in Kanchanaburi Province into Umphang District in Tak Province.

The wildlife sanctuary stretches over an area of 2,279,500 rai ~ 3,647 km2 (1,408 sq mi), and is the largest protected area in Thailand.

Together with the adjoining Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary (Thai: เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าห้วยขาแข้ง) it constitutes the core area of the Western Forest Complex, which represents the largest agglomeration of contiguous protected area in mainland Southeast Asia, 6,222 km2 (2,402 sq mi).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q422995 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Ban Chiang is considered the most important prehistoric settlement so far discovered in South-East Asia. It marks an important stage in human cultural, social and technological evolution. The site presents the earliest evidence of farming in the region and of the manufacture and use of metals.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q584125 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex spans 230 km between Ta Phraya National Park on the Cambodian border in the east, and Khao Yai National Park in the west. The site is home to more than 800 species of fauna, including 112 mammal species (among them two species of gibbon), 392 bird species and 200 reptile and amphibian species. It is internationally important for the conservation of globally threatened and endangered mammal, bird and reptile species, among them 19 that are vulnerable, four that are endangered, and one that is critically endangered. The area contains substantial and important tropical forest ecosystems, which can provide a viable habitat for the long-term survival of these species.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q16963852 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

This is a serial property of three component parts: a distinctive twin-town site, featuring an Inner and Outer Town surrounded by moats; the massive Khao Klang Nok ancient monument; and the Khao Thamorrat Cave ancient monument. Together these sites represent the architecture, artistic traditions and religious diversity of the Dvaravati Empire that thrived in Central Thailand from the 6th to the 10th centuries, demonstrating the influences from India. The local adaptation of these traditions resulted in a distinctive artistic tradition known as the Si Thep School of Art which later influenced other civilizations in Southeast Asia.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Si Thep was developed from a prehistoric farming village in the Pa Sak valley approximately 2,500–1,500 years ago. In the first archaeological phase (c. 4th–5th century CE), the early settlement of Si Thep occupied the inner town and there was a burial tradition with offerings related to India and communities to the central region and Moon River basin to the northeast.

Excavation has given the phase absolute dates. A burial group near the centre of the circular moated town, opened in 2016, held five human skeletons, a dog, pots, iron tools, a spindle whorl and two agate pendants. A tooth from a male of 25 to 35 returned a radiocarbon age of 1,730 ± 30 BP, or 240–390 CE. Thermoluminescence dates the circular moat to 414–602 and a ruin inside the rectangular extension east of it to 505–681.

UNESCO's Description

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan (or Phra Mahathat monastery), located in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in Peninsular Thailand on a narrow ridge between the Pacific and Indian oceans, has served as a major regional Buddhist centre since its founding in the 8th century. Benefiting from the transoceanic trade networks, the monastery was influenced by various religious and architectural traditions including Brahmanism, Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism from northeastern India, central Java, Sri Lanka and the Mon region of southern Myanmar. These influences have been integrated into its religious buildings, rituals and cultural traditions. Its distinctive artistic and architectural expressions have exerted a wide-ranging and enduring influence throughout Thailand and across Southeast Asia. The religious and local traditions have continued at the monastery for more than 1,500 years, including the Nakhon Si Thammarat chronicle tradition, the annual cloth-wrapping ceremony for the Great Reliquary and the Nora dance drama.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

According to the identical Thai and Sri Lankan legend, Prince Thanakuman and Princess Hem Chala brought the relic of Buddha to Hat Sai Kaew and built a small pagoda in 291 CE. The same tradition holds that King Si-Thamma Sokarat, on establishing the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat, built a new temple called Wat Phra Borom That on the same site, in the Mahayana manner of the ruling Srivijaya Kingdom. The city of Nakhon Si Thammarat was a prominent city in the ancient kingdom of Tambralinga. The city was a part of the Srivijaya empire till the early-13th century.