The city of Petchburi is the capital of the province of the same name. The town has been settled since the eleventh century. In the nineteenth century it became a royal retreat of King Mongkut (Rama IV), starting a new trend of the summer retreat that would be repeated by his successors.
Despite having several attractions, there are almost no accommodations in Petchburi town. Most tourists visit the city either as a day trip from Bangkok, or as a stop on their way to Cha Am or Hua Hin.
Just east of Petchburi's city center, a small hill rises sharply out of the plain. On top of the hill, King Rama IV had a summer palace built in the 1850s. The palace is now a museum and national park.
The five towers (prangs) of this temple can be seen from all over town. The temple's origins are believed to go as far back as the twelfth century, when the Khmers ruled the entire region.
The Old Quarter
The oldest part of Petchburi is famous for its sweets market. Several shops in the area sell a variety of sticky sweet traditional Thai desserts, flavored with buttery pandan and banana. The buildings of the old town area don't have the charms of many other old towns around Thailand, but the markets are definitely interesting.
One of the 30 other temples in Petchburi town, Wat Yai Suwannaram is notable for the painted murals in the ubosot as well as several other exquisite buildings within the compound of the temple.
This ancient temple dates from Khmer period, and was probably built around the twelfth century. It is one of the few Khmer temples in Thailand outside of the northeast. Originally it was a Hindu temple, but was later converted to Buddhist use.
King Rama V had this small very western styled palace
built on the Petch river just outside of town. The palace was based on the
summer palace of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.
Just three kilometers north of Petchburi is another small hill called Khao Luang, or "Royal Hill". Within the hill is a large cave with several Buddha shrines within. A colapsed portion of the roof lets in a dramatic light on the statues. The cave was a popular picnic spot for the royal family.
Petchburi is on the main rail and road routes to the south, so it's relatively easy to get to.
The trip by road takes about two to two-and-a-half hours, depending on traffic. You can take a bus from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal, although it can be more convenient to hop a van service near Victory Monument. There is one large van operator just under the Skytrain station that offers fast service direct to Petchburi for 100 Baht.
There are very few hotels in the city of Petchburi itself and none of them are very fancy. Everything that can be booked on-line is listed below, but note that many of these are located at the beach or near Kaeng Krachan National Park, both several kilometers from town. If you want something in town, then consider either the Royal Diamond or the Sun Hotel. Both are right next to Khao Wang and so very close to the main sights.
Petchburi isn't really a tourist town. It does get a large number of visitors, but most of them are just stopping on their way to or from the beaches further south. As a result, it doesn't have much in the way of nice restaurants or cafes. Of course, there are places to eat, and even a few local coffee shops, but nothing fancy or worth noting.
Some of the Petchburi's famous sweets Something that is worth noting is that the city is famous for its sweets.
Khao Luang is a small hill on the northern edge of town. The hill is riddled with caves and crevasses carved by water over hundreds or thousands of years. As often happens, the caves became a place of hermitage, and then sacred. The largest of the caves then gained prominence when King Rama IV visited it in the nineteenth century.
The main chamber of the caves beneath Khao Luang A local legend purportedly has it that the entrance to the cave is a portal to another town, which is populated entirely by young maidens.
Just west of Petchburi's city center is a three peaked hill locally called Khao Wang, which translates to "Palace Hill". In the 1850s, King Rama IV (Mongkut) commissioned a summer palace to be built on the northern-most peak. Before he became king, Mongkut spent many years as a monk. During that time, he had spent many nights in the temple at the base of Khao Wang, Wat Maha Samanaram.
King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) had this small palace built near the Petch River south of Petchburi City. Construction began in 1910. The overall design is based on the summer palace of German Kaiser Wilhelm, where King Chulalongkorn had been a guest. The building was planned and supervised by the German-born architect Karl Dohring, who also designed the Bang Khun Phrom palace in Bangkok. The building was not finished until 1916, under the reign of King Rama VI.
Although the city of Lopburi is generally considered the western frontier of the old Khmer empire, the cultural influence of Angkor extended much further, and Wat Kampaeng Laeng is evidence of that. As Khmer ruins go, the 700 year old temple is not very impressive, but it's probably still worth a stop when touring Petchburi.
The ruins of Wat Kampaeng Laeng The ruins comprise four stone structures that were once covered in fine stucco decorations, all of which has worn away over time.
The five towers (prangs) of this temple's main pagoda can be seen from all over town. The temple's origins are believed to go as far back as the twelfth century, when the Khmers ruled the entire region through their vassal state Lopburi.
The five-towered pagoda, ordination hall and a covered Buddha at Wat Mahathat Worawiharn The pagoda is enclosed by a small gallery, and seems to be closed to the public.
This temple housing a reclining Buddha (Phra Non) is set against the southeastern side of Khao Wang. The massive chapel housing the statue - one of the four largest reclining Buddhas in Thailand - is set right against the base of the hill. There are a few other curious structures on the platform which supports the giant chapel, and behind the hall is a little-used path up the hill.
Wat Yai Suwannaram is worth a stop on your way to Wat Kamphaeng Laeng. The temple appears to be very old. The exact date of founding isn't given, but most of the oldest existing buildings are around 300 years old.
The main old buildings of Wat Yai Suwannaram as seen from the pond holding the library. The main attraction here is the ordination hall (ubosot), which sits in an enclosed courtyard on the eastern side of the temple.
Wat Yang is a large old temple on the main road heading south of town. There is no information sign, so I don't know the exact age or history, but it has a rather graceful ordination hall with a large pagoda directly to the east. On the west side is a small wooden library in a pond, while along the north side are several rows of small funerary pagodas.
