Chao Fah Han Kuman Monument

Chao Fah Ham Kuman Monument honours the legendary first ruler of Laplae, in Uttaradit province — an equestrian statue on a hill known locally as Mon Arak, in Fai Luang subdistrict about 12 km from Laplae town. Local tradition holds that Chao Fah Ham Kuman was a prince of the Yonok Nakhon kingdom (the polity based at Chiang Saen, ruled by the Singhanawat dynasty), sent by his father to found and defend Laplae as a frontier settlement against Khmer and Burmese incursion. The monument’s foundation stone was laid in 1983, and Laplae holds an annual ceremony where locals carry water up the hill to ritually bathe the statue in his honour.

The statue shows the ruler mounted, gazing out over the land he is said to have founded, and the hilltop doubles as a viewpoint over the Laplae valley and its durian and langsat orchards below. Laplae’s identity leans hard into folklore from this founding period — tales of a “town of widows” and an old taboo on telling lies both trace back to the same era — and the monument functions as the town’s origin marker more than a major sightseeing draw. It’s a place of local pride, visited more by Laplae residents on merit-making days than by international tourists.

Insider Tip: Combine the monument with Wat Phra Borommathat Thung Yang, Uttaradit’s pre-Sukhothai relic temple, and the durian orchards at Mon Lub Lae — all sit within Laplae district and make an easy half-day loop.

The monument is free to visit and open through daylight hours. From the Laplae Market junction, follow the road toward Namtok Mae Phun; the monument sits roughly 800 metres past a newly built temple, marked by a left turn opposite it. Reaching it by car or motorbike is the only practical option — there’s no public transport directly to the hill.

Watch out: The hilltop has little shade, so bring sun protection and water, especially around midday.