Khao No-Khao Kaeo

Khao No and Khao Kaeo are twin limestone hills in Banphot Phisai district, Nakhon Sawan — a free hillside site known for a reclining Buddha cave, resident monkeys, and dusk bat flights, with a summit staircase and a slice of royal history at Wat Khao No on the lower slope.

Wat Khao No sits at the foot of Khao No, and a staircase from beside the temple climbs to the summit for views across the surrounding rice plains toward the Ping River. Just before the stairs, a cave mouth holds a large reclining Buddha image — the first thing most visitors see before the climb.

Insider Tip: Time the visit for late afternoon. You get the cave and staircase without the midday heat, and you’re still there when the bats start streaming out of the hill’s caves at dusk — a long black ribbon against the sky that draws its own small crowd of watchers at the base.

The temple’s royal connection dates to a visit by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who according to local and temple accounts stopped here during an official tour along the Ping River and stayed at Wat Khao No. He is said to have given the temple’s abbot, Luang Pho Yaem, a set of royal gifts — a tiffin carrier, lantern, kettle set, and wooden chest, along with a wooden arm inscribed with a royal battle reference and a brass plate bearing the royal seal. The pool where the king reportedly bathed during his stay is still known locally as “Sa Sadet” (the royal-visit pool), and the province later added a memorial statue of Rama V near the temple to mark the occasion.

At the foothills, troops of monkeys wait for food from visitors — keep bags zipped and food out of sight until you’re ready to hand it over, since they’re accustomed to tourists and will take the initiative. The hillside is riddled with smaller caves that serve as bat roosts; besides the dusk flight from Khao No itself, neighbouring Khao Kaeo has its own bat caves worth a short walk over.

The site is easy to combine with a wider swing through Nakhon Sawan’s nature and heritage stops, including Bueng Boraphet, Thailand’s largest freshwater swamp and a major bird habitat, and Wat Khao Din Tai, another hillside temple in the province.