Laeng Hin Tat

Laeng Hin Tat translates to “stone-cutting site,” and that’s exactly what it is — an ancient sandstone quarry, not the prehistoric standing-stone monument the name sometimes gets mistaken for. Khmer stonemasons cut blocks here across the Khao Kloy and Khao Krajiao hills in Buriram province’s Ban Kruat district, most likely supplying the temple-building boom that produced Phanom Rung and Prasat Muang Tam nearby between the 11th and 13th centuries.

Walking the site, the quarrying is still legible in the rock: rows of small holes where masons drove wedges to split blocks along a line, grooves cut to separate slabs, and rectangular stones left mid-extraction, pried partway up but never carried off. The quarry spans more than 4,600 rai (roughly 740 hectares) of hillside, though the area open to casual walking is more modest — a network of paths threading between cut rock faces and boulder fields. Wild grasses have grown up between many of the stones, and the site is quiet enough that birdsong and wind are the main sounds.

Insider Tip: Look for the parallel rows of drill holes along the straighter rock faces — they’re the clearest sign of deliberate quarrying, distinct from natural weathering, and worth a close-up photo rather than just the wider landscape shots.

The quarry now sits within the grounds of a forest meditation centre, Wat Suan Tham Silah, and is maintained accordingly — clean paths, a couple of simple viewpoints, and a calmer atmosphere than a typical ruins visit. There’s no museum or English signage explaining the quarrying process in detail, so most of the historical context here is what you bring with you.

Watch out: Because the grounds double as a meditation site, loud groups and drone photography aren’t appropriate — treat it with the same quiet you’d bring to a forest temple.

It’s about 70 km south of Buriram city: take Highway 219 toward Prakhon Chai, then Highway 2075 toward Ban Kruat, turning off 6 km past Ban Kruat toward Lahan Sai and following the quarry access road another 2 km. There’s no public transport to the site itself.

Combine the visit with the temples this quarry likely helped build: Phanom Rung Historical Park and Prasat Hin Mueang Tam, both around an hour’s drive north in the same province.