Pho Khun Bang Klang Thao Monument

This monument honours Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao — later known by his royal name, Pho Khun Sri Inthrathit — the 13th-century chief who broke from Khmer overlordship and founded the Sukhothai kingdom, Thailand’s first independent Thai state. It stands within the grounds of Wat Klang temple in Nakhon Thai district, Phitsanulok, open daily 06:00–18:00, free to enter.

Local tradition holds that Nakhon Thai occupies the site of Mueang Bang Yang, the small principality Bang Klang Hao ruled before he and fellow chief Khun Pha Mueang rose up against the Khmer rulers of Lopburi and took Sukhothai around 1238. The evidence for the exact identification is thin, but the connection runs deep enough locally that Wat Klang preserves an ordination hall said to date from his era, standing alongside the monument itself. That history is also the answer to an obvious question: why honour the founder of the Sukhothai kingdom in a Phitsanulok temple rather than in Sukhothai city — because this is where his career as a local ruler is said to have begun, not where he later reigned as king.

Watch out: Bang Klang Hao is easy to mix up with his far more famous son, King Ramkhamhaeng, credited with commissioning the Thai script. This monument honours the father, not the son — there’s no alphabet inscription to look for here, and no link to the Ramkhamhaeng monument in Sukhothai city, which is a different site in a different province.

The monument sits within an active temple compound rather than a standalone park, so it’s a brief stop rather than a destination in its own right — most visitors pair it with a look around Wat Klang’s other buildings, including the ordination hall linked to the same era.

Insider Tip: Nakhon Thai sits close to 100 km from Phitsanulok city, so build it into a loop with the district’s other sights — Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park is in the same district — rather than a standalone trip from the city centre.

Visit in the cooler hours, before 10:00 or after 16:00, since there’s little shade around the temple grounds. Dress respectfully — this is an active place of worship, not a museum piece — and bring your own transport, as Nakhon Thai has limited public transit this far from Phitsanulok city.