Sikornpoom Castle

Prasat Sikhoraphum is an 11th–12th century Khmer Hindu temple, built during the reign of Suryavarman II — the same era and patron king as Angkor Wat. Five sandstone prangs stand on a single laterite platform in a quincunx layout (a central tower surrounded by four smaller ones), mirroring Angkor Wat’s own arrangement — a configuration rarely seen outside Cambodia. It sits around 30 km from Surin town, entry is 50 THB for foreigners (10 THB for Thai nationals), open daily 07:30–18:00.

The central tower, roughly 32 metres tall, carries the site’s standout feature: a unusually well-preserved sandstone lintel depicting a ten-armed Shiva dancing above a kala (Rahu) head that grips a pair of lions, flanked by Brahma and Ganesh on one side and Vishnu with a female deity — thought to be Uma or Durga — on the other. Door frames elsewhere on the towers carry carved apsaras, devatas, and dvarapala guardian figures, with a visible Lao architectural influence on some of the roof detailing, a reminder of how many hands and eras touched this site over the centuries.

Built as a Hindu sanctuary, the complex was repurposed for Buddhist worship in the 16th century — a shift common to Khmer-era temples across Isan once Theravada Buddhism became dominant in the region. What survives today is modest in scale compared to Angkor’s major temples, but the quincunx layout and the lintel carving make it one of the more significant Khmer sites in Thailand outside the better-known Phanom Rung and Phimai.

Insider Tip: Take the train from Surin to Sikhoraphum station rather than driving — it’s a cheap, easy ride, and the walk from the station past the town gives you a look at ordinary Sikhoraphum before you reach the temple.

Comfortable shoes help on the uneven laterite platform. For more Khmer-era sites in the same province, Prasat Hin Ban Phluang is a smaller single-tower sanctuary worth the detour, and the Surin destination guide covers the rest of the province’s temples and silk-weaving villages.