Khao Phra Angkhan Temple
“Wat Khao Phra Angkhan” is located in Chaloem Phra Kiat District, Buriram Province, not far from Khao Phanom Rung. The temple is located on the top of Khao Phra Angkhan, which is an extinct volcano.
First, let me explain the characteristics of Khao Phra Angkhan. This mountain is a broad-based hill formed by a volcanic eruption in the Quaternary period approximately 700,000 years ago. If viewed from above, it looks like a Garuda flapping its wings or facing down, with its head facing south. There is a large crater at Khao Kradong, the highest point. It was formed by molten rocks erupting and cooling rapidly, accumulating vertically, becoming a steep Plug Dome hill. Around Khao Kradong is a caldera formed by the collapse of a volcanic crater, which is the clearest example in Thailand. Wat Khao Phra Angkhan is located on the edge of this crater, 320 meters above sea level.
Before Wat Khao Phra Angkhan was built in this area, there is evidence that this place used to be a Buddhist site since ancient times. Ancient objects were found, namely basalt sema stones from the Dvaravati period, the only ones found in Thailand, around the ordination hall. These stele stones have carvings of people, stupas, lotus flowers, and Dharmachakra. They are believed to have been built around the 13th-14th Buddhist century, approximately 1,300 years old.
In addition, the history of the That Phanom map states that in B.E. 8, the Buddha's ashes (bone ashes) were brought to be enshrined on this mountain. Until B.E. 2520, Phra Ajahn Panya Wuttho came to build a temple on the mountaintop and brought the ashes to be enshrined in a stupa on top of the ordination hall, which was built by combining different styles of art within the temple area.
Those who want to travel to see and pay homage to the sacred objects at the temple can travel from Buriram by taking the Buriram-Nang Rong-Ban Tako-Ban Ta Pek route, which is the same route to Phanom Rung Stone Castle. When you reach Ban Ta Pek, turn right along the road to Lahan Sai District for about 13 kilometers, and you will find a fork on the right to Wat Khao Angkhan for another 7 kilometers. Khao Phra Angkhan is about 20 kilometers from Phanom Rung Stone Castle.
#Buriram attractions #Wat Khao Phra Angkhan