Biggest & Best

The biggest gold Buddha image
Phra Sukhothai Traimit or the Gold Buddha of Wat Traimit, Bangkok. Cast in 5 ? tons of solid gold in the Sukhothai style, this statue measures 3.10 m across the laps and 3.91 m high from base to top, and is the largest gold Buddhist stature in the world. It is estimated to be 700-800 years old but had been mistaken for an ordinary stucco image until May 1955.

The highest mountain
Doi Inthanon is one of the most frequently visited national parks of Thailand. A 47-km first class road leads from the plain of Chiang Mai (about 300 m above sea level) gradually up to the 2,565-metre summit.

The most precious Buddha image
"Phra Kaeo Morakot" or the Emerald Buddha, which almost all foreign visitors to Bangkok have seen or will see at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is held by the Thai people as a priceless national treasure, much more valuable than even the solid gold statue mentioned above. It was carved from a single block of fine jade across the taps and 66 cm. Sitting posture, it was 48.3 cm wide across the laps and 66 cm. High from base to top.

The tallest Buddhist pagoda
Phra Pathom Chedi, in the heart of the provincial town of Nakhon Pathom, 56 km west of Bangkok, is 120.45 m high and is the tallest Buddhist monument of the world. The original stupa was built many centuries ago and was rebuilt to its present height in 1853 by King Rama IV, who had been in the Buddhist monkhood for 27 years before ascending the throne.

The province with the biggest elephant population
Surin in the Northest bordering Cambodia is known as the home of elephants. They are reared by local farmers as domestic animals like cattle. The annual Elephant Round-up, a well known event in the tourist circles, is held in Surin at the third weekend of November.

The largest crocodile
Over 6 m long and a hybrid from a fresh-water crocodile and a saltwater one, it is kept in Samutprakarn Crocodele Farm, The biggest of its kind in the world. The reptile is 27 years old and weighs 1,114.27 kg.