Established as a national park in 1982, the area of Khlong Lan National. Park was formerly controlled by Communist insurgents and inhabited by a number of ethnic hilltribes that were relocated to outside the park area. Highlights include the 95-m Klong Lan Waterfall, easily accessible from the parking lot. At the foot of the trail leading to the fall is a small market selling Hmong hilltribe handicrafts.
Adjacent to that is the Mae Wong National Park , ideal for hiking, wildlife viewing, and birdwatching. Initially inhabited by Hmong tribe people, they too were relocated in the late 1980s.
On the east bank lies the impressive remains of the Old City that was once a satellite city of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the early 15th century, and is now part of the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. Within its walls is the Kamphaeng Phet National Museum boasting a collection of 16th century bronze Hindu dieties and fragments from the many ruins around the city.
Also within the walls are 2 important ruins from the late Sukhothai period. Nearby the museum is Wat Phra Kaeo , the largest site in the Old City containing the ruins of several wiharns, a bot, a chedi, and remains of numerous Buddha images. Wat Phra That has an octagonal-based chedi.
The city contains many half-forgotten monuments that have fallen into considerable disrepair, such as the brick chedi of Wat Kalothai from the Sukhothai era. Yet, the sheer quantity of these monuments attests to the city's importance during the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya periods.
The red-earthen, square-shaped Phra Isaworn Shrine , located behind the provincial court, contains the sacred Phra Isaworn Buddha image. During the reign of King Rama V, Germans visiting the city stealthily cut off the image's head and hands and sent it to Bangkok. In 1886, the province governor requested the missing parts be returned in exchange for a replica of the intact Buddha image. Presently, the replica is on display at a museum in Berlin.
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