PHITSANULOK

This strategically-located town and province is a major commercial and transport hub, that was a former Khmer outpost and later the birthplace of King Naresuan.

Phitsanulok is the seat of Thailand's most beautiful Buddha image, Phra Buddha Chinnarat, an imposing gold- plated image housed in Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat. The Folklore Museum has a large and impressive collection of local arts and crafts as well as displays depicting local life through the centuries.

The road east to Lomsak passes through some spectacular scenery. Thung Salaeng Luang National Park has many species of flower found nowhere else, great tracts of forest and the famed Kaeng Sopha Falls.