Phetchabun ( th, เพชรบูรณ์, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(''changwat'') lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise)

Loei Loei (; ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeast Thailand. Loei covers the whole ''tambon'' of Mueang Loei district and is the capital of Loei province. In 2017, Loei had a population of 21,013. Loei lies 545 km north-northeast of B ...

Khon Kaen Khon Kaen ( th, ขอนแก่น, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, also known as the "big four of Isan", the others being Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani. It is the capital of Khon Kaen province and ...

, Chaiyaphum,

Lopburi Lopburi ( th, ลพบุรี, , ) is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is about northeast of Bangkok. It has a population of 58,000. The town (''thesaban mueang'') covers the whole ''tambon'' Tha Hin and parts of Th ...

, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit and

Phitsanulok Phitsanulok ( th, พิษณุโลก, ) is an important, historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well a ...

Geography and climate

Phetchabun is in the lower northern region of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, in the area between the northern and the central region. The province lies in the broad fertile river valley of the

Pa Sak River The Pa Sak River ( th, แม่น้ำป่าสัก, , Pronunciation is a river in central Thailand. The river originates in the Phetchabun Mountains, Dan Sai District, Loei Province, and passes through Phetchabun Province as the back ...

, with mountains of the Phetchabun mountain range to the east and west. The total forest area is or 32.5 percent of provincial area.

National parks

There are a total of four national parks, along with six other national parks, make up region 11 (Phitsanulok) of Thailand's protected areas. *

Thung Salaeng Luang National Park Thung Salaeng Luang National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติทุ่งแสลงหลวง, ) is a national park in Phitsanulok and Phetchabun Provinces of Thailand. It encompasses substantial portions of Wang Thong an ...

, * Nam Nao National Park, * Khao Kho National Park, * Tat Mok National Park,

Wildlife sanctuaries

There are three wildlife sanctuaries, ofwhich two are in region 11 (Phitsanulok) and Phu Luang is in region 8 (Khon Kaen) of Thailand's protected areas. *

Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าภูหลวง) is a wildlife sanctuary in northern Thailand, located in the Phu Luang mountain area, in the south of Loei Province. The are ...

, * Tabo–Huai Yai Wildlife Sanctuary, * Phu Pha Daeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Phetchabun especially Khao Kho is a place with good weather and cold all year round. Therefore, received the nickname "Switzerland of Thailand".

Toponymy

The word ''phetcha'' originates from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word ''

vajra The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shap ...

'' meaning "

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

" (or weapon of Indra), and the word ''bun'' from Sanskrit ''purna'' meaning " full", "perfect" or " whole". Hence the name of the province literally means "perfect diamond". Initially, the province was called "Phe-cha-buth" as "Phuenchapura", which means the city that has plenty of crops.Thanarutleasakon, k. (2002). Pra – wat – tai – sart – Thai – ched– sib – hoke – jung -wat hai history of 76 provinces Bangkok : One World Publishing. The reason is that the province is very fertile and has ample resources. Because of the fertility of the land, Phetchabun has always been agriculturally productive area.

History

Phetchabun was established by two kingdoms: the Sukhothai Kingdom, and the Ayutthaya Period of the

King Narai King Narai the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( th, รามาธิบดีที่ ๓ ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the ...

. In the ''Thesaphiban'' administrative reforms at the beginning of the 20th century, the province, together with Lom Sak province to the north, formed monthon Phetchabun. As it was the smallest monthon, it was also the first monthon to be dissolved in 1915, after being temporarily administered from Monthon Phitsanulok between 1903 and 1907. Lom Sak province was abolished and merged into Phetchabun in 1932. From 1968 - 1982 communist insurgents established bases in the mountains in the province. From hidden locations they fought occasional skirmishes against the Thai Army.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows a

on a mountain, as diamonds are found in the province. In the foreground are

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

plants, as it is one of the crops grown in the province. The provincial tree is the

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...

. '' Craspedacusta sowerbyi'', a rare species of freshwater jellyfish is the provincial aquatic animal. Because Phetchabun is one of the few places in the world, that is the habitat of this species of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

Economy

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

is considered the main industry of the province. Phu Thap Boek, the highest mountain in the province, is a well-known tourist destination. The area surrounding it is the largest cabbage-growing area in Thailand.

Transport

Road

Phetchabun is 346 kilometres from Bangkok by using Route 1 and Route 21.

Air

Phetchabun is served by Phetchabun Airport.

Nok Air Nok Air (, th, นกแอร์, derived from ''nok'' (นก), the Thai word for ''bird'') is a low-cost airline in Thailand operating mostly domestic services out of Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport. Thai Airways International o ...

serves the airport with flights to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into 11 districts ('' amphoe''). These are further divided into 117 subdistricts (''

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 '' khwaen ...

'') and 1261 villages ('' muban'').

Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Phetchabun Provincial Administration Organisation (') and 25 municipal (''thesaban'') areas in the province. Phetchabun, Wichian Buri and Lom Sak have town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

'') status. Further 22 subdistrict municipalities (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

''). The non-municipal areas are administered by 102 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO (''ongkan borihan suan tambon'').

Human achievement index 2017

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017. 250px, Road to Khao Kho

Local products

* Sweet

Arabica coffee ''Coffea arabica'' (), also known as the Arabic coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is currently the dominant cultivar, r ...

* Khao lam (sticky rice in bamboo) * Black galingale * Stevia tea * Thai vermicelli rice noodles * Cabbage *

Poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

Notable people

* Saensak Muangsurin (b. 1950–2009), boxer * Khaosai Galaxy (b. 1959), boxer, member of the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

* Kaokor Galaxy (b. 1959), boxer * Chana Porpaoin (b. 1966), boxer * Songkram Porpaoin (b. 1966), boxer * Sujin Naknayom (b. 1979), footballer * Chakrit Buathong (b. 1985), footballer * Sittisak Tarapan (b. 1984), footballer

References

External links

* Golden Jubilee Network province guide
->
Phetchabun Tourist informationWebsite of province
(Thai)
Maps & attractions in Phetchabun
{{Authority control Provinces of Thailand