Phra That Phu Pek ( Thai:พระธาตุภูเพ็ก) is an ancient temple in Sakon Nakhon Province, in the

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan ( Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 prov ...

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 ...

. This ancient Khmer ruin was built from sandstone, standing on a laterite base. This is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple ruin of Khmer origin in the form of a chedi, it was built in the 16th-17th

century. The ruin is special as it houses a solar calendar, a cube-shaped rock, in its stupa. The ancients used it for indicating the position of the sun, important for

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

rites and agricultural seasons. Phra That Phu Pek is in ''

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 ...

'' Na Hua Bo, Phanna Nikhom district, Sakon Nakhon Province of

northeastern Thailand Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...

, about 37 km west of the town of Sakon Nakhon. The temple is in Phu Phan National Park, in the

Phu Phan Mountains The Phu Phan mountains ( th, ทิวเขาภูพาน, , ) are a range of hills dividing the Khorat Plateau of the Isan region of Thailand into two basins: the northern Sakhon Nakhon Basin, and the southern Khorat Basin. The silhouette ...

. To get there, take the Sakon Nakhon-Udon Thani road for 22 kilometres and take a road on the left for 14 kilometres, then ascend 491 steps. The laterite pagoda is on a square base, seemingly unfinished because it has no roof or pagoda top.

External links

Astroarchaeology at Phu Phek

Buildings and structures in Sakon Nakhon province Angkorian sites in Thailand Ruins in Thailand Isan Tourist attractions in Sakon Nakhon province Phu Phan Mountains {{Thailand-struct-stub