Phu Phrabat Historical Park is an amazing attraction in Udon Thani, Thailand. There is an amazing viewpoint that is not difficult to get to; even your little kids can hike up to it. Phu Phrabat is also extremely rich in history. There are the extremely well-preserved Buddhist ritualistic pillars from an ancient civilization. These recently earned Phu Phrabat a UNESCO Heritage Site status! And if that history is not enough, then Phu Phrabat takes it up a notch. We are talking about actually getting up close and personal with real life cave paintings. Our family: kids and adults alike, all enjoy spending time at Phu Phrabat exploring, hiking, and having a good time. If you have the opportunity to visit Phu Phrabat Historical Park, then we highly suggest you make the effort and to check it out!
Phu Phrabat is a great day trip from Udon Thani that will help your children, and you, experience and learn about an ancient civilization.
Location and Getting to Phu Phrabat
Phu Phrabat Historical Park is found on the west side of Udon Thani province in northeast Thailand. It is about a 45-minute to one hour drive out of Udon Thani city. On your drive you will pass through various smaller village-towns before arriving at the entrance to the park. The drive is beautiful, and you will pass by many amazing rice fields.
It is advisable to have a vehicle to get to Phu Phrabat Historical Park. Public transportation is extremely minimal, and you will not be able to get there without a vehicle. While it is possible to get there via a bus from Udon Thani, we do not recommend it with kids. It takes a long time, and you will have to transfer. By the time you would get there you would be tired.
Booking a driver via your hotel is always an option and your accommodation will most likely be able to assist you in setting up a driver. However, we recommend having a vehicle.
You can book a rental car online with Booking.com and pick it up at the Udon Thani Airport if you like to have a vehicle lined up already when you arrive in Udon Thani. You can also book via a local company. We have often used Lek Car Rental. They are reputable and will also deliver the vehicle to the airport. You will have to be doing back and forth communication with them instead of a website, so it is a little more work on your part.
Entrance and Parking
Once you enter, you will find a big open parking lot. Parking is free. On one side of the parking lot, there are bathrooms. Another side has a store and small open-air restaurant offering local Thai food cooked to order. They also offer a few packaged goods like ramen cups, soda, and ice cream.
The third side has a museum. The museum is where you need to go in order buy your tickets to get into the park.
Inside the museum there is a lot of information regarding the landforms and ancient people of the museum. Much of the information is in Thai but there are a lot of pictures and there is a brochure in English, which will give you a map and information.
You will also need to sign in to the park in a sign-in book before you enter into the park. Once you have your tickets, leave the museum, turn left and follow the path. This will take you to a ‘ticket check point’ where they will look at your ticket before letting you pass into the historic park.
Price
Phu Phrabat Historical Park Price: (Current as of 2024)
Foreign Adult: 100 baht
Thai Adult: 20 baht
Child: Free
The Hours of Operations
8:30am -4:30pm, and it is closed on Public Holidays.
Parking
Free
Thai Public Holidays are numerous in Thailand, and different from other holidays around the world, so doing a quick check to make sure there is not a public holiday on the day you want to go is a good idea. You can check this website to check on holidays in Thailand.
Once you buy your ticket, you can head to the trail going into the park. Show your tickets to the guard stand at the entrance to the trail and then you can head on in.
History
Phu Phrabat Historical Park is historically significant for two reasons.
The first is the cave paintings. The cave paintings at Phu Phrabat Historical Park are estimated at being 6,000 years old. These paintings on the rocks have mostly been preserved as they were created under overhangs in the rocks. With natural shelter from the elements, these paintings have remained in extremely good condition despite being in the tropics. The tropics are notoriously harsh on things like this, so having visible paintings this old is something very special.
The second reason Phu Phrabat Historical Park is significant is because of the religious rock formations. Starting in the 7th century, Buddhism arrived in the area and began building religious sites. It is believed that from the 7th through the 11th century, this location was a major Buddhist site. The pillars, shrines, and dwellings constructed in this area have remained untampered since that era and give a rare glimpse into the people of that time.
The most notable are the barriers made of large pillars. Known as Sima stones, these ritualistic boundary markers are the largest and best preserved of this time period. In that they have not been moved or altered from when they were first erected is a unique feature of Phu Phrabat.
Phu Phrabat is UNESCO Heritage Site
Because of these historical significances, Phu Phrabat Historical Park has recently been given a UNESCO Heritage Status. It gained its status as a UNESCO site in March 2024. With its new status, there will be increased work done to preserve and maintain the authenticity and integrity of the site.
When we visited Phu Phrabat with our children there were no ropes or partitions stopping people from climbing the rock formations or touching the paintings. It is extremely important to be a good citizen and not abuse the loose rules at Phu Phrabat. We found this to be a good opportunity to discuss with our children about what it means to be a responsible citizen.
Just because you have the ability to touch a 6,000 year old cave painting does not mean you should do it.
Check out some other UNESCO Heritage Sites in Udon Thani like Ban Chiang.
Trail Around Phu Phrabat
After walking down the path for a bit, you will come to a fork in the road. This initial fork will decide whether you want to see the rock paintings or the rock formation best known at Phu Phrabat. Either trail will end up bringing you back to the other as it is a loop. After deciding between your initial right or left, you can choose from multiple trails that take you around the park. There are signs in English in several areas explaining to you more in depth about the historical significance of this area.
With small children, it usually takes us between 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours to walk around the park. We would not recommend using a stroller as the paths are not suitable. If you have a jogging stroller or one with big wheels it would be alright.
The carved-out formations in the sandstone create really cool rock balancing acts. Some rock structures the kids can climb and others there are signs saying to stay off of. But they can run around and find lots of different structures to look at. We also enjoyed showing my kids “potholes” in the rock along the trail that the rain has made over the years.
The most famous rock formations are near the bottom of the park, but if you do the hike to the viewpoint, you can see many different boulders and carved out rocks that the kids can climb on, over, slide down and jump around on.
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Ancient Rock Paintings
The most famous rock paintings are found on the western side of the park. You can see the paintings of people and animals there and they are pretty clear to see. Throughout the park there are dozens of different cave prehistoric paintings that can be found. Many others are in poor condition and hard to see, but a number of them are easy to spot and understand.
The park does offer a paper guide to the different prehistoric paintings so you can know what you are looking for if you choose. We opted to not use the guides our first time because when our children were looking for the paintings, it brought a renewed interest and excitement into them!
Our kids really enjoyed trying to figure out what the paintings were trying to show on their own and using their imagination to figure it all out. Sometimes we had to look around the rocks for some time before figuring out where the paintings were.
The paintings are mostly light red in color and can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from the rock itself, so you and your kids have to be good detectives!
Viewpoint at the Top of Phu Phrabat
Of course a park will also have some great hikes. Phu Phrabat is no exception, and the hike up to the viewpoint is well worth it. It takes some time with kids, but it’s worth it once you are up there. The trails are very well maintained. Probably some of the best maintained trails we’ve come across in Thailand.
We bring snacks and water along the hike to the top. At the top where the viewpoint is, they have erected a nice hut. Our family enjoys sitting in the hut and looking out over the gorgeous view. The snack just makes it that much better. We all know that kids and adults want to snack all the time. Especially while hiking!
Another reason we bring along water and snacks is that there is none available to buy along the trail. The visitor center has a restaurant where you can buy water and some snacks, but the rest of the park is left to nature.
We like that they have not yet commercialized the rest of the park by having vendors, but it does mean bringing along your water and snacks.
How to Get Around Phu Phrabat Historical Park
Phu Phrabat Historical Park does offer a buggy service. You can consult the information center about getting a buggy to take you to a few of the sites. The buggy is limited in where it can go as not all the roads are suitable for driving. Great for hiking; just not possible with the buggy. The main site where you can see the dwelling and best prehistoric paintings are accessible via the buggy.
The buggy is a good opinion if you are unable to hike or walk well. We always encourage our kids to walk whenever possible. However, we have used a stroller to get around the main areas of Phu Phrabat. The paths are dirt and a little bumpy for a stroller, but it does work if you have a jogging stroller.
How Much Time Should I Spend at Phu Phrabat?
Phu Phrabat Historical Park is not a very large park coming in at only 5 square kilometers. This does not seem very big, and avid hikers can hike the trails easily. None of the trails are difficult trails, and all can be hiked by small kids. How much time you need to visit this place largely depends on how fast you can walk and how much time you like spending at each place along the way.
Our family usually spends 4 to 5 hours wandering around and exploring. We are usually tired of the hot sun and not of the things to see by this point. Going to these sites with a family is all about exploring and learning, and that requires a bit of time to get into.
If all you want to do is run in, see the main attraction, then leave, then you can easily do it in under 1 hour. The main dwelling and paintings are about a 10-minute walk from the visitor center at a casual pace.
Minimum: 1 hour
Recommended: 4 hours
Visiting Phu Phrabat with Kids
Phu Phrabat is a great place to visit with kids. There are lots of places for kids to run around. The visitor’s center has a very large and well-maintained grassy field which is perfect for little kids. The trails are well maintained, and none are very difficult for children. The trail up to the viewpoints does have some steps that can be uneven. We’ve seen two- and three-year-olds make the hike up.
Parents need to be patient when hiking with little kids as they don’t move fast! We feel that the experience of accomplishing something like hiking to a viewpoint builds character and confidence. The trails at Phu Phrabat are perfect beginner level hikes.
Phu Phrabat is also a great place to teach kids about history. You have the opportunity to explore two times in history and their impact on the site. You have got the prehistoric cave paintings, and then the really old Buddhist ritual sites. The reason that these are kid friendly is that you are given the liberty to explore at your own pace. You can follow the paths to the different sites, but there is a lot of exploring and climbing. Just what kids enjoy!
Tips for Visiting Phu Phrabat with Kids
Make good use of the visitor’s center. At the visitor’s center you will find a small restaurant and bathrooms. Make sure you use the restroom with your kids as the only restroom throughout the park becomes the bushes and trees. Yes our boys love this, but it might not be everyone’s favorite option.
Bring snacks and water. The restaurant is the only place to get water and snacks. Make sure you have enough to take along on your hike. The restaurant also does not have a large variety of food. The food is delicious and tends to be on the spicy side even if you ask for a little spice.
If you have picky eaters, make sure to bring something they know they can eat. We often pack sandwiches for a few of our kids who are not keen to eat the food there.
It can be very hot at Phu Phrabat. Make sure you bring along either hats, sunscreen, or a sun umbrella. When you are walking around the cave paintings and ancient dwellings there is not much shade. The trees at the visitor center are large and provide great shade. However, as you go along your hike the trees quickly turn into small shrubs and do not provide any shade cover. Be prepared and expect to get very hot. It is advisable to go early in the morning and avoid peak heat times.
Where to Stay Near Phu Phrabat
Places to stay near Phu Phrabat Historical Park are very limited. And by very limited we mean there really isn’t anything good for kids. We recommend you make Phu Phrabat a day from Udon Thani.
Read about things to do in Udon Thani.
If you want to have a great time, then we recommend 9D Sports Resort. This is a hotel that has a large fitness center and mini water park. There are some large slides which are super fun. The price of the hotel is reasonable even if you are on a budget. It is directly off one of the major roads on the outskirts of town, making a trip to Phu Phrabat easy from 9D Sports Resort.
If you would like to stay more centrally located in Udon Thani, then we recommend the Centara Udon. The Centara offers amazing breakfast buffet that is some of the best you will find in Udon Thani. This hotel is close to other attractions in Udon Thani and is great if you want to hit the night market in the evening or treat yourself to a Thai massage.
If you do not wish to stay in Udon Thani, then we can also recommend staying in Nong Khai. Nong Khai is also about 1 hour from Phu Phrabat. While there are not as many options available in Nong Khai, it is a good option.
Read about things to do in Nong Khai.
If you are wanting to stay somewhere where fancy in Nong Khai we recommend Pimali Resort. The owners of Pimali Resort are very nice and friendly and the property is just beautiful.
For a more budget friendly stay, the Mut Mee Garden Guest House is right near the Mekong River and centrally located in Nong Khai.
Final Thoughts on Phu Phrabat Historical Park
Among other things to do in the Northeast of Thailand, Phu Phrabat remains one of our family favorites. With the mixture of hikes and history, and the freedom to explore at our own pace, this is truly a great place to visit with kids. The trails are just long enough to have fun, but easy enough to avoid the tired meltdowns.
While you are in Thailand, we recommend you spend some time exploring the capital city by checking out our Bangkok itinerary which was designed with kids in mind.
For a broader overview of Thailand, you can explore our kid friendly 3-weeks in Thailand itinerary.