Prachuap Khiri Khan

History

The city of Muang Na Rang was reconstructed after it had been abandoned during the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1767. During the reign of King Rama II, a new city was established at the mouth of the I Rom Canal known as Muang Bang Nang Rom. In 1855, the town was renamed "Prachuap Khiri Khan", which means 'city in the mountains'. King Mongkut gathered the people of three towns—Bang Nangrom, Kui Buri, and Khlong Wan—and resettled them in the rebuilt city. At the same time, he renamed a portion of what is now Trat province and Koh Kong province in Cambodia "Patchan Khiri Khet". The name was chosen to rhyme with "Prachuap Khiri Khan" on the opposite side of the Gulf of Thailand at the same latitude. In 1868, King Mongkut invited foreign guests to Prachuap Khiri Khan to watch a solar eclipse he had predicted for 18 August. The dignitaries viewed it from an observation point in the marshes near Sam Roi Yot. He contracted malaria, of which he died on 1 October. Prachuap became a seaside resort during the reign of King Rama V. Besides tourism, the province is heavily agricultural. Coconuts are a major crop. As much as 40 percent of farmers in Prachuap Khiri Khan solely cultivate coconuts. At the beginning of World War II, Japanese troops invaded Thailand. On 8 December 1941, they struck near the city of Prachuap Khiri Khan. The next day, after resisting the Japanese in the Battle of Prachuap Khiri Khan, the defenders were ordered to surrender by the government in Bangkok. The discovery of 3,000 years old cave paintings was announced by archaeologists from the Fine Arts Office in a cave at the Khao Sam Roi Yod National Park in May 2020. Some of the depicted pictures are still visible and clear, while some paintings were damaged by limestone etching. According to…

Geography

Prachuap Khiri Khan covers an area totaling . The province is on the Kra Isthmus, the narrow land bridge connecting the Malay Peninsula with mainland Asia. The province has one of the narrowest parts of Thailand, just from the Gulf of Thailand to the border with Myanmar in the Tenasserim Hills. Geographically, Prachuap Khiri Khan is a moderate plain with elevations varying from sea level to . The maximum elevations are found in the northeastern and central west regions, which make up approximately 30 percent of the province. The total forest area is or 38.7 percent of provincial area. The long coast of the Gulf of Thailand has many sandy beaches. One of the best known, Hua Hin, has been a popular resort town since King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) built a summer palace there. From the coast the land quickly rises into the Tenasserim Hills, the mountain chain that forms the border with Myanmar. Due to its narrow watershed, the rivers in the province are all small. The only one of significance is the Pranburi River in the north. Among the smaller rivers is the Khlong Kui. Prachuap Khiri Khan has a dubbed as "Mueang Sam Ao", which meaning "city of three bays", refers to Ao Noi, Ao Prachup, and Ao Manao all three bays are lined up and are located in the area of Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan District. Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park was established in 1966 to protect Thailand's largest freshwater marshes. The park contains some mangrove forests and mudflats. Most of the marshes were converted into shrimp farms, despite being in a national park. There are a total of six national parks, make up region 3 (Phetchaburi branch) of Thailand's protected areas.(Visitors in fiscal year 2024) {| |- | Kaeng Krachan National Park || || (139,674) |- | Kui Buri National Park…

Most-observed species

• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  51
• Indochinese Roller

  Coracias affinis Horsfield, 1840 · Aves
  50
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  49
• Red-wattled Lapwing

  Vanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  44
• Green Bee-eater

  Merops orientalis Latham, 1801 · Aves
  40
• Ayeyarwady Bulbul

  Pycnonotus blanfordi Jerdon, 1862 · Aves
  40
• Great Myna

  Acridotheres grandis Moore, 1858 · Aves
  40
• Asian Koel

  Eudynamys scolopaceus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  40

Most recent

• M 5 — 2006-10-07
  Gulf of Thailand
• M 4.5 — 2006-09-28
  23 km ESE of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
• M 4.7 — 2006-09-27
  39 km E of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
• M 4.3 — 2006-09-27
  18 km ESE of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
• M 4.2 — 2006-09-27
  24 km E of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
• M 4.5 — 2006-09-27
  14 km SE of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand