Khao Ngu Stone Park

Khao Ngu Stone Park is located at the foothill in the area of Khao Ngu Park, in Tambon Ko Phlapphla. It is a cave and a religious monument regarding Buddhism. In the cave, there is a Buddha image sculptured on the wall with a gesture of sitting in the European style and giving a sermon according to Buddhist art in the Dvaravati Period (5 th-7 th Century). It is widely known as Phra Phutthachai Tham Ruesi Khao Ngu. It has a flat face, connected eyebrows forming the shape of parenthesis, bulging eyes, flat nose, bolded mouth, large curls, and his halo on the top of the head is in the shape of a lotus bud. Between his ankles, there is an inscription of Pallava scripts in Sansakrit language which can be transcribed into the phrase Punyakarmachara srisamadhigupta, which means Phra Srisamadhigupta is purified by making merit. It is one important evidence of arts in the Dvaravati era. Moreover, in the cave, many sandstone Buddha images of the art of Ayutthaya era are housed. In the area of Tham Ruesi Khao Ngu, there are many interesting tourist attractions as follows: Lord Buddha’s Footprint made of laterite is located in the Wihan which is situated on the top of Khao Ngu with a height of approximately 128 metres. It is the ruin of a rectangle-shaped building made of bricks and cement. Tham Fa Tho is located near Khao Ngu Park, about 250 metres west from Tham Ruesi Khao Ngu. On the southern wall, there are reliefs of a massive reclining Buddha image underneath a gathering of gods, and tree. In the north, there are reliefs of the Lord Buddha’s two followers. The composition of sculpture in this cave is like that in Tham Cham, which depicts the scene when the Lord Buddha passed away to Nirvana. The festival to pay respect to the Lord Buddha is held every year on the first day of the waxing moon of the eleventh lunar month. Near the Khao Ngu, there are also Tham Rakhang and Khao Phrabat, on the top of which the Lord Buddha’s footprint is located and which is the sight-seeing point of Khao Ngu. How to get there: drive away from the town along Highway 3087 (Ratchaburi-Chom Bueng-Suan Phueng), and go on north-westward approximately 6 kilometres., then you will see the intersection leading to the cave.