Prachinburi

Prachinburi province (Thai: ปราจีนบุรี, RTGS: Prachin Buri, pronounced [prāː.tɕīːn bū.rīː], lit. 'City of the East') is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (changwat), it lies in eastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Nakhon Ratchasima, Sa Kaeo, Chachoengsao, and Nakhon Nayok.

Thai Traditional Medicine Museum Building, Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospita

History of Prachin Buri
Prachin Buri, being one of the oldest historical cities since prehistoric times, became an important settlement area of the town. Artifacts, along with archaeological sites, have reflected the cultural heritage.This was a centre of Buddhist culture in the Dvaravati period, dating from the 6th to 11th centuries. It had big temples and monasteries, and through the Khmer Empire, it had large temples and monuments in the Angkor period, which dates from the 9th to the 15th century. Between the 14th and 18th centuries, Prachin Buri province was one of the very strong regimes of Ayutthaya, ruling almost all of modern Thailand. It was an important province regarding commerce and defence. Signs of city wall remnants can be found alongside river banks.

Prachinburi is on the banks of the Prachinburi River, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Bangkok. Most of the city's environs are flats alluvial plains, but the foothills of the Sankamphaeng Rangebegin to rise about 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the north.

The province is divided into two major parts, the low river valley of the Bang Pakong River, and the higher lands with plateaus and mountains of the Sankamphaeng Range, the southern prolongation of the Dong Phaya Yen Mountains. The total forest area is 1,436 km² (554 sq mi) or 28.6 percent of provincial area.

National parks

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There are two national parks, along with two other national parks, make up region 1 (Prachinburi) of Thailand's protected areas. (Visitors in fiscal year 2024)

Thap Lan National Park	2,236 km²(863 sq mi)	(96,852)
Khao Yai National Park	2,166 km²

Haew Narok Waterfall

Haew Narok Waterfall is the largest and tallest waterfall in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. It drops 150 meters across three dramatic tiers. Located about a 2.5-hour drive northeast of Bangkok, it features a scenic 1-kilometer paved and stair-lined jungle trail leading to the main viewing platform.

The Haew Narok Waterfall consists of a series of 3 falls, with a combined drop of around 180 metres. Visitors to the park, however, can only get to see the upper most of the three falls, which has an impressive drop of around 50 metres, straight down. There are two observation decks at the bottom of this first fall and this is where the trail takes you and no further. In the rainy season (June to September) the water pours down the hillside with remarkable force and you will get wet from the spray created as the water hits the pool below when you stand on the observation decks.

Thap Lan World Heritage Site, Thailand

The dispute over Thap Lan National Park shows no sign of ending as opposition mounts against plans to drastically reduce the park's size, fearing it will benefit developers over long-time residents.

The environmentalist Seub Nakhasathien Foundation has vowed action against the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) if it continues with plans to slash about one-fifth of the national park’s area.

Established in 1981, Thap Lan is Thailand’s second-largest national park and covers around 1.3 million rai or 2,235 square kilometres of land.

However, the government is preparing to shrink that area by 265,286 rai to resolve decades-long disputes with local forest dwellers.

Gesneriaceae

Several gesneriad species belonging to the family Gesneriaceae are recorded in Prachinburi Province, Thailand, particularly within the sandstone and seasonal forest habitats of Khao Yai National Park (spanning into Prachantakham district).

Notable Gesneriaceae species documented in this region include:

Notable Species

Paraboea khaoyaica – A lithophytic perennial herb discovered and described as a new species from the sandstone areas of Khao Yai National Park in Prachantakham, Prachinburi.

Didymocarpus epithemoides ม่วงเขาใหญ่ Didymocarpus epithemoides is a rare plant species in the gesneriad family (Gesneriaceae), native to east-central Thailand. Formally described by botanist Brian Laurence Burtt in 2001, this lithophytic herb grows primarily in wet tropical forest environments.

Didymocarpus insuisus กำปองดิน (originally described by W.G. Craib), It is a species of flowering plant native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Thailand. Typically found in moist, shaded, tropical forest microhabitats, often growing on rocks or damp terrain.

Rhynchotechum obovatum – Recorded in the evergreen forest areas of the Prachinburi section of Khao Yai National Park.

Microchirita Several species and historical collections of the flowering plant genus Microchirita (family Gesneriaceae) have been recorded in Prachinburi Province and surrounding border areas in central and southeastern Thailand.

Recorded Species in Prachinburi

Microchirita elphinstonia: Distributed in central and southeastern Thailand, including mixed deciduous forests in Prachinburi's Kabin Buri district and neighboring Nakhon Nayok.

Microchirita oculata: Originally described from historical type specimens collected in Prachinburi Province (Prachin Buri).

Microchirita marcanii: Historical collections include specimens from the Khao Sungto area in Krabin (Kabin Buri), Prachinburi, recorded around an elevation of 50 meters.

Chayamaritia relatives – Various limestone and forest-dwelling gesneriads typical of the Sankamphaeng and Dong Phaya Yen mountain ranges overlapping the province.