Phu Wiang National Park

In 1976 a geologist prospecting for uranium in the Phu Wiang hills picked up a fossil bone fragment, and the excavations that followed produced the first dinosaur remains identified in Thailand. Several species new to science were described from this basin, including Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae, a sauropod named for Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, and Siamotyrannus isanensis, an early tyrannosauroid. Some dig sites are preserved in situ under shelters with the bones left in the rock as they were found, reached by short walks in the park, and a purpose-built museum, the Phu Wiang Dinosaur Museum, opened near the park in 2001 with reconstructions, mounted skeletons and the excavation story. The park itself, about 325 square kilometres and a national park since 1991, is a horseshoe of sandstone hills around a basin with waterfalls, prehistoric rock paintings and forest. It is a specialist visit and gets few foreign visitors.

The landscape

• The in-situ dig sites - bones left in the rock under shelters, reached on foot.
• Phuwiangosaurus - the sauropod named for Princess Sirindhorn.
• The museum - reconstructions and mounted skeletons, open since 2001.
• The sandstone basin - the horseshoe of hills, with falls and rock paintings.

When to go

November to February for the weather; the sites are outdoors and hot from mid-morning. The museum keeps its own hours separate from the park.

Before you go

The in-situ sites are bones in rock rather than dramatic skeletons - the museum carries the reconstructions. Interpretation in English is limited. Short walks in heat between sites. Few foreign visitors.

Nearby

Khon Kaen is south-east; Phu Pha Man is south.

Key facts