King Narai’s second capital: Khmer towers, monkeys in the old town and sunflower fields by the Pa Sak dam.
Lopburi is one of Thailand’s oldest cities, about 150 km north-east of Bangkok on the edge of the central plain. As Lavo it was a Dvaravati centre and later part of the Khmer world, and in the 17th century King Narai made it his second capital, living here for much of the year. The old town still has the three Khmer towers of Phra Prang Sam Yot, Narai’s palace and the long-tailed macaques that live around them. Beyond the town the land rises towards the Phetchabun Mountains, the Pa Sak Jolasid reservoir and, in winter, fields of sunflowers.
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