Buriram Destination Guide

Updated 6th Sep 2026

Buriram is a province in Thailand's lower north-east, roughly 410 kilometres from Bangkok. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says the town itself has limited attractions and activities for visitors, and describes the provincial countryside as filled with ancient ruins. The same page names the province's football stadium and motorsport race track as things many visitors do not miss.

Those ruins include Phanom Rung, which TAT calls one of the best-preserved Angkorian temples in South-East Asia. The two sports venues are far newer, and both sit on the town side rather than out in the province.

The Angkorian temples outside town

Phanom Rung Historical Park

Phanom Rung Historical Park sits on the summit of Phanom Rung, an extinct volcano, in Chaloem Phra Kiat district.

The Fine Arts Department dates its construction across several phases, from around the ninth century to the thirteenth, and identifies it as a Hindu site dedicated to Shiva. The site was registered as a national historical site in 1935, and the park around it was gazetted in 1976 at 451 rai. Restoration using the anastylosis method ran from 1971 to 1988, when the park opened to the public.

Four times a year, at sunrise in April and September and at sunset in March and October, the sun lines up through all fifteen of the temple's doorways in a straight line. The April alignment, reported to fall in the first days of the month, usually draws the largest crowds along with a light and sound show.

An entrance fee applies at the gate, and TAT's own page for the park gives its opening hours as six in the morning to six in the evening, daily.

Prasat Muang Tam

About eight kilometres south-east of Phanom Rung, in Prakhon Chai district, Prasat Muang Tam is another temple dedicated to Shiva, built around a thousand years ago in the Khleang and Baphuon Khmer artistic styles. Restoration has rebuilt every tower except the central one.

Phanom Rung, Muang Tam and the nearby Plai Bat sanctuaries are together on Thailand's tentative list for World Heritage status with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Buriram's motorsport circuit and football stadium

Chang International Circuit

Chang International Circuit, also known as Buriram International Circuit, opened in October 2014. It was Thailand's first circuit to hold Grade 1 certification from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Grade A certification from the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), the top safety grades each body awards. Its Grand Prix layout, designed by Hermann Tilke, runs 4.554 kilometres over 12 turns, and combined grandstand and berm seating holds 100,000 people.

It has hosted the Thailand round of MotoGP in 2018, 2019 and every year from 2022, with the contract to keep the race here extended to at least 2031. The circuit also hosts rounds of the Asia Road Racing Championship, and its own website lists the rest of the event calendar.

Chang Arena

Chang Arena, nicknamed the Thunder Castle, is the home stadium of Buriram United Football Club. It opened in 2011 and was later expanded to 32,600 seats, reported as the largest club-owned football stadium in Thailand.

Khao Kradong Forest Park

Khao Kradong Forest Park sits about six kilometres from the centre of Buriram town, built around one of a chain of six extinct volcanoes that dot the province at the southern edge of the Khorat Plateau, and rises to roughly 230 metres. It was gazetted as a forest park in 1978 and formally established in 1983, and is managed by Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

The hill carries the ruins of a Khmer-period sanctuary known as Prasat Khao Kradong, a seated Buddha image called Phra Suphattharabophit looking out over the town, a Buddha-footprint replica, and a staircase flanked by naga serpents.

Getting to Buriram

Buriram has its own airport with scheduled domestic flights from Bangkok. Terminal facilities, ground transport into town and which Bangkok airport the route uses are covered on the Buriram Airport page, and the current schedule for the route itself is on Bangkok to Buriram. The temples are out in the province rather than in Buriram town, and TAT points visitors at Nang Rong, a district town, as the better base for an early-morning trip to Phanom Rung.

Buriram also has a railway station on the State Railway of Thailand's north-eastern line, which runs to Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal in Bangkok. It is one of the destinations covered on this site's guide to flights from Bangkok.

Frequently asked questions

Is Buriram worth visiting?

TAT says Buriram town itself has limited attractions and activities for visitors. The draw splits two ways: the Angkorian temples at Phanom Rung and Prasat Muang Tam out in the province, and Chang International Circuit and Chang Arena on the town side, which TAT's own page names as venues many visitors do not miss.

How do I get to Buriram from Bangkok?

The most direct option is a domestic flight into Buriram's own airport. A train also runs from Bangkok on the State Railway of Thailand's north-eastern line, and driving is possible for visitors who want to explore the temple sites at their own pace.