Phra Nakhon Khiri (Khao Wang) (Phetchaburi)

Phra Nakhon Khiri in Phetchaburi was somewhere we came across.

 Phra Nakhon Khiri Palace, locally known as Khao Wang, means ‘Heavenly City on the Hill’. This magnificent landmark built under the royal command of King Rama IV (King Mongkut) is located at Khlong Krachaeng Sub-district, Muang Phetchaburi District, Phetchaburi Province. The historical park is situated on three neighbouring  peaks of a 95 meters high verdant hill. This hill was  formerly  called  Khao  Samon (comes from Pali : samana), because  there  was  a  Wat (temple ) called  Samana   (Pali : literally means monk)on  the  eastern  slope.  In  1859  during  the  reign  of  King  Rama  IV ,  the  hill  came  to  be assumed  as an official  name  as  Khao Maha Samana.( means the hill of the great monk) Naturally, the  hill  was  given  the  elegant  name of Maha Sawan  conferred  upon  by  the  king,  meaning  the  ‘Great  Heavenly  Abode’.

          King  Rama  IV  ascended  the  throne  in  1851. Seven years later,  in  1859,  he  began  a  project  of  constructing  a  palace  complex  with  a  royal  temple  on  the Maha Sawan hill. He appointed his Defense Minister, Phraya Si Suriyawong (Chuang Bunnak) as the project director. He  was  later  promoted to  a  higher  title  of  Somdet  Chao  Phraya  Borom  Maha  Si Suriyawong.  The  director  of  the  construction  was  Phra  Phetchara  Phisai  Si  Sawat (Thuam  Bunnak). As soon as the project was completed, King  Rama IV named it Phra Nakhon Khiri.

It was quite clearly a museum on the top of a hill - but there was not a lot for me to read whist I was there.

There seemed to be two or more temples on the top of the hill.

There were also indigenous monkeys living there whist we visited.

And here's a video of the area.