Understand
Uthai Thani is a province abundant in natural resources, such as forests and wildlife. Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Reserve was proclaimed a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site on 13 December 1991. The reserve has jungles, forests, plains, many streams, and most importantly, number of rare and endangered animals.
Due to the verdant nature of the area, Uthai Thani is a province with unspoiled natural tourist destinations that are of interest to tourist everywhere. Furthermore, visitors can see the different lifestyles of locals, such as the life of raft residents on Sakae Krang River, a waterway that aided the birth of the province and which has been a lifeline for its people since ancient times. It is also where provincial trading has flourished. Life revolving around the river eventually grew from a community into the major province that it is today.
The most striking indication of the bond between the people and the river since the old days is that in 1906, when King Rama V visited Northern provinces and stayed in Sakae Krang village, the monk Phra Khru Uthai Tham Nithet Chan built 2 twin rafts to receive the king. This clearly showed the importance of the river and the lifestyle of the people living off it in that period.
In addition, at the end of the Buddhist Lent, Buddhists from all directions congregate in the province for a major merit-making tradition called Tak Bat Thewo at the foot of Khao Sakae Krang at Wat Sangkat Rattana Khiri. This festival has been held in Uthai Thani since ancient times.
