Mueang Mukdahan District

Mueang Mukdahan District offers striking sights: a temple complex with large Buddha and Naga statues stands on Mano Mountain; the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge crosses the Mekong, and imported goods meet local textiles at the Indochina Market. These varied impressions offer a clear choice of focus for your trip: temple art, market life or scenery.

Buddha and Naga on Mano Mountain

Wat Roi Phra Phutthabat Phu Manorom is located on Mano Mountain in Ban Khao Manorom village, Nasinuan Subdistrict, Mueang Mukdahan District. The Buddha statue พระเจ้าใหญ่แก้วมุกดาศรีไตรรัตน์ stands out for its size: it is 39.99 metres wide across the lap and 84 metres high from the base to the top of the head. If you are interested in religious imagery and its design, this is a distinctive destination for a focus on temples and culture.

The Naga statue พญาศรีมุกดามหามุนีนีลปาลนาคราช is also part of the same wat. It is 122 metres long and 20 metres high. Worshippers pray there and walk beneath the Naga’s body for good luck. The Buddha and Naga statues thus represent two different forms of religious imagery within the temple complex: the large Buddha figure and the long statue shaped as a Naga.

The landscaped grounds of the wat also offer views of Mukdahan, Savannakhet, Ho Kaeo, the Mekong and the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge. If you are interested in these local views, you can consider Mukdahan as an additional stop when planning your trip.

Bridge across the Mekong

The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge crosses the Mekong from Ban Song Phueai in Mueang Mukdahan District to Ban Na Kae in Kaysone Phomvihane, Savannakhet Province, Laos. On the Thai side, it is in Ban Song Phueai, on Highway 212 in Bang Sai Yai Subdistrict. Its direct connection across the border makes the bridge a notable topic if you are interested in the links between places along the Mekong.

Market, textiles and festivals

The Indochina Market offers imported goods from Russia, China, Vietnam and Laos. Local products from Mukdahan are also sold there, including silk and Mudmee fabric. The market therefore brings goods from several countries together with products from the region. If you enjoy discovering regional textiles, you might approach a visit differently from someone mainly interested in where the imported goods come from.

Every year at the turn of the year, the Four Lands Countdown festival takes place at the Indochina Market on the banks of the Mekong. Another recurring event is the Thai Mukdahan Ethnic Gathering, Sweet Tamarind by the Mekong festival, held every year from December to January. A worship and offering ceremony is held every year in May at the Chao Mae Song Nang Phi Nong Shrine. These dates give your travel interests a seasonal dimension: the market, festival and ceremony are different occasions to explore cultural life in Mueang Mukdahan District.

Reservoir and watershed forest

The district’s landscape and water resources are also worth exploring. Huai Rai Reservoir in Dong Mon Subdistrict is a tourist destination. A project has protected and restored 131,634 rai of watershed forest above three reservoirs so that the forest can serve as a natural water reservoir. The project covers Dong Luang and Mueang Mukdahan districts in Mukdahan Province. Your trip can therefore cater to different interests: religious art, goods and textiles, annual festivals or a visit to the reservoir.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Khamcha-I District.

Go to the overview of the wider destination: Mukdahan.