Nakhon Si Thammarat

Nakhon Si Thammarat is one of the oldest cities in Thailand and the cultural heart of the upper south. Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan's towering chedi, topped with a solid gold spire, is among the most sacred Buddhist sites in the country and one of only two Thai temples housing a genuine relic of the Buddha. The surrounding old town has atmospheric shophouses, nang talung (shadow puppet) workshops, and a slower rhythm than the beach-resort south.

The province's Khao Luang National Park shelters the south's highest peak (1,835 m) and has stunning waterfalls — Krung Ching, a multi-tiered cascade in pristine forest, is the highlight but requires a 4 km trek. The coast between Sichon and Khanom has beautiful, near-empty beaches and a growing scene of boutique guesthouses. Pink dolphins are sometimes spotted in the waters off Khanom. The Kiriwong village at the base of Khao Luang is a celebrated community tourism project where visitors can stay with families, hike forest trails, and taste southern Thai cooking at its source — the fiery curries here are legendary.