Central Thailand is the country's historic heartland, the flat river plain that produced two of its former capitals and still feeds most of the nation's rice. Almost everything here is an easy day trip or overnight from Bangkok, which makes it the most-visited region outside the capital itself without ever feeling as crowded.
Ayutthaya, the second Siamese capital before the Burmese sacked it in 1767, is the headline stop — a UNESCO-listed field of brick temple ruins you can cycle between in an afternoon. Sukhothai, the first capital, is further north and quieter, its restored ruins spread through a landscaped historical park. Lopburi and Kamphaeng Phet round out the old-capitals circuit for travellers with more time.
Kanchanaburi carries a heavier history — the Bridge on the River Kwai and the Death Railway, built by Allied POWs and Asian labourers under brutal conditions during the Second World War. Further west, Sangkhla Buri sits near the Myanmar border, a quiet Mon town with Thailand's longest wooden bridge. Khao Yai National Park, one of the country's largest protected forests, is the region's best wildlife-watching, with wild elephants, hornbills, and a rapidly growing wine industry on its fringes.
