Phetchaburi (, ) or Phet Buri () is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in southern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, capital of

Phetchaburi Province Phetchaburi (, ) or Phet Buri () is one of the western or central Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Ratchaburi province, Ratchaburi, Samut Songkhram province, Samut So ...

. In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds" (''buri'' meaning "city" in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

). It is approximately 160 km south of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, at the northern end of the Thai peninsula. As of 2005, the town had a population of 26,181 and covers the two ''

tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' of Bangkok, whi ...

'' Tha Rap and Khlong Krachaeng. The Phetchaburi River runs through the middle of the city. The region is mostly flat, save for a single hill (called ''Khao Wang'') on the outskirts of town. The royal palace named Phra Nakhon Khiri and one of the many wats are on top of Khao Wang. The hill and town is the site of an annual festival, called the Phra Nakhon Khiri Fair. It lasts for eight days in early February and includes a sound and light show and classical Thai dance. The official city flower is the leelowadee flower or frangipani. Phetchaburi is known for its traditional Thai desserts. The most well-known is a

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

dessert called khanom mor gaeng. Other popular desserts include Portuguese-influenced thong yip, thong yod, and foi thong. In 2021, Phetchaburi was recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a creative city of gastronomy. PhetchaburiHill

Climate

Education

Phetchaburi has numerous private and public schools from K-12. Several have English programs taught by native English speakers to ready students for higher education. Some of the schools are Benchamatheputhit School, Prommanusorn School, Benjamaputit Mattayom School, Wat Don Kaitia Prathom School, and Arunpradit Prathom/Mattayom School. There are also several universities, including Phetchaburi Ratchabat University.

Transportation

In the city proper, the primary mode of transportation is by motor vehicle with motorbikes being the most popular. Cars are the second major form of transportation. Locals also travel by hired motorcycles and songthaews.

References

External links

*
Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi
{{Authority control Populated places in Phetchaburi province Cities and towns in Thailand