Thailand, home to eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, is now advancing the nomination of Phra That Phanom Stupa, its historic buildings, and associated landscape by submitting the Preliminary Assessment dossier to the World Heritage Committee’s advisory bodies.
On 8 September, the country’s National Committee on the World Heritage Convention approved the dossier, paving the way for the stupa’s official inscription.
Path to World Heritage Status
Phra That Phanom Stupa was first included on UNESCO’s Tentative List in February 2017 and received formal endorsement in July of the same year.
Since then, national efforts have intensified.
Former Minister of Culture Sudawan Wangsupakitkosol announced full governmental support for achieving UNESCO inscription by 2027, which would make Phra That Phanom Thailand’s ninth World Heritage site and the 6th Cultural World Heritage Sites.

Thailand currently boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage sites: five cultural sites including the Historic Town of Sukhothai, Historic City of Ayutthaya , Ban Chiang Archaeological Site, Si Thep, and Phu Phrabat, plus three natural sites including Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng, Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai, and Kaeng Krachan.
Outstanding Universal Value
According to UNESCO, Phra That Phanom Stupa holds architectural and artistic significance, as it combines Cham, Thailand Northeast (Isaan), Lao Lane Xang (Present Laos), and Indian Buddhist styles with local Mekong influences, reflecting the creativity and spiritual identity of the people of Northeast Thailand.
Moreover, UNESCO emphasizes its role in cultural exchange and regional influence, noting that the stupa embodies more than a millennium of interaction between Mekong communities and Hindu-Buddhist traditions from India, which helped shape regional architecture, art, and folk practices.
UNESCO also recognizes the stupa as a living heritage site, as it continues to host Buddhist ceremonies, annual festivals, and local cultural practices, thereby reinforcing its enduring spiritual, social, and cultural significance across the Mekong River Basin.

Living Heritage
Located within Phra That Phanom Woramahawihan Temple in Nakhon Phanom Province, northeast Thailand, the stupa stands 600 meters from the Mekong River.
Local chronicles claim it was built eight years after Buddha’s passing to enshrine his breastbone relic, though archaeological evidence dates the earliest structure to the 7th-8th centuries CE.
The site remains a center of worship.
The annual Phra That Phanom Stupa festival, held during the third lunar month’s full moon (typically in late February or March), attracts thousands of devotees who participate in the ritualistic wrapping of the stupa with sacred cloth both from Thai and neighboring Lao people.
Local belief holds that visiting seven times makes one a “child of the stupa”, life’s highest blessing. However, even visiting and paying respects just once is believed to bring good fortune.
Preservation Challenges
Despite its spiritual significance, Phra That Phanom Stupa has also faced serious preservation challenges over the years.
The stupa collapsed during heavy rains in August 1975, leading to extensive archaeological excavations that confirmed its ancient origins.

The Thailand’s Fine Arts Department registered it as an ancient monument in 1935, expanding protection to four hectares around the Monument in 1979.