Although routinely passed over by tourists making their way to the much-photographed islands of the Thai Gulf, the provincial capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat has some indubitable draws of its own. The most noticeable dominates the roadways as you enter the town. This is the Wat Phra Mahathat, with stupas of lichen-spotted stone, gold-tipped white pagodas, and numerous statues of the Buddha amid wisps of incense smoke. The temple dates all the way back to the 1200s, which is when the town itself was founded. Aside from the religious relics, the centuries have brought in busy bazaars that pop up ad hoc around the central streets, great city walls that now crumble after hundreds of years of wear, and cultural treasures that can be seen in the branch of the National Museum. Some Nakhon Si Thammarat tour guides also offer excursions out to the village of Kiri Wong, or treks to the dense jungles and mystical cave shrines of Khao Luang, by the mountains to the west of town.