Wat Woranat Banphot

Legend says Phraya Ban Mueang built the temple around 1419 in memory of his younger brother Phraya Ram. Historically the two were Sukhothai princes who fought over the throne around that year, and Ayutthaya's King Intharacha came to Phra Bang to settle it, so treat the story as legend. Another tradition says King Lithai enshrined a Buddha footprint from Lanka on Khao Kop. The firm evidence is the Wat Khao Kop inscription (Nor Wor 2), in Sukhothai Thai script and language, surveyed by Prince Damrong in 1921 and now in the Bangkok National Museum. According to Silpa Wattanatham it records the monk Si Sattha's pilgrimage to Sri Lanka and back around 1350, a companion to the Wat Si Chum inscription (Sukhothai Inscription No. 2), and says nothing of Phraya Ban Mueang founding the temple.

There are two stories behind 'Khao Kop' (Frog Hill): an elderly couple, Ta Kop and Yai Khiat, donated about 100 rai, or the hill is shaped like a frog. Late in Rama V's reign Luang Pho Thong, a wandering monk from Thung Yang in Uttaradit, settled here and served as abbot for about 45 years, spending about ten years restoring the great chedi and five on the ordination hall; in 1909 he placed among the top ten in an examination at Phra Pathom Chedi. He died on 18 April 1941, aged about 80; his coin, with the chedi on the back, is well known. In 1966 the Religious Affairs Department named it a model development temple.

The summit holds a vihara with a replica Buddha footprint and a Sukhothai-period relic chedi. At the foot stands a great bell-shaped Sukhothai chedi of about the 14th–15th centuries, reportedly with a Fine Arts Department plaque, though no registration notice in the Royal Gazette was found. There are also the Luang Pho Thong vihara, a reclining-Buddha vihara, an old ordination hall with statues of Ta Kop and Yai Khiat, a naga pond and a Thao Wessuwan shrine; TV masts also stand on the hill.

You can climb about 437–439 steps, much of them without a handrail, or drive a winding paved road about 3 m wide almost to the top. The summit looks over the city, the meeting of the Ping and Nan, and the golden chedi of Wat Khiri Wong on the next hill; on clear days you can see Bueng Boraphet. Every Ok Phansa, monks walk down the Khao Kop stairs to receive alms in a Tak Bat Thewo attended by tens of thousands; in 2016 the abbot was Phra Sophon Waraphon, deputy provincial ecclesiastical head, the temple received a royal kathin in 2023, and in 2026 Ok Phansa falls on 26 October.

The grounds are open about 06:00–18:00 and the summit buildings about 08:00–17:00; entry is free. Dress modestly. There is a crematorium at the foot, so you may meet a funeral. Watch for stray dogs and midday sun. The hill road is one-way, so follow the signs rather than your phone map. Dawn and sunset give the best views.