Sukhothai was the first capital of Thiland and a UNESCO World Heritage site . In this place there is many temple and some of them are surrounded by the wide moat and water . Architecture of Sukhothai are greatly influenced by the Khmer kingdom in Cambodia . The whole ruins of the Sukhothai are divided into three zone …. Northern Zone , Western Zone and the Central Zone . Every zone has a ticket of 100 THB but most of the famous temples were situated in the central Zone and most of the people visited only this zone . This temples are mostly build in 13 th century .Central zone is a walled city and rest of the Zones are outside of the city wall .
How to come to Sukhothai :
There is no train in Sukhothai and the nearest rail station to sukhothai is Pithsanulok . Pithsanulok is 60 km from Sukhothai . There is direct train from chaing mai and Bangkok toward Pithsanulok . For coming to sukhothai from Pithsanulok you have to first reach to the new bus stand and from there is bus for Sukhothai .
If you want to come here by bus then there is direct bus from the different city in Thiland . If you are comfortable then you can directly come to this place .
There is airport in Pithsanulok . So if you want to come by flight it is also possible .
Central Zone :
Central Zone is the main place to visit . This has ruins of some of the magnificent Temple and situated inside the city wall . Admission to this place is 100 THB and the ticket is valid for only one day . For different vehicles like car , motorcycle and bicycle has different charges .
Wat Mahatat:
Wat Mahatat is the temple situated in the heart of the old Town . It has a main chedi(It is a opposite funnel like structure which was build encircling some sacred objects ) and 200 other smaller chedis . Some original Buddhist sculpture of 13 th century still exist on this temple . This temple was build in the 13 th century and the whole structure is surrounded by a wall and a moat . There are Sri lankan , Thiland and khemer style chedi in this temple .
Wat Sa Si :
Wat sa si is a temple build inside a water reservoir . It is a bell shaped structure where in front of the temple there is a white Buddha statue .
This structure is influenced by Sri Lankan style of Buddhism .
Ticket of this temple is included inside the Central Zone ticket of 100 THB .
Wat traphng ngoen:
Wat Trapong Ngon also situated inside a reservoir and very near too the Wat Mahatat . This is a small temple and in front of that there is a sitting Buddha image . The main temple structure is build like a Lotus bud .
Wat sa sawai :
This is an ancient temple which was build in the Hindu style . The temple architecture is build like a Hindu Vimana Style . The whole structure is surrounded by a wall . Originally It is a temple of Shiva and later converted to a Buddhist temple . King Rama vi visited this temple in his life time .
Wat sorasak :
In My mind Wat Sorasak is the most beautiful temple inside the central Zone . This temple was build in 1412 . Near to the ground of this temple there were all together 24 Elephants . One interesting fact about this temple is , Like Ramappa temple in India this temple also named by it’s creator Nai Intha Sorasak .
Ticket for the Wat Sorasak is included inside ticket for Central Zone ticket of 100 THB .
Statue of Ramkhamhaeng the Great :
This statue was build in the 1969 by the academy of arts to commemorate king Ramkhamhaeng the great . He was a great king in the Sukhothai Period . He is the inventor of the Thai Alphabet and this statue is twice the size of a Human and made of Bronze mixed with copper .
One thing I find very peculiar about here is that , people offer pigs meat to the statue of this king .
Ramkhamhaeng Museum :
This is a museum situated inside the central zone . There you can see Ramkhamhaeng inscription which is the earliest thai inscription .Rather than you can see lots of items which are in the sukhothai period .
Entry fees to this museum is 150 THB and which is not included in the Central Zone ticket .
Northern Zone :
Wat Phrapai luang :
In my mind this is one of the beautiful group of monuments in the Northern Zone . The whole temple complex is surrounded by a wide moat . There are mainly three building inside the complex and others mostly ruins .
This structures were mostly build in the 13 th century and the ruins of the big buddha statue is still visible . Only the front temple structure is quiet well visible and there are some relief beside this temples . Other temples are mostly ruins .
Wat si chum :
This temple is situated outside the city wall of Sukhothai in the northern part . This temple is most famous for the big sitting Buddha . almost all the complex is acquired by this Buddha statue .
The statue is in sitting posture but the golden nail polish in the Buddha statue gives unique feel to the statue .
The word si derived from a indegenious word sali , which means Bodhi tree . so the si chum means in indigenous language as Bodhi grove .
There is a huge mango tree just beside the structure , which is supposed to be 200 years old .
Entry fees to this Northern zone is 100 THB per adult and this temple is situated in the northern zone .
Western Zone :
Wat Sapan Hin :
Wat Sapan hin is a Buddhist temple situated in the western zone (outside the city wall of Sukhothai) in a small hillock . You have to climb 300m from the main road through a boulders road . After reaching there , you can see a big standing Buddha statue and a small sitting Buddha statue . From this place you can also enjoy the magnificent view of the surrounding landscape .
It is believed that king Ramkhamkaeng rode a white elephant on this place . This statue was build in the 13 th century .
Trail to this temple is little tricky and be careful on this trail .
For entering this temple you need ticket for western zone . This western zone ticket cost 100 THB for a Adult and valid for only one day .
Summary :
There has been ruins of lots of temple inside this sukhothai old city . This old city is 12 km from the new city . Accmodation can be found in the both place but my advice will be to stay inside the old town otherwise it would be very hard to commute everyday . As there is no bus and you have to book private car which is expensive for a budget traveler . So I have to hire a bicycle but it is still very hard to cycle in the afternoon . There is mainly three zones in the Sukhothai Historical Park – Northern Zone , Eastern Zone and Central Zone . For entry to every zone you need a entry fees of 100 THB .
