Sukhothai is one of the hidden pearls of Thailand vacations, as the first capital of Thailand and important part of Thai history, there are so many ruins and sights that every tourist must see, please don’t forget your camera.
Sukhothai Historical Park
Open daily 8:30-16:30. The ancient site is situated 12km west of the new town of Sukhothai. Following the completion of a 10-years UNESCO restoration project, it is now a manicured historical park covering a total area of 70 sq km, with lawns and ornamental ponds set against a distant background of wooded hills. Within the confines of the ancient cities ramparts are more than 20 major monuments, while numerous other sights are scattered throughout the park.
The best starting point for a tour of the site is the Ramkamhaeng National Museum (Wed-Sun 09:00 16:00), which provides a useful introduction to the period. The museum is next to the core of old Sukhothai, whose principal monuments within the city walls described below.
* Wat Mahathat: The biggest and most magnificent of Sukhothais temples, dominated by a chedi in the form of a lotus bud. On the surrounding platform are four stupas and four prangs, while the base is decorated with stucco figures of Buddhist disciples. To the sides are two giant statues of the sanding Buddha, and on the eastern side are twin rows of pillars and a platform with a large image of the seated Buddha.
* Wat Sri Sawai: Southwest of Wat Mahathat, this temple is distinguished by three large Khmer-style prangs. It was possibly predates the founding of the Thai capital and was probably first built as a shrine to he Hindu god Siva before being converted to Buddhist use.
* Wat Trapang Ngoen: West of Wat Mahathat, the temple is picturesquely sited on an island in the middle of an ornamental lake.
* Wat Sra Sri: Another island temple, north of Wat Mahathat, noted for its fine Sri Lankan-style chedi and the remains of a large viharn with a stucco Buddha image.
Of the several monuments outside old city walls, two are essential:
* Wat Phra Phai Luang: A 10 min walk beyond the northern gateway is an extensive ruin that rivals Wat Mahathat in importance. Its Khmer-style prang (the only one remaining of the original three) redates the Thai period. In front of the prang are the ruins of a viharn and a chedi, the base of the later being decorated with stucco Buddha images. Nearby is a mondop enclosing the ruined statues of the Buddha in walking, standing , sitting and reclining postures.
* Wat Si Chum: Southwest of Wat Phra Phai Luang, the temple is impressive for its huge mondop built around an enormous stucco-over-brick statue of the seated Buddha, measuring 11.3m 837ft) across the lap. Inside the walls of the mondop is a narrow passage whose ceiling is decorated with beautifully engraved slabs illustrating scenes from the Jakata tales.
One of the places that I have never had a chance to go in Thailand. I know that it is very picturesque and have a lot of ruins from ancient capital of Thailand Sukhothai.
Sukhothai is very nice, I quite like the historical park and ruins from the old kingdom. Definitely need to take the camera on trip to Sukhothai.
It is very nice destination with a lot of places to visit, I guess that everybody that is interested in history would love to go to Sukhothai.