Where is sukhothai historical park

Sukhothai kind of falls midway between Bangkok 5. So, in case you are planning to visit both cities, you might as well make a stop in the middle. There are several ways to get to Sukhothai from Chiang Mai. Here are some of the most popular ones. Like you must have guessed already, 6am — 9am is the least crowded and the calmest time to visit.

If you are an early riser, more power to you! All major temples, including the most iconic ones like Wat Mahathat, are located in the Central Zone. Entry to each zone is priced separately at Baht for foreign tourists and 20 Baht for Thai locals. You can get a combined ticket for all the zones at Baht. But I would advise against doing that because one — the combined ticket is valid for one day. Just the Central and North zones can take up two days of your time, done at a leisurely pace.

I encourage you to think about the other zones only if you plan to spend more than two days in Sukhothai. If you have a bicycle with you, that will be another 10 Baht for admission. If you have a motorbike, you need to pay 30 Baht extra. You need to pay an additional Baht if you wish to visit Ramkhamhaeng National Museum.

You can rent one at the entrance to the park or at the hotel where you are staying. I am sure there will be a shop around to assist you. Have a look at this guided cycling tour if the entire renting process seems a little overwhelming. Pick their Historical Park Tour and see the best that Sukhothai ruins have to offer.

Even though it is possible to get around Sukhothai Historical Park on foot, it is not a great idea because it gets terribly hot in the afternoon throughout the year. We visited in January and trust me, it was like super hot! If you are only planning to see the Central Zone where the ruins are more clustered, then walking is a good option. But get there early. The best time to visit Sukhothai is in the winters November — February when temperatures are relatively lower and weather is pleasant.

Summers March — May are extremely hot and July — October is rainy. Other great times to visit Sukhothai are during traditional Thai festivals such as Loy Krathong a beautiful floating candles festival usually held in October — November , Songkran in April, and King Ramkhamhaeng Festival in January.

When visiting Sukhothai, you can stay either in Old Sukhothai also called Mueang Kao which is close to the historical park or New Sukhothai which has more accommodation options. We stayed in a really comfy, budget hotel called Lotus Place in New Sukhothai and used a motorbike to get to the ruins every morning. You can also ride a songathew which costs about 30 Baht per ride to the historical park.

Find more hotels in Sukhothai here. Sukhothai Historical Park is more than years old. The first temple here was founded between — Old town of Sukhothai is located 7. Sukhothai old city is the ancient capital of Sukhothai Kingdom which was the first empire in Thailand. Sukhothai Historical Park is huge. It is spread over hectares and consists of 5 different zones — central, north, south, east, and west. Each of these zones has ruins of several Buddhist shrines, palaces, and pedestals.

Apparently, there are close to ruins in Sukhothai. Buddha is seen in a graceful walking position with one foot forward and his right hand showering blessings and reassurance.

Strangely, this figure makes Buddha more humanlike. The integrity of Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet is to be found, individually for each town, in the large number of intact standing structures and historic urban morphology but is challenged by the ongoing excavation of the monuments programme.

The integrity of all three cities together is characterized by the intact landscape engineering which created the elaborate and extensive infrastructure of water reservoirs, canals and roads which were common to all three historic towns and linked them together, giving a political, economic and cultural coherence to the large territory controlled by the Sukhothai Kingdom.

The integrity of the property is further reflected in the architecture and art features at all sites, as well as the language and content of stone inscriptions discovered on site, in addition to other material culture remains uncovered through archaeological excavation in the three towns. In the past some objects have been removed from Sukhothai for protection. The entire extent of each historic town is protected within the boundaries of their respective national park, which are also, collectively, the boundaries of the World Heritage property, and no development other than that which serves site protection, conservation and interpretation is allowed.

There is no through traffic within the parks, and all activities within the parks are strictly controlled, including the protection of the historic landscape and the strict regulation of the use of the monuments most of which are the remains of former temples or Buddhist monasteries.

This ensures that the archaeological, as well as the historic integrity of the monuments, and the relationship of one to another is maintained. The authenticity of the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns is derived from a variety of sources.

First and foremost among them is the authenticity of the architectural remains of temples and Buddhist monasteries which have been protected by custom since they were first constructed.

Over their long history of almost years, the buildings — whether in active use or as historic relics -- have been maintained and repaired using traditional materials and methods.

Since the s, with the registration of the remains of the historic towns under government protection, the Thai Fine Arts Department has overseen all maintenance, conservation and repair work. Archaeological excavations have revealed the remains of economic activities which took place on site, in particular, that of a flourishing ceramic export industry, which has been dated to the period of the Sukhothai Kingdom by thermoluminesence as well as through comparative analysis with dated material from other sites.

These remain intact and their historic functions can be determined. These landscape engineering features have been dated through a variety of chronometric techniques appropriate to archaeology of the historic period, including through palaeontology and palaeo-botanical analysis. The roads, canals, dams and dykes are still in use today by the local population.

The religious establishments in the historic sites continue to be revered and used for worship. Traditional festivals are still maintained on site. The unique Thai language alphabet invented at Sukhothai remains in use today. The actual Historical Park is very large and also continues outside the old city wall, where you will find countless temples or ruins. If you have rented a scooter, then you can reach them with it, but keep in mind the extra costs.

In front of the entrance there are also Tuk Tuks offering their services. We decided on the option with the bicycle. That way you can comfortably explore the whole area in the Historical Park and pay only 10 baht to rent the bike. Not to mention, you will have a little exercise. Shops can be found right across the street from the entrance to the park. In addition, the owner of the shop also gives you a small map of Sukhothai, in which all interesting temple ruins are listed.

From the bike rental you can turn right around the Historical Park and then take another turn to the right. This way you reach the temples outside the old city wall. A few meters after the city wall you will see the first ruin, which you can visit as a first stop. The Wat Mae Chon. A small ruin containing a seated Buddha statue. If you follow the road, there is a small wooden bridge on the left side. You can ride your bike over the bridge and then visit the Wat Phra Phai Luang.

Many Buddha statues were stolen here in the s, so there are only a few statues left. Originally, there were three Prangs in this temple, which was built around the 15th century. Inanimate pillars and mossy walls presented the splendid and magnificent beauty of this ancient city. Although it has a little cafe, the park is large, so you should prepare water and snacks in advance. Also, wear comfortable shoes, a hat, and apply sun cream before visiting.

Please note that when visiting temples in Thailand, you should not wear shorts, short skirts. Also, shoulders and knees should be covered. These are really great!

I have actually seen some pictures and guides of Sukhothai park but your images are great among them. And yes the guide of course. Thanks for sharing this great post.