Si Satchanalai Historical Park

Part Of The UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Town Of Sukhothai And Associated Historic Towns (1991); Sukhothai'S Twin City On The Yom River, With The Sangkhalok Kilns · Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai

Si Satchanalai was the second city of the Sukhothai kingdom, a walled town on the west bank of the Yom river about 55 to 70 kilometres north of Sukhothai, traditionally governed by the heir to the throne. Its ruins are part of the same UNESCO World Heritage Site as Sukhothai, but they see a fraction of the visitors, so the brick chedis, laterite pillars and hilltop shrines stand in quiet forest with birdsong rather than tour groups. The centrepiece is Wat Chang Lom, a bell-shaped chedi on a square base ringed by the front halves of stucco elephants. Beside it, Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo packs rows of small chedis in different styles, Wat Nang Phaya keeps delicate stucco reliefs on a laterite wall, and two small hills inside the walls carry Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng and Wat Khao Suwan Khiri. Downstream at Chaliang, Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat sits in a bend of the river, and a few kilometres upstream at Ban Ko Noi are the kilns that made Sangkhalok ceramics for export across Southeast Asia. Go early, cycle, and carry water.

Si Satchanalai Historical Park, Si Satchanalai, Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai, 64190, Thailand

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the historical park has opened daily from about 8 am to about 4.30 or 5 pm, with no weekly closing day, and last ticket sales about half an hour before closing; the park lanes may be accessible earlier but the ticket booths set the practical start. The kiln centre at Ban Ko Noi and the museums in Sawankhalok and Sukhothai keep shorter hours, about 9 am to 4 pm, and Thai museums commonly have a weekly closing day, often Monday, Tuesday or both; check. The traps that ruin a day are arriving at midday after a late bus, finding the rental bikes and tram not running on a quiet day, missing the last bus back to Sukhothai on Route 101, and riding out to the kilns on their closing day. Confirm current times before relying on them.

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