Page 91 - Experience Thailand and More

WHAT TO DO Before you start your exploration in earnest, stop by at the Visitors’ Center,

located in front of Wat Phra Phai Luang, to pick up useful information, and
AND SEE opposite the park entrance is the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum with
its impressive collection of artefacts and exhibits explaining Sukhothai’s
history.

Considered the birthplace of Loy Kratong, there is a major celebration held
each year during this holiday.

Sukhothai Historical Park
First Thai Renaissance
Mueang Kao, Muang, Sukhothai
(+66) 55 697 241
Sun. – Fri. 6.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Sat. 6.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m.

Just 12 kilometers down the road from town takes you to the
now restored UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sukhothai Historical
Park, the capital of the first Thai kingdom. While there is some
disagreement about when it was actually founded, it reigned for
about two centuries, from the mid thirteenth to the mid fifteenth,
when it was usurped by Ayutthaya. The city is surrounded by three
walls one inside the next and two moats with bridges leading to
four gateways. The park is divided into five zones with visitors
gravitating first to the central grand pagoda surrounded by eight
small stupas and Wat Mahathat. To the north of this is Wat Chana
Songkram with its bell-shaped pagoda and, nearby, the monument
to the kingdom’s founder, King Ramkhamhaeng.

91