Thailand Guide
The central plains
Sukhothai Historical Park (Muang Kao Sukhothai)
Opening time: Daily 6am–6pm
Price: B100 per zone, or B350 inclusive, plus B10–50 per vehicle
Address: 12km west of New Sukhothai
In its prime, the Old City of Sukhothai boasted around forty separate temple complexes and covered an area of some 70 square kilometres. At its heart stood the walled royal city, protected by a series of moats and ramparts. Sukhothai Historical Park (Muang Kao Sukhothai) covers all this area and is divided into five zones. All of the most important temples, including Wat Mahathat, Wat Sri Sawai and Wat Trapang Ngoen, lie within the central zone, and the Ramkhamhaeng Museumis just outside it. The best of the outer zone temples are Wat Sri Chum and Wat Phra Phai Luang, both in the north zone,
With the help of UNESCO, the Thai government's Fine Arts Department has restored the most significant ruins and the result reveals the original town planners' keen aesthetic sense, especially their astute use of water to offset and reflect the solid monochrome contours of the stone temples. Although there is a touch of the too perfectly packaged theme park about the central zone (and, in some critics' opinions, too liberal an interpretation of thirteenth-century design), it's a serene and rewarding site, with plenty to investigate should you want to look more closely. It does, however, take a determined imagination to visualize the ancient capital as it must once have looked, not least because houses and palaces would have filled the spaces between the temples – like their Khmer predecessors, the people of Sukhothai constructed their secular buildings from perishable materials such as wood, only using expensive, durable stone for their sacred structures.
Pick-ups from New Sukhothai (every 15min; 15min; B30) terminate beside two cycle rental outlets, about 500m northeast of the central zone entrance point. Bicycles are the best way of getting around the historical park, but you could hop onto the trolley bus that, during busy times only, starts from near the museum and takes groups round the central zone for B20 per person. Tuk-tuk taxis at the New Sukhothai bus station and in the town offer a four-hour tour of the ruins plus return transport for about B500.