Sukhotai Historical Park

Sukhothai is the capital of the province of the same name. It was the capital of the first kingdom of Siam. The Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of the city. Its name literally means “Dawn of Happiness”. The ruins are about 10kms from the town, which is New Sukhothai. Nearby is the airport. There are daily flights from Bangkok to Sukhothai.

You can visit the park by car, tram or bicycle. The most famous ruins are Wat Mahathat, Wat Si Chum, Wat Chang Lom, Wat Sra Sri and Wat Phra Phai Luang. The Ramkhamhaeng Museum offers the perfect introduction to a visit of the ruins. Together with Sri Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet the Historical Park makes up the UNESCO World Heritage site “Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns”. If you are interested in history and archeology you should visit this historical park. You can easily spend a full day as there are remote ruins that get very few visitors. Sukhothai is famous for the full moon Loy Krathong festival which usually takes place in November.