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| One of the most impressive Buddhas in Thailand Sukhothai is amazingly not famous as Ayutthaya or Chiang Mai despite the beauty of its Historical Park. |
Why should I not miss Sukhothai:
Amazing temples are scattered all over the country in Thailand and particularly in the North Region.
Ayutthaya is certainly very famous for its old temples and for the two iconic Buddhas: The Buddha in the three and the huge Reclining Buddha.
But if what you want to visit is a great archaeological site, where temples are kept and properly preserved in clean and well kept gardens we think you should add an extra stop on your road from Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai.
The place to visit is Sukhothai and its wonderful Historical Park.
After visiting Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Kho Tao and Phang Nga Bay, we decided to post about Sukhothai.
We think is unmissable.
Why?
Sukhothai Historical Park offers the best preserved city of the 13th Century Thai Kingdom.
The position of the park is fantastic.
Away from the modern town of Sukhothai the old town is completely unspoiled and all around you don't see many busy roads or modern buildings as you easily notice in Ayutthaya.
The feeling is not just to visit some ruins of this city that in the 13th Century was the capital of the Skhothai Kingdom.
The feeling is to visit the city how it was centuries ago.
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| Sukhothai offers also a wonderful setting for its wonderful temples. |
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| The official map of the Historical Park helps to appreciate the dimension of the Capital of the Old Kingdom |
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| Notice how well preserved are the coloumns and the statues in the Park |
Useful tips to visit the Park:
1. Look for accommodation in modern Sukhothai, as near the old town there is little accommodation. Best area is near the night market. Look for some bungalows accommodation with a swimming pool.
2. Look out for the bus (an open van) stopping along the main road that connects modern Sukhotai to Old Sukhotai, where the Historical Park is.
3. When in Old Sukhotai rent a bike at the entrance of the the Historical Park.
You will enjoy the visit much better with a bike than dragging yourself around under the sun (little shade provided in the park unfortunately!)
4. Inside the Historical Park is very little to buy food and drinks, bring plenty with you.
5. Allow a full day to visit the Historical Park.
6. There is not much else to see in the area apart the Historical Park. Two nights on Sukhothai are certainly more than enough.
7. The park is wonderfully preserved. Use your imagination to really feel how the city should have look in the 13th Century. It is not so difficult and it is a wonderful experience.
How to get to Sukhothai?
If you are travelling to Sukhothai is likely you are coming from Bangkok or Ayutthaya or you are discending from Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai.
In all this cases it certainly advisable to take the bus and not the train, as there is not train station in Sukhothai and you will have to travel to Phitsanulok and then take a bus for another hour.
Much easier is to travel by bus from Bangkok Mo Chit Terminal there are direct buses and the travel takes around 7 hours, 5 hrs from Ayutthaya and around 7 hours from Chiang Mai.
Consider that the bus station is far out the modern town so you will need a tuk tuk at arrival and the fact that Sukhotai is a relatively little town.
For both reasons we advise you not to arrive late at night unless you have already agreed with your guesthouse for someone coming at the bus station for you.
As said the Historical park in Sukhothai is around 7km away from the modern city, so look for the large open vans along the main road for visiting the archaeological park.
What else to see in Thailand?
Read also our post about How to travel in Thailand and Our page "Visit Thailand" for more info.
Visit also Our page "Visit Thailand" for more posts and recommended itineraries for your visit.