Si Satchanalai Historical Park
Si Satchanalai was a parallel city of Sukhothai, located about 70 kilometers to the north. The two cities were tightly linked, both physically and culturally. While the king ruled in Sukhothai, his crown prince governed in Si Satchanalai.
Click on any of the sights or labels for more information.
The area around Si Satchanalai appears to have been occupied long before the founding of the city. The archaeological finds at Wat Chum Chuen shows that people had been living here since the 3rd or 4th centuries.
While Si Satchanalai is contemporary with Sukhothai, as well as Chiang Mai, it does differ from most other cities of its time in that it is not oriented on an east-west axis. Instead, it follows the river in a roughly northwest-southeast orientation. A further unusual feature is that the city walls enclose a small ridge which roughly bisects the city.
The Si Satchanalai Historical Park encompasses the inner city within the walls, the sites at Chalieng east of the city, the kilns to the north, and some other temples to the west. At a minimum, you should visit the eastern temples as well as the inner city. As at Sukhothai, you can pay an admission fee for each area separately, for 100 Baht (3.06 USD), or buy an all-inclusive ticket for 220 Baht (6.73 USD).