City: Si Satchanalai Historical Park

City of Viceroy

Si Satchanalai Historical Park is divided into 3 sites; in a historic city walls, outside the city walls and the sources of Sangkhalok ware.

UNESCO: Entrance to Si Satchanalai Historical Park

City

The city is a green flat area along the Yom River, plenty of large trees providing shade. It is the habitat of large amount of Egret. The charm of the historical park is impressive.

Architecture and art are Sukhothai style. The beauty and sophistication that reflects the ideas and creative skills are not inferior to the Sukhothai.

Main Chedi, Wat Chang Lom

Wat Chang Lom

Scholars assumed that this temple was built to honor King Ramkhamhaeng the Great.

The temple not only the most famous and most appeared in photographs and video clips. It is a place that attracts me to come here. Reason is the large decorative elephant sculptures at the base of the Lanka style chedi. They are distinctive by sizing as much as real elephants stand apart from the main base for almost the entire bodies.

Live Size Elephant Sculptures

It seems the main chedi here is a little smaller than the ones at Wat Chang Rop, Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. However, it is in much better condition. Help me filling more imagination to other elephant sculpture chedis that created in Sukhothai and associated historic towns.

Wat Chedi Chet Thaew

This temple title means temple with a great number of chedi. It is such the museum of all type of chedi during Sukhothai period.

An Array of Chedi, Wat Chedi Chet Taew

The main lotus-bud chedi, which is the original art of Sukhothai not appeared to be built in any era, located behind the viharn. And the viharn surrounded by various styles of over 30 chedis.

Imagination Tool for Chedi Styles

Currently, it is difficult to understand the characteristic of the chedis at the temple clearly. At first, straight to the display podium, reconstructed illustration is a great tool to watch the chedis here.

Prince Damrong Rajanupab, the father of Thai history, believes this place was storing the bone ash of the royal family, Phra Ruang dynasty of Sukhothai.

Wat Nang Phaya

The famous is the exterior of viharn decorated with finest pattern stucco. It was created as the early Ayutthaya art. The delicate patterns inspired the Si Satchanalai goldsmiths to produce gold jewelry that widely known today.

There is not much stucco remained on the wall. The patterns are flowers, leaves and Thai graphic.

Main Chedi, Wat Nang Phaya

Thai Stucco Pattern

Wat Khao Phanom Ploeng

For me the idea of walking up the 144 steps for worship is worth the effort. I had to be careful the slippery laterite steps amid the drizzle and gray sky. The flock of egret and their unpleasant smell were a bit annoying. The trees around the temple are their habitat.