Si Satchanalai-Chaliang Historical Park is an atmospheric region of temple ruins which you could visit instead of or as well as Sukhothai Historical Park. It’s a surreal kind of place set among low-lying hills pockmarked with ancient ruins from the Sukhothai era.

It is located about 60kms north of Sukhothai and boasts UNESCO World Heritage status like its larger neighbor. More than 200 temples and monuments have been rediscovered within the park. It receives far fewer visitors than Sukhothai and the ruins have been left more in their raw state, both of which appeal to some visitors.

The most visited temples at Si Satchanalai are Wat Chang Lom and Wat Jet Taew, which stand opposite each other near the entrance to the site. Both date back to the late 13th century and the former is a chedi ringed by elephant sculptures, while the latter contains 34 small chedi arranged in seven rows. Other significant sites include the hilltop Wat Khao Phanom Pheung and Wat Nang Phaya, which has a Sri Lankan-style chedi thought to have been built in the 15th or 16th century.

At Chaliang, a couple of kilometers east of Si Satchanalai, Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat features a Khmer-style prang and a laterite bell-shaped chedi, as well as sitting and standing Buddhas. This temple can be accessed directly from Highway 101 via a wobbly pedestrian suspension bridge over the Yom River, and you’ll have to duck to go through the temple entrance as the walls have sunk over the years.

A short way west of this temple, Wat Chao Chan has a prang that archaeologists believe was built in the 12th century; Chaliang in fact pre-dates the Sukhothai Kingdom, and was once a flourishing part of the ancient Khmer kingdom.

The small road heading north from the historical park features the Sawankhalok Kilns, which were famed for the quality of their ceramics throughout the Sukhothai era, and there’s the Si Satchanalai Centre for Study and Preservation of Sangkhalok Kilns, showing how the kilns operated.

Si Satchanalai-Chaliang Historical Park is a bit out of the way and best visited by hire car or motorbike, though it’s much more fun to cycle round the park, and bikes can be hired for 20B.

Simply follow Highway 101 north from Sukhothai, via Sawankhalok, and then follow the signs. Sukhothai is less than an hour’s flying time from Bangkok and the airport is about half-way between the two historical parks. The nearest train station is in Uttaradit, about 30km to the northeast.

  • What is it? The historical remains of a satellite town of Sukhothai.
  • When to go? Year round but November through February for the coolest weather.
  • Opening hours: 08:00-16:30 daily
  • Entrance fee: Si Satchanalai 100B; Wat Phra Sri Ratana Mahathat 20B; Wat Chao Chan 100B. Car 50B, bicycle rent 20B.
  • Address: just west off Highway 101.
  • Nearest town: Si Satchanalai new town is about 11km north of the historical park.
  • Don’t miss: exploring by bicycle and the park’s viewpoint at Wat Khao Phanom Pheung.