• Thailand Guide

  • Introduction to Thailand
  • Weather
  • Things Not to Miss
  • Getting around
  • Money
  • Public holidays
  • Entry requirements

• Explore Thailand

  • The central plains
  • The north
  • The east coast
  • The northeast: Isaan
  • Southern Thailand: the Gulf coast
  • Southern Thailand: the Andaman coast
  • The deep south

• Cities

  • Bangkok
    
  • Chiang Mai
    
  • Chiang Rai
    
  • Chumphon
    
  • Hat Yai
    
  • Kamphaeng Phet
    
  • Nakhon Si Thammarat
    
  • Pattaya
    
  • Phitsanulok
    
  • Surat Thani
    

Thailand Guide

The central plains

Sukhothai

• Accommodation
• Food and Drink

For a brief but brilliant period (1238–1376), the walled city of Sukhothai presided as the capital of Thailand, creating the legacy of a unified nation of Thai peoples and a phenomenal artistic heritage. Now an impressive assembly of elegant ruins, the Old City has been preserved as Sukhothai Historical Park and is one of Thailand's most visited ancient sites.

There are only a few accommodation options near the historical park, and not many other facilities, so most travellers stay in so-called New Sukhothai, a modern market town 12km to the east, which has good travel links with the Old City and is also better for restaurants and long-distance bus connections. Straddling the Yom River, it's a small, friendly town, used to seeing tourists but by no means overrun with them. The new town also makes a peaceful and convenient base for visiting Ramkhamhaeng National Park, as well as the outlying ruins of Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet.

Sukhothai Historical Park is the most famous place in Thailand to celebrate Loy Krathong, the festival of light, with the ruins the focus of a dramatic spectacular held over several nights around the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (Oct/Nov). Not only are the pond surfaces of the Old City aglow with floating candles, but the ruins are wreathed in lights and illuminated during a nightly son et lumière performance at Wat Mahathat, and there are firework displays at nearby Wat Trapang Ngoen, plus lots of parades, concerts and street-theatre shows. All accommodation gets packed out during the festival, so book in advance unless you're willing to sleep sardine-style on a guest-house floor.