The Royal Palace Wat Mahathat.
T
he Royal Palace is in the centre of old Sukothai. This is a large site covering around 160,000 square meters containing two main compounds and completely surrounded by a water moat. The first of the main compounds is Noen Phrasat (the Royal Building), a site containing a stone inscribed by King Ramhamhaeng. The second is Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai's largest temple. The temple’s main ‘chedi’ is intact showing the traditional ‘Lotus’ style which demonstrates the Khmer influence particular to this area. The chedi sports Buddha images on its pedestal and images of a number of Buddhist disciples in adoration at its foot. Inside the temple's ‘viharn’ is an 8-metre-high Bronze Buddha image. The site also features figures of demons and animals with angels riding on their backs. The temple offers authentic Sukothai art and its crypt has a number of excellent murals. Wat Mahathat is a very important temple, supposedly the spiritual centre of the old Sukhothai. There are around 200 chedis within the temple compound and so there’s plenty to see and wander around.