Wat Si Sawai and Wat Si Chum: the prangs and the giant Buddha

Wat Si Sawai and Wat Si Chum follow the central temples on most routes, and they sit in different parts of the park. Wat Si Sawai lies on the south side of Wat Mahathat, within the compact central zone,² while Wat Si Chum belongs to the northern external zone that the Fine Arts Department ticket treats separately.⁵ Choosing between them is partly a choice of how much riding you want.

From the town of Sukhothai the park is a ride of 12 km along the Sukhothai-Tak highway,⁸ and the two temples are best understood as a short loop and a longer outing from the same base. In the central zone the ruins sit close together. In the northern zone the Fine Arts Department counts 30 historic sites in the areas outside the rampart,⁹ so the ground opens out as you head north.

This page keeps both temples together because they answer the same question from opposite ends: what did the people of Sukhothai build for worship, and who taught them how? Wat Si Sawai gives a Hindu-and-Khmer answer in laterite. Wat Si Chum gives a Buddhist answer in stucco and presence. Seen side by side, they make the history of the park easier to hold than any single monument does.

The Fine Arts Department explains the background in its history of the park. Hindu worship images gave way to Buddha images when the Khmer king Jayavarman VII (spelled Chaivoraman VII by the department) turned to Mahayana Buddhism, and that change entered architecture as well as statuary.²¹ The department lists Prasart Wat Phra Pai Luang at ancient Sukhothai among the works with Khmer influence, alongside the Lopburi prangs of Sam Yod and Wat Phra Si Mahathat.²⁰

Smaller evidence turns up too. The department notes a Khmer site called Prang Puja on a hill at Ban Nacheng in Khireemas District,²² and it describes the Ta Pha Daeng Shrine at ancient Sukhothai as presumed to belong to the contemporary Bayon art of Khmer culture.²³ Together, these show that the Sukhothai area took part in a wider world of temple building before Sukhothai became the very first capital city of Thailand.²⁴

For a visitor, the lesson is simple and visual. Look at Wat Si Sawai's prangs and then at the bell-shaped and lotus-bud chedis of the central temples. UNESCO says many influences and local traditions were absorbed rapidly enough to forge what is known as the Sukhothai style.²⁵ The prangs of Wat Si Sawai show one of the ingredients, and the chedis elsewhere show what the cooks made from it.

Wat Si Chum has a second claim on history. TAT says the 2nd stone inscription, also called the Wat Si Chum stone inscription, was found at the temple.¹⁸ The Fine Arts Department treats that inscription as an account of Sukhothai's early period and of its dynasty's beginnings, a story told on the history page.⁵⁰

UNESCO places the stone inscriptions of the historic towns at the heart of its case, saying they provide evidence of the earliest examples of Thai writing.⁵¹ The wider story belongs to the history page of this guide, but it helps to know at Wat Si Chum that a document of the kingdom's founding came from this very site. The temple is a monument, an archive and a place of worship in a single hall.

The Fine Arts Department attributes the invention of the Thai alphabet to King Ramkhamhaeng,⁵² and the alphabet he is credited with is still in daily use, UNESCO notes.⁵³ A reader who can follow modern Thai letters is, in a loose sense, reading a descendant of the script that these stones were cut in. You do not need to read the script to feel that when you stand in front of the hall.

Put the two temples on different halves of a day. Begin with Wat Si Chum when the northern zone opens at 7:30 AM, while the air is cool and the hall is quiet,⁶ and ride back toward the centre for lunch. In the afternoon, finish at Wat Si Sawai on the south side of Wat Mahathat, close to the museum.^2,10 Carry water for both legs of the ride, and keep a light layer for the cool start.

If you have time for a third stop in the north, Wat Phra Phai Luang shares the zone and the ticket with Wat Si Chum, and the Fine Arts Department lists its prasart among the Khmer-influenced works of ancient Sukhothai.²⁰ That gives you three views of the same story: Khmer influence at Wat Phra Phai Luang, a mixed Hindu and Buddhist sanctuary at Wat Si Sawai, and a pure Buddhist presence at Wat Si Chum.

Keep your plans flexible. Official hours and zone boundaries can change, and the Fine Arts Department's own page is the place to confirm them. For a gentler version, split the two temples over separate days, perhaps pairing Wat Si Sawai with the central temples and giving Wat Si Chum a morning of its own. Either way, look at our page on the best months before you settle on a date.