East Zone

The East zone of the Sukhothai Historical Park is located outside of the walled town near the Kamphaeng Hak gate in the East wall, along the road to new Sukhothai town.

The best known monuments in the East zone are the Wat Chedi Sung and the Wat Chang Lom, a Singhalese style chedi with sculptings of elephants surrounding its base.

Wat Chang Lom

The Wat Chang Lom is located East of Kamphaeng Hak gate, North of Route 12 to new Sukhothai town. The temple’s name translates to “temple surrounded by elephants”. A stone inscription found at the site tells the story of the temple’s founding which occurred at the end of the 14^th century.

The Wat Chang Lom is a large temple surrounded by a wall comprising of an ubosot (ordination hall), a viharn (assembly hall), a principal chedi and a number of smaller chedis. The principal bell shaped chedi is set on a square base, out of which protrude the bodies of 32 brick and stuccoed elephant statues that appear to carry the chedi on their backs. The chedi resembles the “chedi surrounded by elephants” of the nearby Wat Sorasak. Only the base and columns remain of the viharn and ubosot.

Wat Tra Phang Thong Lang

The Wat Tra Phang Thong Lang is found East of Kamphaeng Hak gate, just South of Route 12 to new Sukhothai town. The temple comprises of a viharn, an ubosot, a mandapa and a number of small chedis.

The brick mandapa enshrined a large image of the Buddha taking up the entire space of the structure; very little of it remains. The mandapa’s entrance faces East. The other three walls were decorated with 15^th century stuccoed reliefs depicting several stories from the life of the Buddha. Unfortunately, the reliefs are in very poor condition.

The South wall portrays the Buddha’s descend from the Tavatimsa Heaven where the Buddha taught His mother, who had died seven days after giving birth. The Gods Indra and Brahma who accompanied the Buddha on His descend are seen flanking Him on stairways of gold and silver, while the Buddha descends on a stairway made of gems.

The North wall depicts the story of the taming of the elephant Nalagiri. A man named Devadatta who wanted to harm the Buddha send a raging elephant towards Him. The elephant sensed the Metta (loving-kindness) of the Buddha, stopped and became calm. The animal is seen kneeling down in front of the Buddha.

The West wall depicts the Buddha and His attendant Ananda.

Wat Chedi Sung

The Wat Chedi Sung is a little visited temple known for its large chedi. It is found in an open field East of Kamphaeng Hak gate, South of Route 12 to new Sukhothai town. The temple was built in the late Sukhothai period. The main bell shaped chedi stands on a very high base with indented corners. The shape of the base measuring 14 meters long is unique in Sukhothai. The principal chedi is surrounded by six smaller chedis. In front of the chedi stood the viharn or assembly hall.

Other Zones in the park

• Central zone
• North zone
• South zone
• West zone