Wat Saphan Hin

Wat Saphan Hin means stone bridge temple, and the name is the approach: a causeway of large slate slabs laid up the hillside in the Sukhothai period, three hundred metres long and still in place, which is what visitors climb. At the top, on a ridge west of the old city, stands Phra Attharot, a standing Buddha about twelve and a half metres high in brick and stucco with the hand raised in the gesture of dispelling fear, flanked by column stumps from the viharn that once enclosed it. The chronicles record King Ramkhamhaeng riding an elephant up to this temple on holy days. From the terrace the view runs east over the western zone ruins and the plain toward the walled city. The slab path is uneven, slippery when wet and hard on ankles, and there is no shade on the climb or at the top.

What you actually see

• The stone causeway - three hundred metres of Sukhothai-period slate slabs.
• Phra Attharot - the twelve-metre standing Buddha on the ridge.
• The column stumps - what remains of the hall around the figure.
• The plain view - east over the western zone toward the walled city.

When to go

November to February, early or late - the climb is unshaded and hot. An hour covers it, as part of the western zone which needs its own ticket.

Honest expectations

The slab path is uneven and ankle-turning, slippery when wet, with no handrail. No shade on the climb or the terrace. The western zone is a separate ticket from the central Sukhothai park.

Nearby

The Sukhothai Historical Park central zone is east; Wat Si Chum is north.