The top of the chedi or stupa at Wat Traphang Ngoen

The ruins of the assembly hall, in the foreground, and the chedi at Wat Traphang Ngoen

Wat Traphang Ngoen's chedi is unique in design, with four niches at the cardinal points, each containing a standing Buddha image, just below the Sukhothai-style lotus-bud-shaped relic chamber and finial.

Seated Buddha image in bhumisparsa mudra, Subduing Mara or Calling the Earth to Witness, at Wat Traphang Ngoen

The chedi at Wat Traphang Ngoen

Wat Sa Si, situated on an artificial island in the middle of a reservoir

The bridge to Wat Sa Si

Wat Sa Si's Sukhothai-style Walking Buddha image, with one of its two chedi in the background. The chedi's four niches would have housed standing Buddhas.

Wat Sa Si's Walking Buddha is an excellent example of the Buddha type that originated in Sukhothai, its flowing lines among its hallmarks.

Seated Buddha in the ruins of the assembly hall at Wat Sa Si

Two Buddhas at Wat Sa Si

Wat Sa Si

The chedi, or stupa, at Wat Sorasak. Both its bell-shaped relic chamber and the encircling elephants emerging from the base are derived from chedi on Sri Lanka.

Wat Sorasak chedi detail

Wat Si Sawai, whose three towers were built originally as part of a Khmer sanctuary and later converted to serve as a Buddhist temple

The entry to Wat Si Sawai

Just outside the surrounding wall at Wat Si Sawai is this sacred fig, whose roots accommodate a number of tiny Buddha images, left for merit-making purposes.

Wat Si Sawai

Detail of ornamentation on the central tower, with figures derived from Hindu mythology

Wat Si Sawai as seen from the west

The 50-foot-high mondop at Wat Si Chum houses an enormous seated Buddha.

The Buddha at Wat Si Chum as one approaches its enclosure

Buddha Subduing Mara at Wat Si Chum

Wat Si Pichit Kirati Kanlayaram lies to the south outside the walled inner city of Sukhothai, dating from 1400 AD. It's main chedi with bell-shaped relic chamber, raised on a high base with four tiers, was unusual for the Sukhothai era.

Wat Phra Phai Luang, built by Khmer King Jayavarman VII, dates from the late 12th or early 13th century. It was sited outside the walled center of Sukhothai, about a mile to the north.

Wat Phra Phai Luang

Carved stucco ornamentation on the tower at Wat Phra Phai Luang

Only one of the three original towers remains standing at Wat Phra Phai Luang.

Some sense of the exquisitely-carved reliefs on the exterior walls of the mondop at Wat Traphang Thong Lang may still be gained, despite their highly damaged condition.

The three relief carvings on the exterior walls of the mondop at Wat Traphang Thong Lang depicted three incidents from the life of the Buddha, including this of him preaching.

Sited atop a hill to the west of the old city, Wat Saphan Hin is reached via a rather steep 300-yard-plus climb over a rough stone causeway, offering commanding views of the surrounding countryside from the top.

The 41-foot-tall Buddha in abhaya mudra still stands among the ruins of the assembly hall at Wat Saphan Hin. The abaya mudra pose is a gesture of calming or reassurance.

The giant standing Buddha at Wat Saphan Hin