Si Satchanalai was the second city of the Sukhothai kingdom, founded at the same time as the capital and governed by the king's eldest son. It sits on the Yom River about 55 km north of modern Sukhothai, on a low ridge with the river bending around it on three sides. Like the capital, it was abandoned when the Ayutthaya kingdom rose in the 14th century, and like the capital it has been carefully restored as a national historical park and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The setting is the great difference. Where Sukhothai sits on a flat plain, Si Satchanalai climbs gently among forested hills, with the river always close. The temples — Wat Chang Lom, Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo, Wat Nang Phaya, Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat at nearby Chaliang — are smaller and less restored than at the capital, with more of the half-buried, jungle-edged feel that Sukhothai has lost. There are also far fewer visitors, and bicycles can be rented at the entrance.
Allow most of a day, including the trip up and back from Sukhothai (about 90 minutes each way by minibus or hired transport).