Sambor Prei Kuk Group – Visiting Guide, History & More

Sambor Prei Kuk is a wonderous ancient city/temple complex area dating to the 6-7th century with a staggering 141 recorded temple sites and a large habitation area with complex waterworks in a zone that covers near to 13 sq km (5 sq miles). Known in ancient times as Ishanapura, it is the capital of the Chenla Kingdom that succeded the prior Funan era of the 1st to early 6th century. In 2017, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The site is highly regarded for its well-preserved temples, the incredible and unique art that they present, and for its importance in the history of Southeast Asia. Visitors to the site today can explore three major temple groups, Prasat Sambor, Prasat Tao, and Prasat Yeay Poan, surrounded by numerous smaller and quite interesting temples with two satellite temple zones located 2km to the northwest, Robang Romeas and Srei Krup Leak, and then Prasat Tamon 1.5 km to the west.

To the east of the temple cluster is a roughly 4km sq area bordered by a moat on the north, south, and west and the natural water system on the east. It’s believed to be the urban area of the ancient city, featuring numerous water basins, and several moated shrine sites with only traces of laterite and brick to be seen. Whilst there are no structures or much interest for the visitor today, it emphasizes the size and scale of this wonderous ancient development.

Visiting Sambor Prei Kuk

By road, it is located 30km north of the city of Kampong Thom, 170km to the southeast of Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor, and 200km north of Phnom Penh, in Sambour Commune of Prasat Sambour District in Kampong Thom Province. All roads leading to the site are sealed and in good condition, whilst the road through the temple site is a dirt road, preserving the overall character of the site, it is usually kept in good condition and passable by all vehicle types no matter the season.

The nearest major city to Sambor Prei Kuk is the city of Kampong Thom which features several hotels and guesthouses of good standard (Kampong Thom Palace Hotel & Ban Houn Guesthouse are well regarded), local eateries, etc. The city of Kampong Thom is conveniently located along the RN 6 and it can be reached easily by buses that head between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh or by private shuttle buses.

Alternatively, just 3km away on the northeast side of Sambor Prei Kuk is Sambor Village featuring options for homestay experiences, local eateries, Wat Sambor, and a guesthouse.

Exploring the temples

The ticket office for Sambor Prei Kuk is located near the entry to the site with a day pass (7.30 am to 5.30 pm) costing USD 10. Local guides are recommended and very affordable, for that contact the hardworking local guide there Sok Oeng.

The temples are spread out over a large area with the three major temple groups located near the major road that passes through the site and two smaller satellite zones to the northwest. A car, motorbike, scooter, or bicycle is suggested, as just walking around the main group is a 6-7km trail. The roads connecting the temple groupings are quite good. Clean toilets are located near the main group and while there are no shops, there are several locals who set up stalls with drinks and packaged snacks, local nuts, etc., near the entry and main parking area.

The pagodas, Wat Mohar, Wat Cheay Sampov, and Wat Sambour are also worth a look. Wat Sambor features a beautiful traditional vihara and ornate sema stones beside its newer pagoda and Wat Mohar houses several relics of an ancient Buddhist site.

Sambour Prei Kuk Temple Map

The Temples and local Pagoda

Sambor Prei Kuk History Intro

Preceding the Angkorian era (9th-15th century AD) were the Chenla era (6th-9th century AD) and the Funan era (1st-6th century AD). Historical records of the Chenla (also translated as Zhenla) and the preceding Funan era are for the most part derived from Chinese annals, although archeological discovery continues to shed new light. The exact history and nature, whether a unified state or group of polities, of both eras continue to evolve. The connection with India is clear, whether through trade and/or missionary of much earlier times, Hinduism and Buddhism was well absorbed into the local belief system which continued at Sambor Prei Kuk with a focus on the Shivaite tradition.

The Funan era held Angkor Borei as its capital connecting with the trading port of Oc Eo (present-day Vietnam) and had well-established maritime trade routes connecting to China, India, and beyond. Around the 6th century, Chenla, perhaps a polity of Funan, had absorbed its predecessor, and development began at Ishanapura (Sambor Prei Kuk), and a new capital formed.

Settlement in the area and development of the site is largely attributed to four successive kings, Bhavavarman I (550–600 AD), Mahendravarman (600–616 AD), most notably Isanavarman I (616–635 AD), and Bhavavarman II (639–657 AD). The major temples are believed to have been constructed in the first half of the 7th century.

The site features many illuminating inscriptions but perhaps none are more fascinating than 7th-century inscription (K 438) recorded at Prasat Duem Chan noting the marriage of a Saka-Brahmin priest, Durgasvamin from Dekhan (Deccan/Daksinapatha, modern-day India, the southern highlands), to the daughter of Isanavarman I, the pivotal king of Ishanapura aka Sambor Prei Kuk. The Sakas had roots in ancient Iran and ruled part of present-day India up until the Gupta Empire took control around the 4-5th century. That’s a rabbit hole that goes a little beyond this intro, but you get the idea about the fascinating connections at play here. This connection perhaps also helps explain the unique art styles and figures depicted in niches found in the area.

Several important things would take place at this time laying foundations for the Khmer Empire that would follow in the 9th century. One was the continued development of the Khmer language, another was the practice of the Devaraja (Hindu concept of the god-king and universal monarch), and also, art and architectural concepts that would also carry over into the Khmer Empire and Angkorian era of the 9th-15th century.

Sambor Prei Kuk was also linked to the Angkor area by an ancient road that ran parallel to the lower eastern arterial of the Angkorian era Royal Road, argued to pre-date the Angkor era, thus possibly linking to the pre-Angkorian settlements in the area of which there are many remnants (Prei Khmeng & Ak Yum as two visitable examples). The major temple complexes of Sambor Prei Kuk were likely connected by causeways leading east to a water channel and in turn connecting to the Stung Sen River, onwards connecting with the Tonle Sap and Mekong River, thus, could be assumed to be another transport connection.

Once again according to Chinese annals, Chenla would come under attack from a foreign adversary, the Shailendra dynasty of Java, whilst exact details are still debated among scholars, and also as to whether the capital was moved from Isanapura by Jayarvarman I and where to, there is no doubt about the era which would follow. In the 9th century, the Khmer Empire and the Angkorian era would begin as King Jayavarman II would unite all, and create a new capital, Mahendraparvata (Phnom Kulen, Siem Reap).

So, was Ishanapura abandoned? Seemingly not. Activity at the site has been recorded in the Angkor Period with inscriptions, additions, and alterations made during the 10th century, reports of remnants of 12th-century additions near the eastern moat, and researchers have found archeological evidence of occupation until the 14th Century. Moreover, the uniquely attired figures we see inside the decorative “flying palaces” of Sambor Prei Kuk appear to have a stunning likeness to figures depicted in gallery bas-reliefs of the 12-13th century (Banteay Chhmar). Fascinating.

Art & Architecture

Temples were constructed mostly of brick at this time, even as far as supporting terraces and outer enclosures with the rare occasion of laterite seen in outer enclosures and one construction in the Robang Romeas group. At this time, sandstone was used for sculpture, pedestals, door frames, and in some cases, lintels and door columns. The floor plans and size of the shrines varied greatly to include octagonal, rectangular, and square with the internal space varying from around 7m sq to 38m sq.

The heights of temples varied greatly as did roof styles although the pyramidal hip style roof is common on square and octagonal temples. Larger square and rectangular temples featured superstructures composed of a series of tiered false floors reducing in size and topped with a corbelled arch roof with arched pediments at either end if illustrated restitutions hold to be true and in comparing other 7-8th century sites in the Kampong Thom and Kampong Chhnang area.

The majority of the temples open to the east, on the rare occasion to the west, and all appear to have featured a short forebody on the entrance with only those in the Robang Romeas and Srei Kup Leak group, both modified/reconstructed in the 10th century, featuring long forebodies with antechambers extending their entrances.

The art of Sambor Prei Kuk is unique and quite fascinating, typified by several foundational elements, the most notable is the “flying palace” and another the “kudu”.

Flying palace – seen adorning many of the exterior walls of temples within Sambor Prei Kuk, it was a name coined by the early French researchers and known as Vimana in Indian texts. They represent mythological flying palaces, abodes of kings and gods. From the top they feature a Chaitya window from where the gods and kings look out, the next level a palace scene, followed by a pedestal-styled basement beneath which is a Garuda (mythical bird) flanked by rows of Hamsa (another mythical bird) keeping the whole ensemble aloft.

They are all unique, some are quite large filling the wall space, and some are narrow, all depicting very different figures in their windows and palace scenes. There is much speculation about the religious denomination of the figures, some see Harihara in places, some see Avalokiteshavara etc., and even the origin of some figures with some seeing links to Persian Sakas which has some context noting the inscription mentioned in the intro.

Kudu – common across Sambor Prei Kuk and temples of the 7-8th c. It’s a relatively common sight on southern Indian temples too, and known as a kudu or in some texts as a gavaksa acting as a sun window for the gods to look out upon the world. Look closely around all the temples and you can see lot of this feature, although they are most well known on Ashram Moha Russei – Tower N17 and in Tower S2 of Yeay Poan Temple. The faces differ a lot and it’s suggested they are more stylistic rather than a depiction of people at the time, although, once again, if we think about inscription K. 438, maybe this is Durgasvamin or some of his merry men? Who knows…

Decorative features common to Khmer temples are found here, including decorated door columns, artistic lintels often with depictions of deities, decorated pilasters, cornices, and basement bands and I’ll come back to this post at the next update to add more about those. In Cambodia, both the Kampong Thom Museum and Phnom Penh National Museum are recommended visiting, housing various art works including lintels and statuary from the site.

References and further reading

• Geographical Survey of Sambor Prei Kuk – Sumiko Kubo and Naoko Nagumo, 2018
• Spatial and Chronological Sketch of the Ancient City of Sambor Prei Kuk, Ichita Shimoda and Sae Shimamoto, 2012
• Sambor Prei Kuk – Representing the Cultural Landscape of Ancient Ishanapura, Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, 2016

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap - Contact via [email protected] - more..