Temple of the Lotus Blossoms (Wat Botum)

Wat Botum (Khmer: វត្តបទុម), or Temple of the Lotus Blossom or officially, Wat Botum Watey Reacheveraram (Khmer: វត្តបទុមវតីរាជវរារាម) which literally means The temple of lotus which was built by the king. It is a Buddhist pagoda located on Oknha Suor Srun Street 7 to the south of the Royal Palace on the western side of Wat Botum Park.

Established by King Ponhea Yat in 1442, Wat Botum is one of the most important and original pagodas in Phnom Penh. The wat was originally named Wat Khpop Ta Yang or Wat Tayawng and at the time of the construction of the Royal Palace in the 1860s, when it was assigned to the Cambodian branch of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, it was renamed Botum Wathei by monk Kantie Topodae after a former lotus pond on the site. Numerous politician and eminent persons of the city are buried here. Also, many prominent Cambodian bhikkhus have been ordained at the wat. You Bo and the Khmer Writers’ Association have their headquarters at the wat.

Map

Oknha Suor Srun St. (7), Phnom Penh 12207, Cambodia