Taking advantage of the cool weather I have been on the road a lot lately and started this new year with a five-day/four-night self-guided tour of some of Preah Vihear Province’s amazing remote temples while finishing up with the grandest of all, Preah Vihear Temple on the 7th day of January.
I’d recently just finished a tour of the north-western side of Cambodia which you can read here and I was ever so glad to get back at it after the new year festivities in Siem Reap. While Preah Vihear Province is well known for its namesake temple atop the Dangrek mountain range, and of course the amazing group of temples at Koh Ker, it actually has a lot of very fascinating sites, many of which have fascinating stories that are perhaps still hidden away inside archeological reports.
I had already covered the amazing Koh Ker group last year and kept on going towards the small village of Kulean and started this adventure there with a plan to find several sites I’d read about in Bruno Bruguier’s amazing notes in his volume on the province. While his cartography is nothing short of amazing, he only provides a large red dot which when overlayed in Google Earth is roughly a 2-3 km radius in which a site could be located. Add to that that most of these sites are nestled in farmlands down Kubota tractor trails (and some sites turned out to have no trail at all), well, this is going to be challenging. There is also the landmine factor, areas of PV are not expected to be cleared for some years, including many temple sites, with work ongoing. For more on demining operations see Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC).
Adding to the challenge is where to sleep, with guesthouses located hours from the temple sites, not due so much to long distances but due to the slow slog is to cover those distances and the hours spent going around in circles looking for a site. In hindsight, I wish I took a tent. Fortunately, at this time of year everything is mostly dry but with that comes the challenge of trails that are pure deep sand and where not, are deeply rutted messes. A trail bike would be more at home than this small Honda, or would it? Anyways, you get the idea.
That said, from Kulean to Preah Vihear to Choam Khsant to Sra’aem to Prei Vihear Temple is all sealed roads and good ones. The road between Svay Leu and Koh Ker is sealed of course but starting to decay and getting rugged.
The road from Kdak to Kulean via Prasat Kdak to Khnar Makhop Temple isn’t a road, maybe it was once. It was slow and punishing and one of those routes where you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t, as the way back and around and then down from the north would have been just as long or longer.
Even though these sites around Kulean including Prasat Pong Toek, Prasat Khnar Makhop, Prasat Kdak, Prasat Trapeang Khnar Sen Keo, Prasat Trapeang Pong Toek are all close together, they are actually hours, or days, apart remembering the need to get to a guesthouse by nightfall at either Preai Vihear or Koh Ker. I am sure it won’t always be that way and one day new roads will make short work of traversing them all in area that has ENORMOUS potential as a tourism area in conjunction with the two mountains and even local agriculture. In time..
A new road is underway from Krala Peas to Choam Khsant too, which will certainly open up in that area but currently not long after Krala Peas it becomes a Kubota trail and a very slow slog, so slow I was actually passed by one of those small Kubota’s towing a trailer with workers on board who were all smiles and laughter, and perhaps wondering what on earth is this barang doing here, lol. Later I passed them to more cheers and smiles, and later they passed me again, and by that time, we were old road buddies :).
Anyway, onto the temples
The Temples
There is a lot more to cover on the next trip but there were some amazing highlights here and several sites that will hopefully be (or surely should be) the focus of archeological research (inc palaces and massive unfarmed levee bordered citadel!) and repair. Those sites include Banteay Thlang near Pr Khnar Makhop, Prasat Khnar, Trapeang Khnar Sen Keo, and the amazing Neak Buos.
Click on the image to visit the page for more images of each site (some are still in process)
Not just ancient temples, Buddhism is certainly alive and well in Prei Vihear and blessings to the hard-working abbots and monks, two examples of which are at Wat Po near Kulean where there is a new prasat under construction and a massive zen-like field of Buddhas. Over in Chaom Khsant District the abbot at Phnom Dap has almost completed a reclining Buddha carved from stone!
Conclusion
From a visiting perspective, the easy-to-follow route, but still an adventure along sealed roads and a short amount of good dirt roads, is Pram Temple > Koh Ker Group > Neak Buos Temple > Temple of Preah Vihear. The remote temples are still awaiting permanent trails (and demining in some cases) and are best left till such time that they do, especially while Koh Ker and Preah Vihear offer so much within easy reach.
From the perspective of studying ancient temples, Preah Vihear Province is surely a very exciting place.
Transport
As per the previous trip, this was a self-guided tour on a Honda Wave but I appreciate that’s not for everyone and many of the sites mentioned are perhaps, so I now know, not really visitor ready… But regardless some sites are actually signposted, such as Prasat Khnar and the sites at Kala Preas. Also, Neak Bous and its two satellite temples have good access now, and of course, there is the stunning Preah Vihear Temple welcoming all.
You can also hire transport (and guides) from Siem Reap that know the SR <> Koh Ker <> Preah Vihear route well and they will also know Neak Buos and Prasat Khnar.
Accommodation
I stayed at Koh Ker Heng Heng Guesthouse which had Marriott level bed, pillows and linen for $15, in Peah Vihear city I stayed at Ly Huot Guesthouse that was also $15 (guesthouse is fine but stay away from the restaurant!), in Choam Khsant at Leav Sean Guest House which is simple, clean but only $6.50, and finally in Sra’aem at Piseth Pich 2P Guesthouse which was simple and no complaints for $8. All felt safe, were quiet, and staff were friendly.