Sambor Prei Kuk

If one spends enough time to carefully explore the area, there are many temples here that have been overgrown by strangling fig trees in ways that do not fail to charm any visitor. I visited Sambor Prei Kuk as a halfway stopover from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap via a rental car. The three clusters have all been well reviewed already, so what I can add here is about the Trapeang Ropeak temple complex west of Prasat Yeay Poen. Its temple Z is originally surrounded by four shrines forming a quincunx, of which only one of these ruined octagonal shrines stands (there are only 11 of these unique octagonal structures remaining, so its good for ticking off as much). The carvings on the temple are in relatively discernible state, and the vault is described to be irregular but is complete compared to most that have collapsed. A stone throw away is another octagonal temple named temple Y, and it is spectacularly taken over by a tree. In the afternoon light, these two temples are photogenic as there are no tree covers above them. I recommend making the swing here after seeing Group S as a way of capping off a visit. 

PS. Prasat Tao (Group C) is currently off limits due to conservation work, and no one can get near the famed lion statues. The same is the case for the main temple in Group S.  

As the capital of the Chenla Empire, Ancient Ishanapura is one of the greatest and most influential ancient cities in Southeast Asia. Today, it, along with all of Cambodia's other ancient ruins, lie in the shadow of the great Angkor; however, I would argue these oldest sites of the Khmer, along with those in Burma, being the oldest in the region, are just as, if not more, important than the greatest Thai, Vietnamese, or Javanese ruins. They are the reason the heights of such sites as Angkor and Bagan could be reached, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Sambor Prei Kuk.

Though Sambor Prei Kuk has yet to find its way into the itineraries of the masses, I'm pleased to see how well it's been covered by the World Heritage Site community. While it is quite isolated in its location, it is strategically nearly equidistant from Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, making for a nice halfway point to break up the 6-hour drive. Thus, if you're in a group of 3-4 (or 5 if you're all on the petite side), you might want to consider taking a taxi between the two cities, inserting Sambor Prei Kuk while you're at it. This is just what we did in January 2023, also stopping at a market to eat tarantulas and grasshoppers, lunch on a lakeside, and the Khmer bridge at Kampong Kdei (also a must-see!).

While there are many more temples in the ancient city, tours will generally …

Sambor Prei Kuk means "Many Temples in the Forest". And that precisely is what it is!

I spent 1.5 hours at the site, accompanied by a local guide, her dog, and my tuk-tuk driver from Kampong Thom who before had never been beyond the parking lot. The guides work for the area’s Community-Based Tourism organization, which also offers homestays and other activities (similar to those available at Banteay Chhmar). I found it worth it to hire a guide this time: the site is not really self-explaining and there are just a few boards with information. I also enjoyed hearing her take on tourism in this region and life in general in Cambodia’s countryside. The cost is 10 USD, in addition to the 10 USD entrance fee.

All temples here are Hindu and were specifically built for the worship of Shiva. The most common feature is the presence of the yoni. Unfortunately, a lot of the original interior statues have been looted or brought to museums in Phnom Penh and France.

The temples show some unique characteristics, as already pointed out by earlier reviewers. The octagonal shape of several of them for example, for which no Indian precedent is known. And the presence of 'Flying Palaces': carvings on the outer walls of the temples, which look like windows with deities or royal figures peering outside. 

Rainwater reservoirs, which supplied the temples with water for their moats and for agricultural irrigation, can be seen as well. …

I was fortunate to join ICOMOS international experts two weeks field trip to Cambodia and Thailand exploring pre-Angkorian and Dvaravati arts and Sambor Prei Kuk was one of the many highlights of this trip. To understand this World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value, we first visited Phnom Da and Angkor Borei, which is on tentative list, to see how Southern Indian art and architecture influenced the area which was Funan Kingdom. After Chenla Kingdom or Ishanapura annexed Funan and built Sambor Prei Kuk, one of the greatest moments on art developments of Southeast Asia happened when the art of Southern India was developed into local style.

There are two major art styles at Sambor Prei Kuk, Sambor Prei Kuk and Prei Kmeng, the latter one I never heard or mentioned in the ICOMOS report so I asked those experts and got insight answer that the nomination dossier of Sambor Prei Kuk was intentionally omitted middle and late Sambor Prei Kuk art history to avoid more comparative studies since Prei Kmeng art can be found in Angkor and other similar period of art development in other sites, even though Prei Kmeng in expert eyes is the apogee of this World Heritage Site’s development. Since the trip was quite in depth, we only saw four temples during our four and a half hours in this archaeological site. The first one was Prasat Sambor group, the main temple still preserved elements of pure southern Indian art, despite its old age the …

We visited Sambor Prei Kuk on the second out of three days of our Siem Reap Stay. Starting early again it took us about two and half hours to reach the place. Some of our fellow WHS hunters-gathereres noted their driver was similarly surprised by the place and took pictures. Ours was seasoned and told us stories of Khmer Rouge militants stopping the cars and asking tourists for money and cigarettes some years ago. Nowadays, fortunately, the whole area is cleared and safe to visit, no problems occur anymore.

Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk is a complex of temples and cluster of temples from pre-Angkorian Chenia kingdom. Our driver led us to the smaller temples first and then to the main temple ensemble. It was very pictureque and interesting, we walked along the single temple structures with couple of local tourists along. It was a pleasant visit and I enjoyed myself. There were some interesting carvings as well, one of the temples was under a scaffolding due to its structural integrity being compromised.

It was a good visit overall and though we've already seen some more substantial sites the day before, I appreaciated the site for its history but also as a secluded and quiet spot, away from the main hubub. After our visit we stopped for a lunch and went on to see the mighty Angkor Wat itself.

This is the newest whs in Cambodia, but the oldest site (of the three). We rented a car and a driver to get there on a day trip from Siem Reap. It’s about a 3 hours drive.

The site was founded by the Chenla empire In the 7th century which makes it 3-400 years older than the Angkor empire.
The site is much more ruined than Angkor due to nature, but also to American bombs in the early sixties and to the vandalism of the Khmer Rouge in the seventies.

The whs cover three temple complexes, but there are some small temples scattered around. The first temple complex is close to the parking lot and easy to find. The others slightly more hidden.

Prasat Sambor 
The most precious to see is the stone carvings. Most of them are gone, but some are visible. One carving covers typically one side of the octagonal temple.

Prasat Yeay Poen
There’s a bit more to see here and there are present restoration going on. Here you can also enjoy the carvings, but the most enjoyable is parts of the surrounding walls that are recovered and at some places you can see some of the 160 huge “medallions” which covers the wall on the inside. Very nice!

Prasat Tao
There is only one temple left, the main temple. The rest is just stone piles. The greatest objects are the two lions in front of the temple, They were both broken …

Ignoring Els’ rule to "always do Angkor last on any trip involving Angkor" I opted for one last WHS visit on my way to the airport in Phnom Penh: Sambor Prei Kuk. The site is conveniently located close to the main road between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. So this was simple stop over, splitting a long bus ride into two more manageable legs.

Sambor Prei Kuk was the first capital of the Khmer Empire and predates Angkor by 300 years. Initially I was worried to get a worse version of Angkor. But the age difference clearly shows in artistry and architecture and sets the site apart. It does have the same jungle setting with trees growing in and on top of buildings. But due to the way smaller crowds (if any) Sambor Prei Kuk is a more intimate experience.

So in summary, the site felt like a nice last visit complementing my Angkor experience. So I would argue that Els original rule needs a revision.

Getting There

The next big town is Kampong Thom. Most buses running between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh will stop here. You can buy tickets at your local hotel or a travel agency.

Via minibus it took 2.5h including pickup at my hotel to get from Siem Reap to Kampong Thom. Travelling on via normal bus to Phnom Phen the journey took 4.5h, 30min spent on a break and at least 1h spent in the terrible traffic of Phnom …

From Phnom Penh, it is possible to do a day trip to Sambor Prei Kuk, a beautiful pre-Angkorian temple complex in the middle of the forest. The Kampong Thom local tourism office actively encourages tourists to arrange visits with local communities - from tuk-tuk rides, tour guide service and site interpretation.

According to my guide, Sambor (many) Prei (forest) Kuk (temples), means, many temples inside the forest. Indeed, SPK is situated in a distinct landscape, different from the vast plain of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, or the sacred cliff of Prasat Preah Vihear. The forest appears to be an integral element of the temple complex, no wonder the site is nominated as a cultural landscape

This is the best preserved pre-Angkorian archaeological site in Cambodia and if all goes to plan then this should be Cambodia's next World Heritage Site.

The ruins here comprise three different temple complexes all within easy walking distance of each other. They are set among a nice sandy forest that gives the site a cool and relaxing atmosphere. The ruins are different enough from those at Angkor to warrant a visit and also provide a good look at pre-Angkorian styles or art and architecture. The temples are mostly brick built and look more like hollow pyramids, the distinctive poses of the statues of this period are shown in reproductions as the originals are now in museums. There is also a fair bit of bomb damage to some of the temples, from the US bombing raids and also from the civil war. There are also several temples that have been completely taken over by trees, the gatehouse at the final complex is now more tree than brick.

The site is located to the north of Kompong Thom. I managed to visit in a short day trip from Siem Reap. It was very easy to get a moto from the junction just before Kompong Thom out to the site and to bring me back. The route out there was very enjoyable, going through some nice villages and between some lovely paddy fields.

The temples here were sufficiently different from those at Angkor to warrant a visit. There is a nice ambiance to …