Long one of the most inaccessible of the Angkor-era temples, Koh Ker could easily be described Cambodia’s forgotten capital. Tucked away in the forests of Preah Vihear province in the north of the country, Koh Ker was briefly the Khmer capital during the reign of Jayavarman IV (928-942 CE), who moved here from Angkor after seizing the throne from a rival. The captial was moved back to Angkor in 944 by his son Harshavarman I, who was his successor. Also know as Chok Gargyar, meaning Island of Glory, the Koh Ker area is home to well over 100 temples, with 30 major structures. More ruins are constantly being discovered in the jungles of the area, however there are still a lot of land mines in the ground that have yet to be cleared.
Koh Ker is not the easiest site to get to. There are no towns in the area, no electricity, plenty of land mines and only one small village and a handful of open air food stands. The biggest bit of development was the opening of a toilet block in January 2007. Realistically, this location needs to be done as a long day trip from Siem Reap. It takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to get to Koh Ker from Siem Reap, depending on the state of the road. For more information about getting there, cotanct the guys at Peace of Angkor.
The principal structure at Koh Ker is Prasat Thom, a 35m high sandstone pyramid with seven levels. The top of the pyramid rewards with spectacular views of Mt Kulen to the south and the Dangrek mountains along the Thai border to the north.
The first ruin that one comes to when approaching from Siem Reap is Prasat Pram. Named for its five towers, the site is very overgrown, with roots strangling the towers.
The second largest structure in the area is Prasat Krahom, the red temple. Prasat Krahom is reached by a naga-flanked causeway and at one time was known for its carved lions, none of which remain today.
Prasat Leung is the location of one of the largest and best preserved Siva lingas to be found in Cambodia.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a couple of images from another temple, Prasat Charat. Unlike the other structures, this features black walls.
Send Me An Email
GoogleWave at Me
Meet On Facebook
Follow On Twitter
Connect On Flickr
Subscribe To Feed
Craig Ferguson Images | Cultural Photography. One of the key aspects of life that we humans identify with is culture. We label people, places and events according to our ideas of what they are, ranging from the broader scale defined by tradition and place down to the small scale subcultures and tribes. Craig Ferguson Images is consistantly creating new visions in the field of cultural photography. From traditional festives and customs to modern, urban subcultures, Craig Ferguson Images is in touch with the changing world. From our base in Taipei, Taiwan we are perfectly positioned at the crossroads of the ancient and the modern.
Design by Graph Paper Press
Subscribe to entries
Subscribe to comments
All content © 2010 by Cultural photography from Asia | Craig Ferguson Images
fantastic images of forgotten glory. Its incredible you actually made a trip down there with all those land mines and awful travel conditions, sounds very scary to me. I love the third one from bottom. Angle and the colors are mind blowing. Rest of them are also quite special.
Always enjoying your photos, lurking in the ether.
Thanks.
Spectacular shots Craig!
Amazing captures. I’m going.
The last final temple with black walls is called Prasat Neang Khmau.
Access to the top of the pyramid temple is currently off-limits after a large piece of stone fell down and lodged itself on the ladder!
I first went to Koh Ker in November 2001 – then it was one of the most difficult sites to reach in Cambodia – nowadays it is, by comparison, a walk in the park!
Regards,
Andy
Your Cambodia series are so powerful Craig. I thought your earlier post on Angkor Wat was breathtaking. I came running when I saw your new series in my feed reader.
This was one of the day trips we wanted to do from Peace of Angkor and we ran out of time. I’m disappointed we missed it now after seeing your photos.