Koh Ker – Cambodia’s Forgotten Capital

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, contact 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 an image from another temple, Prasat Neang Khmau. Unlike the other structures, this features black walls.

The observant among you may have noticed that some of these images have been posted before. This is partly from the archives, although some of the photos are a little different. I hope you’ve enjoyed it this time round.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 06:00. It is filed under Travel and tagged with Koh Ker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.