Koh Ker: Most Mysterious Ruins in Cambodia, Step into Altetered Reality
#asiatrip
Koh Ker is one of the most unique and interesting sights of Cambodia, about which not much is known around the world. Everyone knows about the Khmer temple of Angkor Wat, and they can also remember about the multifaceted Bayon and tell you something about the jungles of Cambodia. It would seem that what else could be so interesting? Surprisingly, Cambodia is also a country that has its own pyramid, which is located in Koh Ker – the ancient city of Angkor, built in the early 10th century, at the dawn of the Khmer Empire. Koh Ker is a temple city and a huge temple complex in the province of Preah Viheah, 120 km northeast of Siem Reap in Cambodia. In ancient times it was called Lingapura, and was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. This ancient city has a number of attractions, the main place of which is occupied by the mysterious pyramid of death Prasat Prang, located on the territory of the main temple of Prasat Thom. In addition to it, there are also many ruins of Khmer temples of the Angkor period – some of them are almost completely destroyed and unexplored. However, all of them are of considerable interest, since the Koh Ker era was a special one in the history of the Khmer Empire.
For a long time, the ancient city of Lingapura was forgotten, but with the beginning of the tourist boom in Cambodia and the clearing of mines from fields and jungles, Koh Ker also began to attract the attention of travelers, albeit not on a par with the famous Angkor Wat complex. Residents of the neighboring village of Koh Ker have lived here for centuries in the shadow of the great pyramid and led a very simple lifestyle, and now they accept tourists, asking them to take them as a guide to earn a little money. The name of this village gave the modern name to the ancient city.
The Koh Ker Temple complex is located near a small village of the same name in the province of Preah Viheah.
You can arrive in Koh Ker from Siem Reap in about 2 hours, but in general, an excursion to this distant temple of Angkor will take a whole day.