Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
As you approach, before ascending the staircase, you'll pass a small building on the left
that contains human remains collected from a Khmer Rouge execution site nearby.
1
The new chedi
After a steep slog up 509 steps you arrive at a gleaming marble terrace, behind which, and
framed by the Buddhist and Cambodian flags, the spire of the modern grey, 42m-high
chedi
dominates the skyline. From here, the panoramic vistas across flooded rice fields,
villages pricked by sugar palms and the Tonle Sap are stunning. A short staircase leads up
to the base of the chedi, adorned with nagas, elephants and lions. As you wander around
this upper terrace, views of the western plains are revealed; just to the northwest lies the
sparkling, modern golden temple of the modern Vipassana Dhura Buddhist Centre
complex (see p.98). Built in 2002 to safeguard a sacred golden urn thought to contain the
ashes of three small bones of the Buddha (which were originally interred in Phnom
Penh), the chedi was broken into in 2013. Thieves stole the urn, along with other sacred
relics, causing widespread outrage; at the time of writing the investigation was ongoing.
Damrei Sam Poan
South from the new chedi is a trio of funerary reliquaries. The oldest of these,
Damrei
Sam Poan
, was built in 1623 by Preah Bat Chey Cheta for the ashes of his uncle and
predecessor, King Soriyopor. Surrounded by charmingly decayed elephant statues, the
chedi is badly overgrown and the inner brick is starting to crumble. Until recently it
had the tallest spire on the hill.
Tray Troeng
Beyond Damrei Sam Poan is the crumbling
Tray Troeng
, built in 1891 by King
Norodom for the ashes of his father, King Ang Duong (though there's some dispute as
to whether the ashes are really here or in the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh). Some of
the glazed ceramic flowers that once covered this distinctive chedi can still be seen, but
since local children used to sell them to tourists when they “fell off”, they've now been
replaced with modern alternatives.
Chet Dey Mak Prohm
As you wander down the pathway to the southeast of Tray Troeng, you come across a
fourth notable structure, known as
Chet Dey Mak Prohm
, and easily recognized by the
four faces that cap its spire. The pale-yellow chedi contains the ashes of King Sisowath
Monivong (r. 1927-41).
Preah Ko and Preah Neak
Several of the older shrines southeast of Chet Dey Mak Prohm are worth seeking out.
These include
Preah Ko
, featuring a particularly appealing statue of Nandin, the sacred
mount of Shiva. Worshippers pour water over the bull's head, rendering the water holy,
to then be taken home. Nearby,
Preah Neak
contains a Buddha seated on a coiled naga,
its multiple heads curved over to afford him protection.
Preah Atharas
Just before you hit the hill's southeastern staircase, a huge pagoda comes into view. The
once ruined columns and rotten roof beams of
Preah Atharas
(
atharas
being an ancient
unit of measure equal to eighteen cubits) have been replaced and restoration work is
ongoing. This pagoda was built by the Chinese in the thirteenth century to seal the
cave - so legend has it - of a mythical sea monster, which had to be contained to stop
the Chinese losing their dominance over the Khmer. The vihara was heavily damaged
during fighting between Lon Nol and Khmer Rouge and received further attacks from
the Khmer Rouge post-1975. For many years only a shoulder and part of the right side
of the 11m-high seated Buddha remained; it has now been resplendently restored.
