Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the falls. Visitors between January and May will be disappointed to see very little water
here. The best time to visit is between July and December. When exploring Kbal Spean it
is best to start with the river carvings and work back down to the waterfall to cool off.
From the car park, the visit takes about two hours including the walk, nearer three hours
with a natural shower or a picnic. It's the best part of a day trip if you include Angkor
Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity, Banteay Srei temple and the Cambodian Land-
mine Museum.
Kbal Spean is about 50km northeast of Siem Reap or about 18km beyond the temple of
Banteay Srei. The road is now excellent, as it forms part of the new road north from NH6
to Anlong Veng and the Thai border, so it takes just one hour or so from town.
Moto
drivers will no doubt want a bit of extra money to take you here - a few extra dol-
lars should do, or US$12 to US$15 for the day, including a trip to Banteay Srei. Likewise,
remork
drivers will probably push up the price to US$20 or more. A surcharge is also
levied to come out here by car. Admission to Kbal Spean is included in the general
Angkor pass; the last entry to the site is at 3.30pm.
LANDMINE ALERT!
At no point during a visit to Kbal Spean or Phnom Kulen should you leave well-trodden paths, as
there may be landmines in the area.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Phnom Kulen
Considered by Khmers to be the most sacred mountain in Cambodia, Phnom Kulen is a
popular place of pilgrimage on weekends and during festivals. It played a significant role
in the history of the Khmer empire, as it was from here in AD 802 that Jayavarman II pro-
claimed himself a
devaraja
(god-king) and announced independence from Java, giving
birth to the Cambodian kingdom. There is a small wat (Wat Preah Ang Thom) at the sum-
mit of the mountain, which houses a large
reclining Buddha
carved into the sandstone
boulder upon which it is built. Nearby is a large
waterfall
and above it are smaller bathing
areas and a number of carvings in the riverbed, including numerous
lingas
. A private
businessman bulldozed a road up here a decade ago and charges a US$20 toll per foreign
