South Coast - Cambodia - page 401

friendly local kids, some with precociously fluent English, will offer their services as
guides.
A well-tended staircase with 203 steps leads up the hillside and down into a cavern as
graceful as a Gothic cathedral. There you'll be greeted by a stalactite elephant , with a
second elephant outlined on the flat cliff face to the right. Tiny chirping bats live up near
two natural chimneys that soar towards the blue sky, partly blocked by foliage of an im-
possibly green hue.
Inside the cave's main chamber stands a remarkable 7th-century (Funan-era) brick
temple , dedicated to Shiva. The temple's brickwork is in superb condition thanks to the
protection afforded by the cave. Poke your head inside and check out the ancient stalactite
that serves as a linga. A slippery passage, flooded in the rainy season, leads through the
hill.
Phnom Chhnork occupies a bucolic site surrounded by a quilt of rice paddies and me-
ticulously tended vegetable plots (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, mint). The view
from up top, and the walk to and from the wat, is especially magical in the late afternoon.
To get to Phnom Chhnork turn left off the NH33 about 5.5km east of Kampot. Look for
a sign reading 'Phnom Chhngok Resort' across the road from a Cham mosque. From the
turn-off it's 6km to the cave on a bumpy road. A return moto/remork ride from Kampot
costs about US$6/10.

Phnom Sorsia
(Phnom Sia; admission free; 7am-6pm) Not quite as magical as Phnom Chhnork, Ph-
nom Sorsia has a gaudily painted modern temple and several natural caves.
From the parking area in front of the school, a stairway leads up the hillside to a colour-
ful temple. From there, steps lead left up to Rung Damrey Saa (White Elephant Cave). A
slippery, sloping staircase - where one false step will send you into the abyss- leads down
and then up and then out through a hole in the other side. Exit the cave and follow the
path to the right, which leads back to the temple.
From the colourful temple, steps angle up to the right to the Bat Cave . Inside, countless
bats flutter and chirp overhead, flying out to the forest and back through a narrow natural
chimney. Locals use bamboo poles to hunt the creatures by swatting them out of the air.
The circuit ends near a hilltop stupa with impressive views.

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