Northwestern Cambodia - Cambodia - page 522

Phnom Santuk
Its forested slopes adorned with Buddha images and a series of pagodas, Phnom Santuk (ad-
mission US$2) is the most important holy mountain (207m) in this region and a hugely pop-
ular site of Buddhist pilgrimage.
Santuk's extraordinary ensemble of wats and stupas is set high above the surrounding
countryside, which means there are lots of stairs to climb - 809, in fact. You can wimp out
and take the paved 2.5km road, but if you do, you'll miss the troupes of monkeys that
await visitors along the stairway and the experience of winding up through the forest and
emerging at a grouping of prasat -style wats with more nagas (mythical serpants) and
dragons than you can possibly imagine. Just beneath the southern summit, there are a
number of reclining Buddhas ; several are modern incarnations cast in cement, others were
carved into the living rock in centuries past. A multitiered Chinese pagoda is decorated with
porcelain figurines.
Phnom Santuk has an active wat and the local monks are always interested in receiving
foreign tourists. Boulders located just below the summit afford panoramic views south to-
wards Tonlé Sap.
For travellers spending the night in Kompong Thom, Phnom Santuk is a good place
from which to catch a magnificent sunset over the rice fields, although this means descend-
ing in the dark - bring a torch (flashlight).
Getting There & Away
The turn-off to Phnom Santuk is about 15km south of Kompong Thom. The entrance is
well marked on the east side of the NH6 at about the 149km marker. From the highway
it's about 2km to the base of the temple stairs. From Kompong Thom, a round trip by
moto costs about US$8.
Kakaoh
The village of Kakaoh straddles the NH6 about 13km south of Kompong Thom and 2km
north of the Phnom Santuk entrance. It is famous for its stonemasons, who fashion giant
Buddha statues, decorative lions and other traditional Khmer figures with hand tools and a
practised eye. It's fascinating to watch the figures, which range in height from 15cm to
over 5m, slowly emerge from slabs of stone. Statues range wildly in price from US$20 for