Temple of Preah Vihear and Angkor

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Temple of Preah Vihear

   The Temple of Preah Vihear is a Khmer sanctuary built on the lip of the Dângrêk escarpment, the long sandstone wall that separates the Cambodian plain from the Thai plateau. The temple itself is Cambodian, dedicated to Shiva, and its builders, working over several centuries from the ninth century onward, laid it out as a long axis climbing from the plain to the cliff edge instead of the usual compact tower on a square.

   Read the complete Temple of Preah Vihear write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Temple of Preah Vihear is where the day begins. Next is Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li.

2. 2. Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li

   For a few short decades in the tenth century, the capital of the Khmer empire was not at Angkor but here, deep in the forest of northern Cambodia. King Jayavarman IV established his court at Koh Ker, then called Lingapura, and in less than twenty years his builders raised dozens of temples across a wide area, before the capital returned to Angkor. The jungle took the city back. Today Koh Ker is a scatter of brick and sandstone sanctuaries among the trees, and in 2023 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

   Read the complete Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li comes up about 135 km into the recorded legs. Next is Banteay Srei.

3. 3. Banteay Srei

   Most people come to Angkor for the giants, Angkor Wat and the Bayon, but the temple that many remember best is small, pink and astonishingly intricate. Banteay Srei, the "citadel of the women", stands about twenty-five kilometres northeast of the main Angkor group, and it was consecrated in 967, earlier than the great royal temples. It was built not by a king but by a high-ranking courtier, the Brahmin Yajnavaraha, and dedicated to Shiva. Its reddish sandstone is fine-grained and easy to carve, and the result is decoration so delicate it looks almost like woodwork: lintels with scenes from Hindu epics, female guardian deities in niches, and foliage spiralling across every surface.

   Read the complete Banteay Srei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 244 km into the recorded legs you reach Banteay Srei. Next is Angkor.

4. 4. Angkor

   Angkor is the great stone capital of the Khmer empire, spread across more than four hundred square kilometres of forest and rice field a few kilometres north of Siem Reap. The empire ruled much of mainland Southeast Asia between the ninth and the fifteenth centuries, and its kings built huge temples as symbols of the cosmos. Angkor Wat, built in the twelfth century by Suryavarman II and dedicated to Vishnu, is the largest religious monument in the world, with five towers rising like lotus buds above a vast moat. Its long walls carry carved reliefs of battles and myths, and it was later converted into a Buddhist temple that is still in use.

   Read the complete Angkor write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Angkor, about halfway. Next is back through Banteay Srei.

5. 5. back through Banteay Srei

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Banteay Srei write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Banteay Srei sits at 279 km, about halfway. Next is back through Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li.

6. 6. back through Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Koh Ker: Archaeological Site of Ancient Li comes up about 416 km into the recorded legs. Next is Temple of Preah Vihear.

7. 7. Temple of Preah Vihear

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Temple of Preah Vihear write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Temple of Preah Vihear closes the day.