The Ancient Temple Complex of Sambor Prey Kuk

Just outside the town of Kompong Thom, along a horribly maintained dirt (or mud, in our case) road, is the ruined temple complex, Sambor Prey Kuk. The complex was built as part of a once great empire in the 7th century. These are the oldest temples in Cambodia, and their location happens to be part of their ruin - during the Vietnam war, this area was heavily bombed by US troops, and many of the temples were damaged or destoyed.

The ancient temples lie in a beautiful setting, the jungle revealing its' secret treasure only as you explore.


The jungle is slowly overtaking some of the temples.


Inside a couple of the temples remain ancient deities, which has allowed some study of the ancient culture.


One pleasant surprise - there are no tourists; in fact, we were the only people to visit all day. We had 30 small tour guides at our disposal, whether we wanted it or not.

To see the rest of my favorite photos from that day, please visit the following link:

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Sambor Prey Kuk

Sep 16, 2006 - 34 Photos