Phnom Kulen, the true hidden gem

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Phnom Kulen is a national park of Cambodia which located in Siem Reap province. It takes about 1.5hrs to travel from Siem Reap town to the heart of Phnom Kulen. The mountain altitude ranges from 300 to 500 meters heights. The name might be after the big lychee trees found in the back of the mountain. To many locals, the mountain is known as the Land of Gods.

The park is very famous and common known for its two floors of waterfalls but what else do people know about this vast park?

Phnom Kulen has much more to offer, either you are religious travelers or adventurous travelers, this is all for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrYpjM-YnPc

Religious perspective

• The mountain is known as the birthplace of the ancient Khmer empire, it is said that it was at Phnom Kulen that King Jayavarman II proclaimed Cambodia’s independence from Java. The name of the empire is មហិន្ត្របរព័ត / Mohindraborakpoth.
• The site is sacred place with so many temples, some hidden in the deep of jungle. Two sites most noted are the Thousand Lingas (between the waterfall and another site) and another one is Preah Ang Thom statue with its giant reclining Buddha.
• For that reason, many locals visiting the site for seeking blessings from its holy waters, particularly the potent life-giving waters around the site. Read more about the site here.

Adventurous perspective

• The site is very good for camping, staying overnight for star viewing and much more
• The site is very good for trekking or cycling
• Some people now choose this site to be rock climbing or mountain cliffing, new sport activities

What can be seen at the national park?

• Waterfall, big and small
• Giant reclining buddha
• Giant elephant statue known as elephant pond, hidden in the jungle and only accessible by trekking, cycling or biking
• Uncountable temples, some document stated about 20 minor temples
• Different rock formations
• There are many lychee trees aged many years that you can taste the original taste of it in April and May. Black banana can be found here only.
• Local village at the back of the mountain, stay there and learn about them.

How to get there

• Phnom Kulen is 48km from Siem Reap, the trip can take 1.5-2 hours to reach by car or van
• A strong motorbike can travel up there too

Rules

• The car is only allowed to go up from morning until 12pm
• The car is only allowed to go down from 12-5pm
• Motorbike can travel anytime
• Non-Cambodians pay extra 5$ to enter the national park

[MukulR]

Great post with amazing photos and information @Sophia_Cambodia I love the waterfalls in your post. Nice. I think the third photo will be more attractive as the cover photo of this post. Thanks for sharing this nice post with us here. Stay safe. Regards.

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Thank you very much dear @MukulR your comment is accepted

[MukulR]

Thanks for accepting my suggestion @Sophia_Cambodia Now it looks great among the posts of other local guides. Regards.

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Thank you my friend @MukulR it looks nice but there are many other things to tell. I have been away for two days there and it was so much excitement!

[MukulR]

So we are going to get many nice posts from you in the coming days @Sophia_Cambodia . I will be eagerly waiting for your posts. Regards.

[TusharSuradkar]

The waterfall in the first picture looks gorgeous - truly a hidden gem brought to the fore through your pictures @Sophia_Cambodia

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Thank you dear @TusharSuradkar

I have been on the mountain 3 time and this is the first time I went down to check it. It is beautiful indeed. Many people were playing there…

[C_T]

Thanks for sharing a perfectly picturesque place @Sophia_Cambodia
Can you include some videos or GIFs or the waterfall?

[PaulPavlinovich]

@C_T embedding a video would be better - I personally think that GIFS are one of the reasons behind Connect’s recent performance issues. Having to load and cache them all consumes quite a bit of bandwidth.

Paul

[Sophia_Cambodia]

Sorry dear @C_T I don’t know how that GIFS works. I might be able to look into video and share later. Thank you

[Sophia_Cambodia]

@Mohammadalauddin here you can see another photo of me and the elephant at the elephant pond you have seen earlier!

[Sophia_Cambodia]

@OSAMA_1 I would like to invite you to this national park too