The Kulen mountain is located approximately 48 km to the north of Siem Reap, and it took us about one and a half to two hours to travel there by car. Our guide had offered to buy the entrance tickets to the Phnom Kulen Natural Park the day before (20 USD per person), so we headed straight to our first stop, which was the Preah Ang Thom Pagoda, where we saw the Reclining Buddha statue. This statue of the Reclining Buddha is 8 meters long, and was directly carved into the sandstone formations at the top the pagoda, which is a highly visited place of worship for Cambodians.
We moved on to our second stop, another sacred place visited by both Buddhists and Hindus, known as the River of a Thousand Lingas, whose waters are considered holy and highly sought after by couples seeking fertility.
The river flows into a waterfall, which was our next stop. On the way down to the waterfall, you’ll find restaurants, souvenir stalls, and local food or fruit vendors. I tried the fried bananas and sweet potatoes and absolutely loved them, so I went back to buy more fried sweet potatoes for the journey back to Siem Reap.
I must admit I didn’t dare to enter the waterfall’s water, but for those who are interested, you can use the improvised changing rooms on-site to change your clothes/swimming suit at a cost of 1 USD.
After seeing the waterfall and climbing a steep flight of stairs, we headed back to the car for our last stop on the Phnom Kulen Mountain, the views from Poeng Ta Kho, or also known as the Amazing Cliff, a cliff with incredible views over the natural park. The rock surface of the cliff was like the lunar surface, whatever that might look like.
It’s also possible to combine a visit to the Phnom Kulen Natural Park with another visit to the temple of Beng Mealea, which is about 7 km from Phnom Kulen. We didn’t opt for this as we had only bought a one-day pass for the Angkor temples.
Check out tours to the Phnom Kulen Natural Park at Get Your Guide.
For other suggestions on what to do in Siem Reap check also the post Things to do in Siem Reap.
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