ANGKOR BOREI, PHNOM DA

The historical sites of the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Fu-Nan, Angkor Borei, and Phnom Da are accessible by boat from the town of Takeo, sailing on the lake of the same name which forms every year during the rainy season, covering a large area in the east of the province.

Takeo Lake, during the rainy season - Takeo Province - Cambodia

Not much remains of the capital's past in the charming little town of Angkor Borei, except for a vast collection of ancient terracotta which still litter the ground in some places, and of which one can see pretty pieces collected in the city museum, located a few meters from the large metal bridge that spans the river.

Angkor Borei - Takeo Province - Cambodia

It is by this same dirt road that one reaches the Phnom Da, located about five kilometers from the museum. This path offers a nice walk in the middle of fields, water and small traditional Khmer houses. Surrounded by rice fields that stretch as far as the eye can see, during the rainy season, it is the water that literally encircles the wooded hill crowned by the ruins of Prasat.

Man-made caves, Phnom Da - Takeo Province - Cambodia

Scattered on the sides of the hill, five caves carved by human hands, shelter Shiva Linga  - Ling Preah Eyso, phallic-shaped stone sculpture representing Shiva) and Uma Yoni (យោនី នាង ឧមា - Yoni Neang Uma, " "sculpted base, feminine pendant of the linga, symbol of birth and fertility), objects of Bramhanic worship then widely practiced in Cambodia.

These caves would have served as a place of cremation during the Khmer Rouge period.

Prasat Phnom Da - Takeo Province - Cambodia

The temple, built in the 6th century, also houses a Linga and a Yoni. The water, poured over the Linga, then flowing into the Yoni, and which we sprinkled or drank, was supposed to transmit the power of the Gods to men and especially to warriors. Nowadays, it is still believed that the water poured on the Lingas brings fertility, and many couples wishing to give birth go to the temples where we can still find the two Brahmin symbols which, together, symbolize the world and life.

The temple, made of bricks, laterite and sandstone and whose top is badly damaged, offers only one opening, three faces being decorated with "doors" surmounted by superb carved lintels.

Not far from Phnom Da, on a small neighboring hill, in the same village, a small temple, Prasat Asrom Moha Eysei, also called by the surrounding villagers Prasat Neang Peou, presenting a very particular Indianizing form, owes its gray color to the basalt stone used for its construction.

Prasat Asrom Moha Eysei, Prasat Neang Peou - Phnom Da, Takeo Province - Cambodia

You can enter and walk around the small structure by taking a small dark corridor with a rather repulsive smell, which surrounds the center of the space where sculptures are placed.

View of the flooded plain, from Phnom Da - Takeo Province - Cambodia

By boat from Takeo: count around US $ 35 for a return boat trip. By road, via Prey Kabbas.
Entrance fee for foreigners to the Phnom Da site, US $ 2.