EXCURSION TO BANTEAY SREI & PHNOM KULEN

After breakfast you will be met by guide and transfer to Phnom Kulen Mountain where is about a 2 hour drive out of Siem Reap. The mountain is considered sacred and is the site where King Jayavarman proclaimed independence from Java in 802 and where the cult of the linga began. Linga’s are a phallic like, fertility statue that were worshiped by the king. Jayavarman had thousands of lingas carved into a sandstone river bed and the river diverted so he could bathe in the holy waters. At the top of Phnom Kulen is a pagoda where Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims come to worship. The mountain is also favoured by locals who come to admire the waterfalls and swim in the cool pools.

Afternoon continue to Banteay Srei temple (10th century), regarded as the jewel in the crown of classical Khmer art. Stop at a local village to visit families who are producing palm sugar. Visit Banteay Samre, one of the most complete complexes at Angkor due to restoration using the method of “anastylosis”. The name Samre refers to an ethnic group of mountain people, who inhabited the region at the base of Phnom Kulen and were probably related to the Khmers. No inscriptions have been found for this temple, but the style of most of the architecture is of the classic art of the middle period similar to Angkor Wat. The proportions of Banteay Samre are splendid. A unique feature is an interior moat with laterite paving, which when filled with water must have given an ethereal atmosphere to the temple.