Preah Vihear temple, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, was built to represent Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas, the home of Shiva, a fitting representation given its imposing position. The inscriptions here, as at Angkor, specify the name of the sanctuary as Sri Sikharesavara or Lord of the Mountain, a reference to Shiva, even though Suryavarman I, the king credited with starting construction on the temple, reportedly favoured Buddhism.

Although construction on the temple we see today started in the 11th century, the site’s formal origins go back much further. Inscriptions refer to a hermitage at the site that can be dated back to the ninth century and the hermits’ grottoes can still be seen in the cliffs. Some sources suggest there was a hermitage here as far back as the sixth century.

Unusually, the temple runs on a north-south axis, conforming to the geographical environment, and placing the main sanctuary on the highest point of the mountain, 652 metres up. The north-south axis also links Preah Vihear with Wat Phu in Laos, and a fragment of a Wat Phu linga representing Shiva is believed to have been placed on top of Preah Vihear in the ninth century.

Aside from evidence in the inscriptions, Suryavarman I’s association with the temple is compounded by the art style of the main sanctuary which, an example of the Baphuon style, can be dated to the late 11th century. However, several other kings also made adaptations and additions to the temple over successive centuries, including Suryvarman II, the man who built Angkor Wat.

It now costs $10 to see the temple, and you’ll need a moto or car to take you up the hill—unless you choose to go by the Ancient Staircase. A moto is $5, while a car/truck will be $25. They will wait for you at the top and bring you back down as well. They will ask for your passport or other form of identification when you buy your ticket.

You can buy snacks and drinks at the numerous stalls in the car park, or bottom of the staircase at the base of the procession. There are toilets at the bottom. Be warned that we have used some pretty horrifying facilities in many places, but these ones really took the biscuit. US the most dire cases only, and even then we reckon you’d find a way to make it up the hill to the next facilities which are about half-way up on the right hand side. These are in infinitely better condition. It is customary to tip the attendant.

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