OK. So our headline editor got carried away. There are no "new" temples in Angkor Wat, of course. But we recently "discovered" an unbelievable group of temples that could be reached only by helicopter or four-wheel-drive vehicles until recently. A new road has made it possible to visit Koh Ker, and the 92 other temple sites that surround it and we wanted to see it for ourselves, so we journeyed there over the long Songkran (the wet and wild Thai New Year festival) weekend.
Koh Ker is the only pyramid-shaped temple yet to be discovered in the Khmer Empire. It bears a striking resemblance to Borobudur in Indonesia and the Mayan Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza, Mexico, which prompts some to speculate that all of these were actually constructed by visitors from another planet who operated a control tower for space vehicles at Machu Pichu. But that is another story.
Once hidden in the forest, Koh Ker was capital of the Khmer Empire for a time, so there was building on a massive scale. Smaller temples are scattered throughout the area and we stopped to see quite a few, including two that enclosed massive lingas and friezes with Sanskrit text that looked like they had been carved only yesterday. But Koh Ker itself was the most breathtaking of all. Its seven tiers are taller than Angkor Wat. We were told that there is a massive garuda carving and many Sanskrit inscriptions near the top, although we were not brave enough to climb the rickety wooden steps. Equally impressive is a compound of smaller libraries and sanctuaries connected by a causeway built with immense undulating nagas on either side. Perhaps the best part was that we saw only one other foreign visitor the entire day.
We enjoyed visiting this impressive site so much that our new Ultimate Angkor program is already available on our website. In addition to the traditionally-visited monuments such Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and the Bayon, you will be able to visit Banteay Srei, and magnificent Phnom Kulen, with its amazing carved stone stream-beds as well as Koh Ker and Beng Melea Temple, which we think is the most fabulous of them all. It was the year-old road to Beng Melea that was extended to Koh Ker, which now makes it possible to visit both on the same day.
If you have been to Angkor with Purple Dragon in the past and want to return using our basic Essential Angkor program, we will gladly make special arrangements to substitute one day of Angkor sightseeing with a trip to Koh Ker and Beng Melea. Ask us for details.
Koh Ker is the only pyramid-shaped temple yet to be discovered in the Khmer Empire. It bears a striking resemblance to Borobudur in Indonesia and the Mayan Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza, Mexico, which prompts some to speculate that all of these were actually constructed by visitors from another planet who operated a control tower for space vehicles at Machu Pichu. But that is another story.
Once hidden in the forest, Koh Ker was capital of the Khmer Empire for a time, so there was building on a massive scale. Smaller temples are scattered throughout the area and we stopped to see quite a few, including two that enclosed massive lingas and friezes with Sanskrit text that looked like they had been carved only yesterday. But Koh Ker itself was the most breathtaking of all. Its seven tiers are taller than Angkor Wat. We were told that there is a massive garuda carving and many Sanskrit inscriptions near the top, although we were not brave enough to climb the rickety wooden steps. Equally impressive is a compound of smaller libraries and sanctuaries connected by a causeway built with immense undulating nagas on either side. Perhaps the best part was that we saw only one other foreign visitor the entire day.
We enjoyed visiting this impressive site so much that our new Ultimate Angkor program is already available on our website. In addition to the traditionally-visited monuments such Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and the Bayon, you will be able to visit Banteay Srei, and magnificent Phnom Kulen, with its amazing carved stone stream-beds as well as Koh Ker and Beng Melea Temple, which we think is the most fabulous of them all. It was the year-old road to Beng Melea that was extended to Koh Ker, which now makes it possible to visit both on the same day.
If you have been to Angkor with Purple Dragon in the past and want to return using our basic Essential Angkor program, we will gladly make special arrangements to substitute one day of Angkor sightseeing with a trip to Koh Ker and Beng Melea. Ask us for details.
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