It is perched on the edge of a giant cliff, about 625 meters above sea
level in Preah Vihear
Province, Northern part of Cambodia, 625km from the capital city of Phnom
Penh. It is also situated close to the Cambodia-Thai border.
What can seen in Preah Vihear Temple
The temple has four levels
and four courtyards which comprise of five Gopuras ( entrance pavilions
some times surmounted by tower )
Palace Building or Gopuras on the third level.
This group of building was
the King’s residence when he came to pay homage to the mighty God , and
the two wings were the shelters for the pilgrims. The main temple are used
for the high-ranking supreme divinities, this mighty group of building is
considered as the center of the whole temple complex.
The front stone
stairway : this main passage is on the North side. The stairway
is 8 meters wide and 78 meters long,. The fist flight has 162 steps. At
the first landing is a large stone singa statue on stone block. Another 54
flight of steps 4 meters wide and 27 meters long leads up to the second
landing also decorated with stone signa statue.
The Nagaraj
Courtyard : this stone-paved is 7 meters wide by 31.8 meters
long. From here the stairway leads up to the first-level Gropura. The
Stairheads are in the form of seven-headed snakes called "Ngu Suang
" facing North towards the Prasat. The heads and tails of nagas on
both sides look like ordinary snakes, characterizing and early example of
this type of animal figures. The head portion of the naga on the west side
looks very impressive because it is made from a single solid stone.
The first level
Gopura : this is a pavilion in Greek architecture style with
cross plan on an elevated, rebates angle base on each of the roof doorway
. Stone lions are placed on each of the roofs dooeway.
Accessibility to the Temple
The temple can be reached
by crossing the Cambodia-Thai gateway border from the Ubon Ratchantani
Province of Thailand. Currently the visits are from 8.00 till 16.00 hours.
The Grandeur of its site
For all the grandeur of its
site, perched on the edge of a giant cliff and with a commanding view over
northern Cambodia, Preah Vihear is difficult to visualize as a whole. The
experience is truly a memorable one – the series of ascents over the
best part of a kilometer, the ornate Gopuras and the wealth of decorative
detail truly staggers one’s imagination.
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