Wat Kirisan Travel Guide

Wat Kirisan is a relatively modern temple with an interesting location right at the entrance of a large limestone cave. The karsts of the cave tower above the main pagoda while much closer to ground, a network of underground tunnels leads directly into the cave itself.

Visitors are able to explore the cave themselves but if they plan to go right inside, a guide is probably the safest way to go. Guides and touts gather at the temple and the quality and reliability of the services on offer varies quite markedly. Unfortunately, there is no real way of judging quality before paying.

However, one guide is better than no guide, especially once deep inside the darkness of the cave with its jagged terrain underfoot. Visitors would have a hard time entering the cave without taking up the services of a guide in any case, as they tend to be extremely persistent.

Visitors can take in the delights of the temple without having to consider entering the cave. Temple and cave are completely separate and guides do not enter the temple’s inner spaces. A large reclining Buddha is situated here, and most visitors that travel to the temple of Wat Kirisan come here specifically to see it.

In brief

What is it? A temple in southeastern Cambodia.

Opening hours: 05:00 to 15:30, daily.

Entrance fees: donations are welcome.

Where: in the southeastern Cambodian district of Kampong Trach.

How to get there: buses and songthaew travel to the Kampong Trach district from every part of Cambodia including from Phnom Penh (4 hours). Border crossings to Vietnam are subject to security directives.