Ba Phnom Temple

Ba Phnom lies in a rural region of eastern Cambodia and is one of the country’s earliest and most sacred religious sites. A temple here was founded as early as the 5th century, and many believe this was the birthplace of Cambodia.

The main attraction is the nearly 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear Chann temple, a place of pilgrimage for kings through the Angkor era and up until the 19th century, when human sacrifices were still taking place at the site. Sadly, little of the original remains today, as the temple has been largely destroyed and rebuilt in an unremarkable way.

Ba Phnom is not far from Phnom Penh, lying on National Road 1 toward Ho Chi Minh City. Buses leave Phnom Penh throughout the day and reach the area within the hour; the nearest airport is Phnom Penh’s international airport.

• What to do: Visit Preah Vihear Chann temple, several small pagodas, and the genocide memorial.
• Nearest town: 30 km from Prey Veng, the capital of Prey Veng Province.
• Best time to go: The November through March dry season.
• How long: A few hours is enough to see the main temple.
• Trivia: Ba Phnom is considered the birthplace of Cambodia.

Inscriptions from the Angkor era attest to the importance of Ba Phnom: each king traveled here and to Phnom Kulen to take part in the religious ceremonies that initiated his rule.

Ba Phnom was also, tragically, one of the sites of Khmer Rouge atrocities in the 1970s, where an estimated 17,000 people were killed and buried in mass graves. A memorial at nearby Phnom Kamphlok depicts these atrocities.