Phnom Sontuk Temple

Phnom Sontuk is a hilltop pilgrimage site in Kampong Thom province, scattered with Buddha images and crowned by a pagoda. Reaching it means climbing hundreds of steps through the forest, and the complex draws more worshippers than tourists, though the staff welcome foreign visitors warmly.

The centrepiece is Prasat Touch, a three-storey pagoda at the summit with sweeping views over the surrounding rice paddies; some visitors time their climb for sunset, though a torch is worth carrying for the tricky descent afterwards. The hillside is studded with sandstone outcrops, many carved into Buddha images over the past five centuries. The statues at Preah Bat Chann Tuk were cut from the rock walls in the 15th century, during the reign of Preah Ponhea Dharma Reacha, and three enormous reclining Buddhas, each some 11 metres long, depict the Buddha’s enlightenment.