Kbal Spean, the national park in the mountain, known as the river of a thousand Lingas.

"Kbal Spean ("Bridge Head") is an Angkorian era archaeological site on the southwest slopes of the Kulen Hills to the northeast of Angkor in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. It is situated along a 150m stretch of the Stung Kbal Spean River, 25 kilometers from the main Angkor group of monuments, and about 50 kilometers from the Siem Reap city."

Site Info

The site consists of a series of stone rock relief carvings in sandstone formations of the river bed and banks. It is commonly known as the "Valley of a 1000 Lingas" or "The River of a Thousand Lingas". The motifs for stone carvings are mainly myriads of lingams (phallic symbol of Hindu god Shiva), depicted as neatly arranged bumps that cover the surface of sandstone bedrock, and lingam-yoni designs. There are also various Hindu mythological motifs, including depictions of the god's Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshmi, Rama, and Hanuman, as well as animals (cows and frogs).

Kbal Spean is one of the most attractive places for visitors who like nature views, waterfall, walk uphill along with the jungle. Visiting between January and June is not so good because there is little water here. The best time to visit is between July and December. When exploring Kbal Spean it is best to start with the river carvings and work back down to the waterfall to cool off. From the car park, the visit takes about two hours including the walk, nearer three hours with a natural shower or a picnic.

There is an impressive carving of Vishnu on the upper section of the river, followed by a series of carvings at the bridgehead itself, some of which were hacked off in the past few years, but have since been replaced by excellent replicas. Following the river down, there are several more impressive carvings of Vishnu, and Shiva with his consort Uma, and further downstream hundreds of the Lingas appear on the riverbed. At the top of the waterfall are many animal images, including a cow and a frog, and a path winds around the boulders to a wooden staircase leading down to the base of the falls.

Site Facts

Name: Kbal Spean, known as the river of a thousand Lingas.
Access: on the mountain and you have to walk about 1500 meters.
Deity: Shiva and Vishnu
Date: 11th to 12th centuries
King: Suryavarman I and King Udayadityavarman II
Art style: Bapuon architecture

Location: Kbal Spean lies 50 kilometers northeast of Siem Reap provincial town or about 18 kilometers from Banteay Srei temple. It is about1500 meters uphill walk to the carvings, along a pretty path that winds its way up into the jungle, passing by some interesting boulder formations along the way.

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