PHNOM UDONG

Phnom Udong is located in Psar Dek and Phnom Bat communes, Ponhea Leu district, about 41 kilometers north of Phnom Penh city. The city drops behind while fishing villages and rice paddies surround either side of the sweepong plains of Kandal province. Then without warning, a mountain rises above it all, topped by the spire of stupa like some fairy castle. The road to Udong is clearly marked, and the distance along this road to the former city is less than 4 kilometers. Picnic huts selling everything from sweet palm fruit to roasted chicken cluster around the base of the hill.

There are three names for this hill such as : Phnom Udong, Phnom Preah Reach Troap and Phnom Edthareus. The site includes the summits of five hills such as Chetdei, Trai Treung, Chetdei kampoul Boun, Preah Ang Chol Nipean, and Ariya Kasaks,

Close up, Udong actually appears as two hump-backed hills. The smaller is topped by shrines and the remains of Ta Sanmosque, built by a Cham Muslim on ground given to him for the purpose by one of the ancient kings. The main hill is said to be shaped like a naga (dragon). The stupas on the house the remains of past monarchs, including King Monivong and King Ang Duong. A new huge stupa at the end of the mountain ridge was completed in 2002 and built to hold relics of the Buddha. The relics, once housed in a small stupa near the railroad station in Phnom Penh, were relocated to the new stupa by King Norodom Sihanouk and Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk in December 2002.

The site is particularly interest to visitors seeking to learn about early Cambodian history. Udong was home to several kings when it served as the Cambodian capital between AD 1618 and 1866. In addition, it offers more than an exhibit of ancient history. At the top of the stairs on the left lies the city's most impressive structure, Vihea Preah Edthareus, sanctuary of the 18 cubit Buddha, retains the scars of heavy strafing inflicted in face to face firefights between Khmer Rouge, Lon Nol and American troops in the 1970s. The eight huge columns of the shrine rise into the sky, the roof they once supported was destroyed when Khmer Rouge forces blew up the temple in 1977. The arm and part of one side of a huge Buddha remains, and his face has placed at the foot of the pedestal and a modern shrine built around it.