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Phnom Kulen, The Sacred Grove
01-Apr-2008

Whispered prayers mingle with the sigh of white water tumbling from jagged cliffs. White-robed, cadaverous Ajar, Cambodia’s esoteric wise men, offer blessings to a crowd of well dressed Khmers, fragrant minarets of smoke rising from their smouldering incense. This is Phnom Kulen or Kulen Mountain perhaps Cambodia’s most revered sacred grove.

The precipitous climb to the top—flanked by ragged beggars and stalls hawking everything from wild animal bones to silk scarves—is a little less picturesque. A chest-busting 460 steps, all the time leading a cheeky procession of urchins, leads to Preah Ang Thom, Kulen Mountain’s ‘Big Buddha’, carved from the living rock of the mountain.

Entrancing Pin Peat music, an age-old Cambodian traditional melody, soothes visitors and resident spirits alike. “This site is very sacred—visitors must speak carefully,” Sok Lackena advised, carrying her baby between the two fragrant Champa trees that are the gateway to the sacred grove.

Paying respects to Preah Ang Thom is both a request for permission to enter the holy site and an apology for any accidental wrongdoing whilst there, Lackena explained.
Such prayers are not a recent addition—archaeology at Kulen Mountain predates most Angkor temples, being contemporary with Harihalaya, the first large settlement near Siem Reap now known as Roulos.

Many believe that Kulen Mountain originated from the ancient Sanskrit Mahantrapit, the spot King Jayvaraman II was crowned in the Tevareach ceremony in 802AD, formally declaring his independence from Java and founding the Angkor dynasty.

The site’s long history and rich Khmer spirituality mean there are many myths and legends associated with Kulen Mountain, some of them surprisingly modern.
“When I was young, my father told me that, when Cambodia was at war, an airplane flying over the Preah Ang Thom [statue] was blocked; it could not fly onwards,” said the grey-haired Elder Seum, 67. “Because of its sacredness, the locals here are always very respectful to Preah Ang Thom.”

Besides Preah Ang Thom, Kulen Mountain is packed with many other attractions, both secular and religious, including: Chatroot and Peung Chat, (kinds of umbrella), Preah Bat Chontok’s (the Buddha’s) footstep, Peung Ey Say (religious hermits), Leung M’Poan (the Thousand Linga) and the Srash Domrey (Elephant pond).

Even at the foot of Kulen Mountain, the spiritual world persists. Near a Buddhist pagoda where visitors offer alms to orange-robed monks, limpid, icy water flows from an ancient Somasutra beneath a towering Champa tree. The water from this spot, known as Chub Preah, is used by Khmers to wash for good luck in a practice strongly reminiscent of Hindu beliefs.

Kulen, Siem Reap

“This is Leunmg Moy Roy [the Hundred Lingas] and people come here in all seasons to draw to wash their face and bottle some to take home,” said Lackena. “The water is very sacred—we even have to be careful how we speak about it. If we say that the water is full of blood and pollution, we will see that but for others the water will remain clear.”

Even Kulen Mountain’s trees, mostly the eponymous Deum Kulen, are revered, Elder Seun said. “Every Kulen [fruit] season, at least one person would die from falling when they went climbing to pick the fruits,” he recalled, adding that there have been no deaths in recent years

Remarkably, most residents are ex-Khmer Rouge soldiers who joined the government in 1993. Kulen Mountain opened to tourists in 1999 but visitors were few until the road link was finished in 2004.

Visitors Information
Kulen Mountain is 60km from Siem Reap town, located at the junction of Svay Leu and Varin districts, down a right turn about 25 km from sign showing Banteay Srey temple

Tickets cost 2,000 riel (US$0.50) for Cambodians, US$20 for foreign visitors, 5,000 riel (US$1.25) per car, 10,000 riel (US$2.50) per bus or truck and for a motorbike the charge is just 1,500 riel (US$0.40). Parking spaces cost 3, 000 riel (US$0.75) for four-wheeled vehicles and 1,000 riel (US$0.25) for motorcycles.

May Titthara
Photographs by Heng Chivoan

Cambodia: the life, April 2008

Phnom Kulen, The Sacred Grove01-Apr-2008

Phnom Kulen, The Sacred Grove
01-Apr-2008