The Travel Guide in Cambodia, Make your Trip in Cambodia

Captivating Cambodia is a land of beautiful temples, wild jungle and unspoilt countryside, yet still bears the scars of years of conflict. For so long off limits to the tourist trail, Cambodia began to open up to visitors again in the late 1980s. Travellers poured into the gritty capital Phnom Penh and marvelled at the jungle temples of Angkor as the Khmer Rouge militia dissipated. An extensive landmine clearing programme has made other areas of Cambodia accessible, and visitors should take the time to discover the hill tribes around Banlung, the colonial architecture of Battambang and the sandy beaches of Sihanoukville. Today's tourists can expect to mix luxurious hotels and restaurants with traditional markets and ramshackle side streets in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

The Kingdom of Cambodia is one of the world's newest and most exciting travel destinations. After years of isolation, Cambodia opened to tourists in the mid-1990s and tourists numbers have increased every year since - last year the country seeing near two million tourists. Cambodia’s primary tourist destinations - Angkor Wat and the other temples of Angkor near Siem Reap, the cultural attractions in the capital Phnom Penh, and the beaches of Sihanoukville - offer plenty of accommodations, restaurants and other tourist services. Other destinations such as the hill tribe areas of Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri, the remote temples of Preah Vihear and Banteay Chhmar, and quaint provincial capitals such as Battambang and Kampot, are just now being discovered by travelers, and all offer unique glimpses of ‘unspoiled’ Cambodia. 

Cambodia is a land of superlatives. The ancient temples of Angkor Wat, Bayon and other ruins of the Khmer Empire rank amongst the world's grandest and most magnificent World Heritage Sites - easily in a class with Machu Picchu, the Pyramids of Egypt and Teotihuacan. But this magnificence stands in shocking contrast to the Killing Fields, Toul Sleng Genocide Museum and other remnants of Cambodia's more recent history - a time when Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime of the late 1970s committed some of the most horrifying atrocities of the 20th century. Yet, the Khmer people, who make up more than 95% of modern Cambodia's population, impress visitors as some of the friendliest, 'happiest' (sabai), and most gentle people they have ever met. The ubiquitous Khmer smile is legendary, as is traditional Khmer hospitality and openness. Cambodia is truly a land of light and dark, of wonder and of tragedy - awe-inspiring, heart wrenching and completely unique.

Visiting Kbal Spean

Kbal Spean ("Bridge Head") is an Angkorian era site on the southwest slopes of the Kulen Hills in Cambodia, 25 km from the main Angkor group. It is commonly known as the valley of a 1000 Lingas. It consists of a series of stone carvings in and around the Stung Kbal Spean river. The motifs for the stone carvings are roughly three: myriads of lingams, depicted as neatly arranged bumps that cover the surface of a rock; lingam - yoni designs; and various Hindu mythological motifs, including depictions of gods and animals.

History

The majority of Kbal Spean's archaeological vestiges date to the 11th to 13th centuries. Construction of Kbal Spean was started by King Suryavarman I and later completed by King Udayadityavarman II.

It is commonly known as the valley of a 1000 Lingas due to the presence of the estimated one thousand lingas, which are sculptures dug in the Siem Reap riverbeds. Lingas were believed to fertilize the water of the East Baray and irrigate the rice fields in Cambodia.