Ek Phnom Temple Ruins

Ek Phnom is an Angkorian temple of the eleventh century about ten kilometres north of Battambang, founded under King Suryavarman I. Originally it was a Hindu shrine of Shiva, a sandstone tower on a stepped platform ringed by a moat and a wall with gates. The top of the tower collapsed long ago and the masonry has parted and is held up on props, but the carved lintels and pediments with scenes from the myths have survived and read well. The temple was never restored, so the ruins stand out in the open among grass and old trees, and getting inside means picking a way over the rubble. From Battambang people usually come here by bicycle or tuk-tuk, through rice fields and villages on stilts.

On the map