TOUR TO REMOTE ATTRACTIONS

• Kulen Mountain (its name means "Lychee Mountain") is around 70 km north of Angkor Wat and one of the holiest places in Cambodia.  The waters of the Siem Reap river, so important for the Angkor Empire, Flowed from this mountain, and visitors can still see the fertility symbols carved into the riverbed centuries ago to ensure continued prosperity. Holy men study here and ascetic hermits live in ancient
  
  pagodas.  It was at Kulen that the Devaraja cult was born, turning the human rulers of the Khmer into gods.  Pilgrimages are still made to the mountain, And visitors can swim in the clean, cool water and examine the carvings, waves of butterflies swooping past and off into the lush jungle around. Kulen Mountain is also the sight of the Reclining Buddha monument, a massive statue carved whole out of the mountain top in the 16th Century.  During the Indochina War, bombs were dropped all around the Buddha, but none destroyed that statue.  It is now a popular place for Khmer to make picnics.

• Kbal Spean (It's name means "Bride Head") is an Angkorian era site on the southewest slopes of the Kulen Mountain, nearly 55 km from the heart of Siem Reap town. It is commonly known as the valley of a 1000 Lingas

(the symbol of the God Shiva’s supreme essence). 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 Lingas, depicted as neatly arranged bumps that cover the surface of a rock; Lingas-Yonis (female genitalia) designs; and various Hindu mythological motifs, including depictions of gods and animals.

• Beng Mealea Temple (its name means "lotus pond") is nearly 80km from Siem Reap town at the foot of Kulen Mountain. It was built as Hinduist temple, but there are some carvings depicting Buddhist motifs. Its primary

material is sandstone and it is largely unrestored, with trees and thick brush thriving amidst its towers and courtyards and many of its stones lying in great heaps. For years it was difficult to reach, but a road recently built to the temple complex of Koh Ker passes Beng Mealea and more visitors are coming to the site.

Built in the 12th Century, many scholars believe it was the model for Angkor Wat. It is just as wonderful of a temple but it is still largely lost in the jungle.

The accommodations made for tourists at Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom have not been made here, and visitors enjoy a much quieter and adventurous experience.

Visiting Beng Mealea can be combined with visiting Roulous Group and Banteay Srei or Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean or Banteay Srei and Kulen Mountain or Koh Ker Group

• Koh Ker Group located more than150 km northeast of Siem Reap town in the province of Preah Vihear, it was briefly the capital of the Khmer empire between 928 and 944 under king Jayavarman IV and his son Hasavaraman II. After the Khmer empire had been established in the Angkor area (Roluos), Jayavarman IV moved the capital in 928 almost 100km northeast to Koh Ker. Here a vast number of temples were built under his reign, until his successor returned to the Angkor area about twenty years later.

The Koh Ker site is dominated by Prasat Thom, a 30 meter tall temple mountain raising high above the plain and the surrounding forest. Great views await the visitor at the end of an adventurous climb. Garuda, carved into the stone blocks, still guard the very top, although they are partially covered now.

Across the site of Koh Ker there are many prasat or tower sanctuaries. A couple still feature an enormous linga on a yoni that provides space for several people. The outlet for the water that was sanctified by running it over

the Linga can be seen in the outside wall of one of them. In other cases, three prasat stand next to each other, dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. Most of them are surrounded by libraries and enclosures, many also had moats. At that time, the roofs were still made of wood. Today, only the holes for the beams remain in the stone structures.

• Peah Vihear Temple is a Khmer temple situated atop a 525-metre (1,722 ft) cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province of northern Cambodia and on the border of Kantharalak district (amphoe) in Sisaket province of eastern Thailand. In 1962, following a lengthy dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership, a majority of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague awarded the temple to Cambodia.

Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire's spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east. The temple gives its name to Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, in which it is now located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihan National Park which borders it in

Thailand's Sisaket province and through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Visiting Prah Vihear can be combined with visiting Banteay Srei or Koh Ker Group and Beng Mealea

• Preah Khan Kompong Svay: The archeological complex of Preah Khan (of) Kampong Svay (Khmer: ព្រះខ័ននៅកំពង់ស្វាយ) or Prasat Bakan (according to local
  
  pronunciation) or Bakan Svay Rolay is located 100 km east of Angkor, in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. It stands as the largest single religious complex ever built during Angkorian Era, as its exterior enclosure is about 5 km square,^[1] even if the isolated location makes it one of less visited Angkorian sites.

• Sambor Prei Kuk (Khmer: ប្រាសាទសំបូរព្រៃគុក, Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk) is an archaeological site in Cambodia located inKampong Thom Province, 30 km (19 mi) north of Kampong Thom, the provincial capital, 176 km (109 mi) east of Angkor and 206 km (128 mi) north of Phnom Penh. The now ruined complex dates back to the Pre-Angkorian Chenla Kingdom (late 6th to 9th century), established by king Isanavarman I as central royal sanctuary and capital, known then as Isanapura.^[1][2] The Cambodian government has included Sambor Prei Kuk on its Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[3]

Located on the Eastern bank of the Tonle Sap lake, close to the Sen River, the central part of SamborIsanavarman I, who is considered a possible founder of the city^[4] and the central group (later date).

Prei Kuk is divided into three main groups. Each group has a square layout surrounded by a brick wall. The structures of the overall archaeological area were constructed at variable times: the southern and north groups (7th century) by 

The buildings of Sambor Prei Kuk are characteristic of the Pre-Angkorean period with a simple external plan. The principal material is brick, but sandstone is also used for certain structures.^[5] Architectural features include numerous prasats, octagonal towers, shiva lingams and yonis, ponds and reservoirs, and lion sculptures. Sambor Prei Kuk is located amidst mature sub-tropical forests with limited undergrowth. The area has been mined and could still contain unexploded ordnance