BANON PRASAT

Prasat Banon, an 11th century Brahmanic sanctuary, is perched on a hill of about 80 m, 21 km from Battambang, following the left bank of the Sangker River upstream, through a very pretty country landscape. Henri Mouhot, the discoverer of Angkor was also the discoverer of Banone in the year 1858; in his Voyage dans les royaumes de Siam, de Cambodge, de Laos, he evokes the numerous large Buddhas and secondary deities which adorned the place. The Pavie mission, which visited the temple in 1883, found an inscribed stele bearing the date 1050 and the name of King Udayadityavarman, son and successor of Suryavarman I.

Access. One reaches the temple by a very steep staircase in sandstone and limonite of about sixty meters. On the south side of the hill, the cave of Kouhea Preah Teuk or "cave of the sacred water", hides sculpted stones and other statues. If you are tempted by the adventure, take a kid with you, that will avoid you to get lost or to miss what there would be to see. You must leave your vehicle at the foot of the laterite stairs. Two-wheelers can be left in the paid parking lot or at a local refreshment stand, which is perfectly safe.

According to Aymonnier, the temple dates from the 10th or 11th century. The northern pagoda is now called Vat Banon Leu (top or upstream). The southern one, which was called Vat Banon Krom (lower or downstream), has been completely razed: only the entrance door and the remains of the kod remain.

Visit. The basins are overgrown, but they are flooded in the rainy season. A staircase of 350 steps has been restored, but it is rather tiring! Some statues of lions are in place, others are preserved in the museum of Battambang. From the top of the terraces that we reach, the view is marvelous on the countryside which extends until the limits of the horizon (when the air is clear, we see Phnom Sampeou).

To reach the cave called Kouhéa Preah Toeuk (cave of sacred water), one can go around Phnom by the south and stop at a small refreshment stand: there is then less than 500 m to walk in a field of orange trees. On the spot, there is often a young guide who offers to enlighten you. The entrance is very low but, after a few meters, the ceiling is very high. The main room is naturally lit. The cave can be reached by descending directly from the top through a nice chaos of rocks, but this path is quite tricky for people who are not agile. There are other caves to the west.