Wat Hanchey

Pre-Angkorian brick sanctuaries above the Mekong, north of town

Wat Hanchey sits on a 100-metre-high bluff above the Mekong, about 20 kilometres north of Kampong Cham. The hilltop is one of the older religious sites in Cambodia: there are two small, perfectly proportioned eighth-century brick sanctuaries here, predating Angkor, which are among the oldest standing buildings in the country. A modern Buddhist monastery has grown up around the ancient remains.

The view from the bluff over the Mekong is the equal of anything in Cambodia. Getting there is part of the trip — most visitors come by motorbike taxi on the new river road, but the more memorable approach is by river: a slow boat from the Kampong Cham riverfront takes around three hours each way.

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