Phnom Kulen has a distance from Siem Reap town to the northeast about 50km. It is the one of the most famous mountains, and also the local people are considering this mountain as the most spirit mountains in Cambodia. The name of this mountain (Kulen) comes after this mountain consists a lot of lychee trees and fruits. Phnom Kulen also the source for the Siem Reap river. This mountain is nearly 300m high and its side covering of 64sqkm which one in each side of the mountain controls of 8km by 8km. The Phnom Kulen is still serve as the home of the acestics or hermits at the present day. Because this mountain consists many caves for serve as a good spots of those “holy men”to make their meditation or learning or communication to the mountain’s spirits for bringing themselves of becoming the magician or traditional healers so on.

At the ancient time, especially during the reign of the king Jayavarman II at Angkor period, Phnom Kulen was served as the capital city of the Khmer Empire for a while. When Phnom Kulen was served as the capital city, the very famous rite known as “Davaraja cult” had been set. This ritual cult aimed to make Cambodian king had his power equal of the gods. Although, Jayavarman II abandoned its site and moved to hariharalaya as his new capital, but Phnom Kulen was served as a popular holy city for the pilgrimage and served as the home of many hundred hermits and traditional healers at back then. As it was so popular spots for the pilgrims and for the hermits, that was the reason there were one thousand lingas and yonis had been caved on the riverbed at the top of Phnom Kulen. As the Phnom Kulen is the highest mountain in Angkor city, Khmer ancestors pretended this mountain as Mt. Himalaya. Himalaya was taken by Indian as the home of Hindu gods. In Angkor period the Khmer brought the significant holy ideas from Indians to its beliefs. That is the reason always saying that Siem Reap river was Ganges river, Phnom Kulen was Himalaya and Lingas was represented of the Gods. Today Phnom Kulen is an interesting for tourists. Because on the top of its mountain for about sqkm comprises many culture and natural resorts. Those resorts include 1000 linga river, where you can enjoy to swim in very clear river water or visit Lingas and Yonis for about 100m long and according the local they mentioned where the Leper King used to treat his lepresy. Then the Leper King Field resort, where you walk on the stone carpet to chase beautiful batterfies along the river and surrounding by very lush of the tropical jungle. In the Leper field also has a ruined brick shrine in middle of the stone field, according to the local said that the brick shrine was a place to serve as crematorium for the Leper King.

The resort of Prah Ang Thom (Reclining Buddha statue) is also very popular for the local tourists come to worship. This statue believed to make at the 16^th century by Ang Chan Raja. This significant statue was carved on the top of the rock height from the ground about 20m. Statue was found by a hunter in 1959 and then King Sihanouk came to built a shrine to cover on top of statue in 1961. In 1970 – 1975 aircraft dropped some bomb but did not effected the shrine of the holy Buddha at all. That is why Preah Ang Thom is so famous of his holiness. When you reach at the top of Preah Ang Thom you will be do surprised by very beautiful jungle view of Phnom Kulen. The most pleasant resort in Phnom Kulen is the waterfall. This area serves as the place for making the picnic as well. To swim in the cool water after the water flowing across all lingas and yonis and fall the rocky river with its deep canyon for about 5m high making tourists having a real memorial. Besides, there are many more interesting resorts and traditional villages in Phnom Kulen for tourists to visit and see.