ADVENTURE TOUR TO NATIONAL PARK PHNOM KULEN&BENG MEALEA TEMPLE

 Tour itineraries for National Park & Beng Mealea Temple

Pick up from your hotel at 08:30 a.m. Transfer to the Phnom Kulen National Park in the Phnom Kulen mountain range, north of Siem Reap. During the Angkor era, the place was known as Mahendraparvata and it was here in the year 802 that Jayavarman II proclaimed himself King of Kings, an act that is considered the founding act of the Khmer Empire. In the 16th century, Phnom Kulen became a Buddhist shrine. At that time, craftsmen carved the Reclining Buddha in the Preah Ang Thom Pagoda. This is one of the largest reclining Buddhas in the world, carved directly into a mountain rock and uniquely reclining on the left side. Next you will visit the “River of a thousand lingas“, and the spectacular Phnom Kulen waterfall, where you have the opportunity to take a very special bath. Lunch at a typical local restaurant in the area. After lunch we drive from Phnom Kulen Mountain for 1-hour through mountain & jungle scenery to the mysterious Beng Mealea Temple. Beng Mealea look like it has been just discovered with tree branches, roots, leaves and plants growing within its structure. Not much is known about the history of the temple, but due to its style, it has to be related to Angkor Wat, which is why experts deduce that it was built at the beginning of the 12th century, during the government of King Suryavarman II. The temple is literally overgrown by the jungle and has been intentionally kept that way so that the state in which it was found is preserved. A wooden walkway makes it easy to access the interior of the temple and you can also visit the moat that surrounds it.