Prasat Kuhak Nokor

Several spelling variations exist for Kuh Nokor, the largest and best-preserved of the province’s temple sites after Sambor Prei Kuk.

This is a popular stop for tour groups or travellers with their own transport.

Restored during the French period, this laterite temple dates from the reign of Suryavarman I and consists of an enclosure wall, library and central shrine above whose entrance is an excellent sandstone lintel depicting Indra on his three-headed elephant Airavata.

Dedicated to Shiva, the temple now stands in the grounds of a modern Buddhist wat and adjacent to the village school, so local kids requesting pens are a salient feature of the site.

The massive enclosure wall is still intact, with a monumental entrance gate to the east. The central shrine consists of a tiered tower preceded by a gallery leading to a narrow central chamber where there is an alter. Behind the altar, a sanctuary tower is now teeming with bats.

The library, in the southwest corner of the temple, is almost perfectly intact.

The site is signposted on the main highway and located five or six kilometres down a good dirt track from the main road.