Prasat Prei Monti Temple, Angkor
Prasat Prei Monti, Roluos Group, Angkor Photo courtesy of Benny Yap, used with permission. All rights reserved. Prasat Prei Monti is one of the obscure Angkor ruins within the Roluos group. It may have been the state temple of Jayavarman III (c. 842-877 AD) or his successor Indravarman I (c. 877 - 889), and is therefore one of the earliest pre-classical Angkor temple in Roluos. Its significance lies more in its historic rather than architectural value. I was assisted by Benny Yap on this write-up and photograph of Prasat Prei Monti, which he explored. According to Benny, Prasat Prei Monti is quite difficult to find. He had to ask his tuk-tuk driver to seek directions from the villagers. (I myself attempted to find it earlier without success). They explored the Roluos area. Arriving at a T-junction, they realised they had gone too far and turned back. Then they found an opening off the dirt road. This dirt road is on your left if you're coming from the Bakong. That's the path to Prasat Prei Monti. It was too narrow for the tuk-tuk to enter, so Benny walked about 500 metres in and eventually arrived at the 3 brick structures within a groove of trees. According to him, whatever ornamentation there might have been on these structures is no longer apparent. The path was overgrown and muddy in the wet season. It would be safer to just continue on the path and not stray from it. Side views of the unrestored prasats of Prasat Prei Monti Photo courtesy of Benny Yap, used with permission. All rights reserved. Jungle path leading towards Prasat Prei Monti Photo courtesy of Benny Yap, used with permission. All rights reserved. | ||||||
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