Heritage site
Wat Banan
ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាណន់
Wat Banan, also called Prasat Phnom Banan (ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាណន់), is an Angkorian temple on a hilltop in Banan district, Battambang (បាត់ដំបង) province. It lies about 24 kilometers (15 miles) south of the city of Battambang. Five towers stand on the summit, reached by a stairway of more than 350 steps.[1][2]
History
The Ministry of Tourism gives the temple to King Udayadityavarman II (ឧទយាទិត្យវរ្ម័នទី២), who reigned from 1050 to 1066. By its account he built it in the middle of the 11th century in the Baphuon (បាពួន) style and dedicated it to Shiva.[1] The travel guide Travelfish writes that the temple was remade for Buddhist use in the reign of Jayavarman VII (ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី៧).[3]
The ministry links the hill to Bhimapura (ភីមបុរ), an old name for part of the land that is Battambang province. In its account most of Bhimapura lay west of the Sangker River, reaching at least from Phnom Banan along the river, and its first settlement was probably in the Phnom Banan area. In the Angkorian period the name was used for a district.[1]
The temple
The temple stands on a natural hill 75 meters (246 feet) high. Its plan is a rectangle 60 by 40 meters (197 by 131 feet). The central tower, 25 meters (82 feet) high, stands for Mount Meru, and the four towers around it for the four continents or directions. The central tower is built of sandstone, and the others of sandstone mixed with laterite.[1] Mekong Tourism describes devata carvings on the sandstone, scattered lintels and the torso of a dvarapala, a door guardian.[2]
The tower facing the eastern stairway is called Prasat Ta Dambang Daek, after a statue of Ta Dambang Daek that once stood there. The southern tower is called Prasat Tumleak Doung. Elders tell of a cave below it that no one dared to enter: at festivals people dropped coconuts into it, and the coconuts came out in the Sangker River.[1]
Travelfish describes the carvings as worn and the site as badly pillaged, and suggests that some of the missing pieces are in the Battambang Provincial Museum.[3] The museum holds Angkorian statues, lintels and pottery from Wat Banan and Ek Phnom.[4]
Around the hill
At the foot of the hill are a moat and two caves, Lea-ang Preah Tuek and Lea-ang Bet Meas.[1] A working pagoda and a lake with bamboo huts for eating and resting also stand at the base.[2] From the top, visitors look out over rice fields and the Sangker valley.[4] Travelfish advises keeping to the paths on the wooded hillside, which may hold old landmines.[3]
The site has food and drink stalls, rest huts, local guides and boat rides.[1] Travelfish gives the entry fee as $3.[3] The bamboo train runs nearby, and day tours from Battambang often combine the two.[2][4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Nokorwat News, citing the Ministry of Tourism, History of the Phnom Banan temple site (September 9, 2022; in Khmer)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mekong Tourism, Explore the quieter side of Cambodia in Battambang (August 21, 2025)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Travelfish, Mark Ord, Phnom Banan (March 24, 2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cambodianess, Wonders of Cambodia, Battambang City Guide for Culture Lovers: Cambodia's Creative Second City (2026)