Phnom Santuk: The Colourful Hill in Kampong Thom

Phnom Santuk, a cultural site in the province of Kampong Thom, is the most sacred hill in the region.

The hill (207 m) is a popular site for locals and Buddhists and a place that foreigners often overlook. The park is almost like the Haw Par Villa in Singapore – a place where imagination errs on the wild side with strange life-like dioramas.

It could be the stairway flanked by stone statues, the mish-mash of old and new Buddist monuments at its forest-cloaked summit, or the vast numbers of pesky monkeys that lent the area a strange vibe.

Back story: we travelled from Siem Reap to Kampong Thom for the latest UNESCO site Sambor Prei Kuk the day before and stayed the night in Kampong Thom. Thinking that there would be a couple of buses to Sra’aem the next day, we decided to leave it like that and break for the day. We were wrong. Only one bus travels in that direction every day. We missed that bus and had an entire day to whirl away in Kampong Thom. And that’s how Phnom Santuk is in my blog.

Getting There

From Kampong Thom, a motorcycle charter costs about USD 10 per person, while the remork – like the tuk-tuk but bigger – can hold two adults comfortably and costs USD 15 for two. The journey took us 40 minutes.

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Visiting Hours and Ticket Prices

I’m not sure about the opening hours. We were at the site by 10 AM.

It costs USD 2 per entry. 

Someone automatically approached us with the tickets at the carpark; we sought reassurance from our driver before making any purchases.

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Our Visit

After getting the tickets at the deserted car park, it was time for a workout. To get to the top of the hill, you could climb the 809 colourful steps flanked with eerie ceramic dolls or take the 2.5 km paved road to the summit.

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The Stairs

On closer inspection, the ‘dolls’ were statues designed to look like people holding a long naga/ serpent. Men stood on the right while the women were on the left. The bridge to the Southern Gate of Angkor Thom has something similar, but it is the asuras – demigods – who were holding the naga.

Plastic baskets clipped with photos lay scattered at various parts of the staircase for donations.

Monkeys congregated close to the top of the mountain. We saw monks chasing the monkeys out of a temple and a woman selling drinks and pickled mangoes underneath her big umbrella.

Some temples had more attention than the rest – like this temple with its gold and red facade that glistened under the sun, while the rest lay dilapidated like haunted houses.

There were several reclining buddhas. Some were modern incarnations cast from cement, while others were carved out from rocks with trees growing from them. 

And then there were installations that were unexplainable (some not posted here because they were too creepy).

We ended the tour the same way to the carpark and met an interesting character. A monk, who spoke fluent English, had a row of solid gold teeth and an iPad in his arms. 🤔

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Key Takeaways

Should you visit Phnom Santuk? Maybe if you have time to spare after Sambor Prei Kuk.

• Bring lots of water. It gets hot as you climb. You could support that aunty under the umbrella.
• Sunblock, hats and shades.
• Wear comfortable covered clothes. It is a sacred site.
• Guard your belongings. Don’t carry plastic bags or hold lone bottles that would attract the monkeys.
• Don’t stare at the monkeys. They’ll think you’re picking a fight and attack you. Wear sunglasses if you don’t want to be in such a predicament.