Kbal Spean - Geography

Geography

Kbal Spean is described as "a spectacularly carved riverbed, set deep in the jungle to the northeast of Angkor". The river over which the bridge head exists is also known as Phnom Kbal Spean, a tributary of the Siem Reap River that rises in the Kulein mountains north of Banteay Srei. The river bed cuts through sandstone formations, and the many architectural sculptures of Hindu mythology have been carved within the sandstone. The archaeological site occurs in a stretch of the river starting from 150 metres (490 ft) upstream north of the bridge head to the falls downstream. The river, being sanctified by flowing over the religious sculptures, flows downstream, bifurcating into the Siem Reap River and Puok River, which eventually flows into the Tonlé Sap Lake after passing through the plains and the Angkor temple complex.

The archaeological site is in the western part of the Kulein mountains within the Phnom Kulen National Park. Approach is from the Banteay Srei temple by a road which is about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from an army camp. Thereafter, it is a 40-minute walk through the forest for about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) uphill along a path before reaching the first site, a water fall, where the carved sculptures start appearing in the river bed.