The Legend of Preah Vihear Temple
The legend of Preah Vihear, the cliff-top temple designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, tells of its divine origins and supernatural guardians. According to Khmer tradition, the site on the Dangrek mountain range was chosen by the gods themselves as a sacred threshold between the earthly and celestial realms. Local lore recounts that the temple was built by the devaraja (god-king) Suryavarman II — the same king who built Angkor Wat — but the site had been considered sacred since the earliest times. The legend tells of a hermit named Preah Vihear who meditated in a cave on the cliff and re