Heritage site
Wat Phnom
វត្តភ្នំ
Wat Phnom (វត្តភ្នំ, Wat Phnom), the "Mountain Pagoda," is a Buddhist temple on the hill that gave Phnom Penh its name.[1][2] The name Phnom Penh means "Penh's Hill," after Lady Penh, who is remembered as the temple's founder.[3]
The story
In the founding legend, a wealthy widow named Penh, also called Daun Penh or Grandma Penh, lived on a small hill near the meeting of four rivers. In 1372, after heavy rain, she saw a koki tree floating in the river and called her neighbors to pull it ashore.[1][4] Inside the tree were four bronze Buddha images and a stone statue of Vishnu, which held a staff, a chain, a snail and a lotus flower.[1][3] One telling calls the stone figure a goddess, and some versions of the legend name other objects as well.[4][5]
Penh and the villagers raised an artificial hill and built a small wooden shrine on top for the statues. Monks blessed the statues and named the hermitage Wat Phnom.[1] The stone figure was placed in its own shrine at the eastern foot of the hill, where it became known as Neak Ta Preah Chao. Monks were later invited to live at the western foot, and the site took the name Wat Phnom Daun Penh.[6] Locals called the hill Phnom Penh in her honor, and the city that grew around it took the same name.[2][7]
History
King Ponhea Yat, also known as Barom Reachea I, ruled from Tuol Basan, or Srey Santhor, for nine years. Severe floods struck the capital there in 1396. The king ordered Chao Ponhea Decho, governor of Samrong Tong Province, to build a new palace in Russey Keo village near Wat Phnom. The digging, where the Central Market of Phnom Penh now stands, created a lake called Boeung Decho.[1]
Ponhea Yat moved his court to the meeting of the rivers at the Tonle Sap in 1397.[1] Other accounts date his arrival to 1422, about 1432 or 1434, and one records that he left Angkor in 1431.[2][4][8][6] He had a hermitage hut built on the hill near the temple and ordered the hill enlarged. In another account, the name Neak Ta Preah Chao belongs to this hermitage. In 1416 he named the city Chaktomuk Sakal Kampuchea Thibdey Udiya Mohanakor, and his reign there began the Chaktomuk Period of the kingdom in 1431.[1][2] After his death, a large stupa, a bell-shaped monument holding relics, was built for him at the top of the hill.[1]
The main temple was rebuilt in 1434, 1806, 1894 and 1926. The present main building dates from 1926, and a further renovation took place in 1998.[2][9][8] The site was rebuilt at different times because of decay, flood damage or changing tastes.[5] New shrines and statues were added, and the original walls were plastered and painted over many times. The present temple joins styles and structures from more than 600 years.[2] French-built gardens were laid out on the grounds.[2] The photographer Louis Gascuel recorded Wat Phnom during his journey through Cambodia in 1904 and 1905.[10]
Wat Phnom stayed active through colonial rule, wars and the Khmer Rouge period, although at times it was damaged or neglected.[5] In recent decades, restoration and renewed devotion have brought back its standing as a place of worship and a New Year pilgrimage site in everyday Phnom Penh life.[5]
Architecture and layout
The temple stands on an artificial mound about 27 meters (89 feet) high, the only hill in Phnom Penh.[9][3][2] Wikipedia gives the height of Wat Phnom as 46 meters (150 feet).[1] The complex covers about five hectares (12 acres) and serves as a place of worship, a city landmark and a public park.[9] It combines Khmer and colonial influences.[3]
An eastern staircase with naga balustrades, railings shaped as serpents, and guardian lions leads up to the main vihara, or prayer hall.[9][2] The central stupa, painted white and gold, stands on a square base 26 meters (85 feet) on each side and rises 42.25 meters (138.6 feet). Its bell-shaped dome has nagas at each corner of the roof.[9][3] It is traditionally said to hold the ashes of King Ponhea Yat, and another stupa holds the remains of his relatives.[5][4][6] Smaller stupas and memorials honor other important figures and families.[5]
Shrines stand around the sides and base of the hill, among colorful spirit houses.[2][3] The shrine of Lady Penh is at the southwest corner of the temple and stupa.[1] The shrine of Preah Chau lies below the vihara to the north.[9] Other parts of the complex include figures associated with Confucian traditions and a small museum of old statues from the site at the northwest corner.[9] Wat Preah Chedey Borapaut stands beside the statue of King Sisowath.[4] A memorial connected with the Second World War stands at the southern foot of the hill.[6]
About forty tree species grow on the hill, marked by blue plaques with white lettering, and koki trees border the wat.[9] Some trees are nearly a century old.[9] Macaques live on the hill, and many birds, among them large hornbills, nest in the trees.[9][6] The hill is one of the few shaded green spaces in central Phnom Penh.[9]
Art and inscriptions
The central altar holds a large bronze seated Buddha, surrounded by statues, flowers, candles and offerings.[1] Murals on the walls and ceiling tell Jataka stories, the tales of the Buddha's earlier lives, and scenes from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana. Newer murals in the lower tiers mix traditional and modern elements.[1][5]
A statue of King Sisowath stands on the southern slope.[4] Sisowath was chosen by a royal palace council to take the crown in 1906, after the death of King Norodom.[4] The monument marks the return of Battambang, Siem Reap and Sisophon to Cambodia under the Franco-Siamese Treaty of March 15, 1907, and its French lettering refers to that treaty.[4][6] The original was cast in 1909, mostly of copper, and bears the French initials "RF" for the French Republic. It shows the king seated beneath a nine-tiered royal umbrella, with a French flag, a soldier and three women holding censers. Archaeologists read the three women as Siem Reap, Battambang and Sisophon.[4][6] After the events of March 18, 1970, the original was moved to the National Museum. The statue on the hill today is a cement copy made for the Phnom Penh authorities in mid-January 1998.[4][6]
The park has a large floral clock on its southern slope that is lit in the evening. The first clock, from the early 1960s, was a gift from France, and China gave the present one in 2000.[2][4][9][7] Atlas Obscura gives its width as more than 200 feet (61 meters), and IntoCambodia as almost 20 meters (66 feet).[2][4]
Religious life
Wat Phnom is a center of Theravada Buddhist worship.[3] It hosts major observances during Khmer New Year and Pchum Ben, also called Ancestors' Day, as well as celebrations at the international New Year.[3][4] Devotees light incense, offer lotus flowers and pray for good luck, health or success.[3] In the vihara they bring flowers and seek blessings from monks.[5]
The shrine of Lady Penh is often crowded. Worshippers bring prayers and food offerings and adorn her statue with flowers, and many women come to honor the temple's founder.[1][2][3] People pray there for luck in business, examinations and travel.[7] Preah Chau, a guardian spirit, is believed to protect against enemies, and the shrine is especially visited by the Vietnamese community.[2][9] The hill's shrines also include Taoist, Confucian and Hindu images alongside Buddhist worship.[2] The monkeys are believed to bring good fortune.[3]
Visiting
Wat Phnom is at the corner of Norodom Boulevard and Street 92, at a roundabout in the northern part of central Phnom Penh.[9][5] It is open daily. Published hours have differed: 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (2018), and about 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (2025).[2][7] The park at the foot of the hill is free.[7] The way up is by stairs and sloping paths, with no lift, and side paths are uneven.[9][5] Shoulders and knees are covered at the pagoda, and shoes and hats are removed before entering the main vihara.[7][5] Vendors near the hill sell incense, flowers, drinks and caged birds, and fortune-tellers work in the park.[5][3] Elephant rides, once offered, have ended.[9] The summit looks out over the city and toward the Tonle Sap.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Atlas Obscura, Wat Phnom (2018-09-12)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Cambodianess, Wat Phnom: The Sacred Hill of Phnom Penh (2025-12-23)
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 IntoCambodia.org, Wat Phnom - IntoCambodia.org
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 Nomads Travel Guide, Wat Phnom, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2026): Hilltop Shrine at the ... (2026-05-09)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Advisor.Travel, វត្តភ្នំ នៅក្នុង Phnum Pénh
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Visit to Cambodia, Wat Phnom (វត្តភ្នំ): A Guide to the Legendary Birthplace of Phnom Penh (2025-10-03)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Evendo, Wat Phnom: The Birthplace of Phnom Penh
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 tour-cambodia.com, Wat Phnom Hill: Practical Guide - Nomadays - Seripheap (2026-03-28)
- ↑ Angkor Database, Visions of Southeast Asia by Louis Gascuel (2024-02-17)