Wat Nokor Bachey

Eastern Cambodia


The original fusion temple, Wat Nokor is a modern Theravada Buddhist pagoda squeezed into the walls of a 12th-century Mahayana Buddhist shrine of sandstone and laterite. It's located down a pretty dirt road just off the highway to Phnom Penh, about 2.5km west of the centre.

It's a kitschy kind of place; many of the older building’s archways have been incorporated into the new building as shrines for worship. On weekdays there are only a few monks in the complex and it’s peaceful to wander among the alcoves and their hidden shrines. The entry price includes admission to Phnom Pros and Phnom Srei, both just outside town.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Eastern Cambodia attractions

1. Old French Lighthouse

2.64 MILES

Looming over the Mekong River opposite town is an old French lighthouse. For years it was an abandoned shell, but it's been renovated and features an…

2. Koh Paen

3.01 MILES

This serene island in the Mekong River just south of town offers a slice of rural local life, with fruit and vegetable farms and traditional wooden houses…

3. Wat Maha Leap

8.96 MILES

More than a century old, sacred Wat Maha Leap is one of the last wooden pagodas left in Cambodia. Located south of town, the beautiful pagoda was only…

4. Chup Rubber Plantation Factory

11.59 MILES

Kompong Cham was the heartland of the Cambodian rubber industry and plantations still stretch across the province. Many of them are back in business and…

5. Wat Hanchey

12.66 MILES

This hilltop pagoda was an important centre of worship during the Chenla (pre-Angkorian) period, when, as today, it offered some of the best Mekong views…

6. Prasat Kuha Nokor

28.3 MILES

This 11th-century temple, constructed during the reign of Suryavarman I, is in extremely good condition thanks to a lengthy renovation before the civil…