Kampong Kdei Bridge

Spean Praptos at Kampong Kdei is the largest surviving Angkorian bridge, around eighty-five metres long with twenty-one corbelled arches of laterite blocks and balustrades ending in multi-headed naga serpents, built in the twelfth century on the royal road running east from Angkor. It carried the national highway until 2007, when a modern bridge was built alongside because heavy trucks were damaging the ancient structure; it is now closed to vehicles and can be walked. The corbelled arches are narrow and the whole thing is built without mortar. Several other Angkorian bridges survive along the same route in worse condition. It is a stop of twenty minutes on the drive between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.

What you actually see

• Corbelled laterite arches - twenty-one narrow spans built without mortar.
• Naga balustrades - serpent heads at the ends of the parapets.
• The old royal road - the Angkorian route east that the bridge served.
• The modern bypass - the new bridge built alongside to save it.

When to go

November to March for the drive; the bridge is accessible year round. It sits directly on the main highway, so timing is a matter of when you pass. Morning light is good on the stonework.

Honest expectations

It is a roadside stop of twenty minutes with no facilities beyond stalls. Traffic on the adjacent highway is heavy and noisy. Interpretation is minimal. Some of the naga heads are damaged or missing.

Nearby

Siem Reap lies northwest; Kampong Thom is southeast.