Wat Hanchey

Wat Hanchey stands on a bluff about a hundred metres above the Mekong, and it holds two things at once: a modern working pagoda with a monastery school and painted halls, and beside it a small square brick sanctuary from the eighth century, one of the few surviving buildings of the Chenla period that preceded Angkor, plain and heavy with a stone doorframe. Fragments and inscriptions lie around the grounds, and a scattering of oddly shaped concrete sculptures of fruit and animals was added in recent decades. The view over the river from the terrace is wide, particularly at the end of the day. Novice monks at the school are usually happy to talk, and the site is a standard stop on Mekong cycling routes.

What you actually see

• The Chenla shrine - a small pre-Angkorian brick sanctuary.
• The working pagoda - painted halls and a monastery school.
• The Mekong view - the river a hundred metres below the terrace.
• Concrete sculptures - the modern additions scattered in the grounds.

When to go

November to March for comfortable weather. Late afternoon light on the river is the best of it. The pagoda is open all day and the school is busiest on weekday mornings.

Honest expectations

The ancient shrine is small and plain and easily overlooked beside the modern buildings. Access is up a long stairway or a road. Facilities are none. Donations are expected. It is a stop rather than a destination.

Nearby

Kampong Cham lies south; the Mekong runs north to Kratie.