This sacred site is situated spectacularly atop Poy Tadi, a 525-metre (1720 ft) cliff in the Dangrek Mountains located in Choam Khsant District in the Province of Preah Vihear in northern Cambodia; 140 km from Angkor Wat; approximately 320 km from Phnom Penh. The temple gives its name to Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province.

As a key edifice of the empire’s spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Quite oftenly visited by clouds, the temple has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-century-long Khmer Empire. The Temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800 metre long axis and is built with a clear view of the plains from where it stands.

Dedicated to Shiva, this temple is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east. However, it is believed to have been built to serve the same purpose as a stylised representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods.