It used to be Cambodia’s capital. Now it’s a city of the dead

Take off your shoes to explore the inside of Oudong's golden temple. (maylat/iStock Editorial/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

PSADEK, Cambodia — After years guiding tourists around Cambodia, Nao Sok has a clear answer when asked which destination is most underrated: Oudong.

Located about 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Phnom Penh, this was Cambodia’s capital from 1618 to the mid-1860s.

The name Oudong comes from the Sanskrit word uttunga, often meaning “high,” “tall,” or “supreme.” Officially, it’s Phnom (“mountain” or “hill”) Oudong on maps.

Although the country’s seat of power moved away more than 150 years ago, Oudong still holds deep significance to the Cambodian royal family. It’s a hill complex, home to several ornate Buddhist stupas, as well as relics, sculptures and sacred artifacts. In all, there are 16 stupas that hold the remains of Cambodian kings.

It’s more than 500 steps to the top, but the climb is full of color. Buddhist flags hang between trees, locals leave fruit and flower offerings, and orange-robed monks weave through nearby rice paddies on their way to the temples.

During its heyday, Oudong was known as a “city of a thousand monasteries.”

At the summit of the 93-metre (about 300 foot) hill, the most magnificent of these structures is a temple that looks like it’s built out of lace, intricately patterned and bright silver. It’s adorned with carvings of elephants, which represent strength and longevity. Inside, there’s a magnificent golden Buddha.

Nearby, a stone pagoda bears a tall, striking pillar which has four Buddha faces — one per cardinal direction. Spotted from a distance, the faces peek out from behind tall trees, giving a spooky and ethereal feel, especially on hazy days.

Phnom Penh locals have made Oudong — sometimes written as Udong or Ondong — a popular day trip, but it remains largely unknown to international tourists.

Sok says many travellers rush through Phnom Penh on their way to Angkor Wat — the Hindu-Buddhist temple complex that is Cambodia’s flagship tourist attraction — or another Southeast Asian country like Vietnam.

King Norodom moved the capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh when Cambodia became a French protectorate. In the 20th century, civil war — linked to the Vietnam War — left much of the country in ruins. Some areas have since recovered better than others.

As a result, the Oudong hill has yet to give up all of its treasures.

Unlike Angkor Wat, which can take days to explore, Oudong can be seen in a few hours. For visitors who make the trip, it helps bridge the ancient world of Angkor and the modern bustle of Phnom Penh, filling in a key historical gap. And unlike Angkor, it remains a living site, with new structures still being built.

“The particularity of post-Angkorian sites is that almost nothing remains. We had capitals with palaces, which were certainly very important, but everything was built of wood,” explains Grégory Mikaelian of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Centre for Scientific Research).

Underground radar has detected more structures in and around the hill, but restoration work is slow and inconsistent. Cambodia nominated Oudong to UNESCO’s World Heritage committee in 2020, but it wasn’t added to the list.

“Consider that it’s the hill plus the monasteries at the foot of the hill, which are the traces of the old palaces of Oudong, plus the citadel of Longvek,” says Mikaelian. “It’s important to understand that what there is to see is not one place, but several small things in several places.”

Mikaelian believes that could change in the years to come. Cambodia’s government has invested heavily in tourism infrastructure, and one component of that is having more UNESCO sites.

Earlier this year, a massive new Phnom Penh airport opened to service the capital. The $2 billion project is part of an ambitious multi-year plan to bring more international tourists to Cambodia’s less-visited southern regions.

What to know about visiting

So what does a trip to Oudong entail?

Tour guide Nao Sok recommends visiting either early in the morning or in the evening, and not just to escape Cambodia’s notoriously blistering heat.

“When I talk about Oudong, it’s not only the Royal Palace and the mountain. It’s the view,” he says. He tells his clients that early morning start times are worth it to watch the sun rise over the complex.

He also recommends that travellers make a full day out of the experience by also visiting the nearby Cambodia Buddhist Vipassana Center, which offers meditation experiences to tourists, then stopping by Oudong’s market and visiting a homestay or local restaurant to get a sense of regular Cambodian life.

Travellers who have been to Angkor Wat will find Oudong markedly different. There are no shops, souvenir stands or vending machines. Entry is free, but there are no signs or maps, and cellphone service is spotty .

Tour company Asia Desk provides air-conditioned cars and English-speaking guides, plus they will have water and snacks on hand, as those can be difficult to find in Oudong.

To go inside temples or the meditation center, visitors need to make sure that their shoulders and knees are covered, even if temperatures are high.

British writer Marissa Carruthers, who has been living in Phnom Penh since 2012, is a regular visitor to Oudong and takes friends there when they visit from abroad.

She notes a smaller site often overlooked among the ornate pagodas: a memorial to victims of the Khmer Rouge, the regime that killed at least 1.7 million Cambodians in the late 1970s.

While it strikes a different chord than other attractions, she believes it “should be visited out of respect for Cambodia’s dark past.”

“A trip to Oudong offers an authentic glimpse into Cambodia’s past without the crowds of tourists, the chance to mingle with locals – and some great photos for your socials,” she adds.

Lilit Marcus, CNN