TRAVEL NEWS

Khao Phanom Rung Festival
(The Ascent Of Khao Phanom Rung - 'Home Of The Gods')

20 March 2007, In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, mountains are believed to be homes to the gods. Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung, a magnificent temple sanctuary set on the summit of Phanom Rung Hill, was built between the 10th and 13th centuries. According to the stone inscriptions in Sanskrit and Khmer found at the site, the original name of the temple complex is Phanom Rung, Khmer for big mountain.

A religious sanctuary dedicated to the Hindu god, Shiva, Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung symbolises Mount Kailasa, the heavenly abode of Shiva. Phanom Rung Hill rises 350 metres above the surrounding plain.

Astro-archaeological Phenomenon at Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung Astrologers have also predicted that an extraordinary astro-archaeological phenomenon will occur at sunrise (06.00 a.m.)

during the April 3-5 period this year.
The doors of the temple sanctuary are so perfectly aligned that during this period, at sunrise on a cloudless day with clear blue skies, the sun's rays will shine through all fifteen doorways of the sanctuary in a single shaft of light. (Plan to arrive between sunrise and before 06.00 a.m.) Khao Phanom Rung Festival and The Ascent of Khao Phanom Rung

April 3 - 5, 2007
Highlights include a rarely seen invocation ritual or buang suang ceremony, a procession to pay homage to the gods and celestial beings, a traditional Northeastern Thailand or I-San-style hope bai dinner, cultural presentations, the Phanom Rung Devalai light-and-sound presentations and traditional cultural performances and sales of a range of souvenirs, village handicrafts and products from the sub-districts (tambon) of Buri Ram province promoted under the OTOP - One Tambon One Product - banner.

Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung is the second most significant Khmer-style temple in Northeastern Thailand or I-San. Although often overlooked on account of the famed Angkor city complex in Cambodia, the Khmer monuments of I-san represent key architectural milestones in the development of Angkorean design and ritual. In fact virtually every Angkor-period monument played a role in an elaborate cosmology that linked the entire network, a part of which lay in what is today Thailand.

According to ancient folk belief, one should make a pilgrimage to the summit of Khao Phanom Rung to pay homage to the gods, deities and celestial beings that reside on the mountain at least once in a lifetime. The tradition has been carefully preserved by the residents of I-san over the centuries. Distance from Bangkok to Buri Ram: 410 kms (254.7 miles)

MAP
. Drive along Route 219 from Buri Ram heading southbound towards the Prakonechai intersection.
. Turn right at the Prakonechai intersection where Route 219 intersects with Route 24 and continue for approximately 20 kms before turning left into a secondary road that leads to Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung temple complex.
. Following the visit to Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung, continue on to Prasat Hin Muang Tam, another Khmer-style sanctuary.

Source: Tourism Authority of Thailand

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