Among all the beauties that one can find in Ratanakiri province, there is one that stands aside. It is not a lake, a waterfall or small white water streaming under the shade of trees, this beauty was born a long time ago from the doings of man but nature became its setting.

Far away, hard to reach, forgotten for centuries, Prasat Ta Nang is different from the other Khmer temples doting the Kingdom. It is rumored to be Cham. 

Built in bricks that are so tightly jointed that they seem glued together, the small red temple stands on the banks of the O’Tang river that was used in the old days to float materials through the immense forest along the Vietnamese border.

Time seems to have come to a stand still, the Khmer forest vibrates, seemingly alive under the heat, giant hornbills fly above the trees, one has to wade, sometimes swim across the river particularly when the red waters are swollen by the monsoon storms, there’s a strong Rudyard Kipling atmosphere here !

To reach Ta Nang, one must first get to Oyadao village by the new road built by Vietnam and from there head South for about thirty kilometers through rubber plantations and a very nice forest unfortunately being bulldozed by a Vietnamese company to make way for yet more rubber plantations.

The area is slightly mountainous with long slopes and very nice views. Just before getting to the temple one has to wade across a little river which is of course more difficult during the rainy season.

This excursion can be done by car, motorcycle or even by mountain bike, in this case one reaches Oyadao by car then goes on by MTB towards the temple and overnights there.