Phnom Sampeau
The site of a hill-top temple called Wat Sampeau, which offers jaw-dropping panoramic vistas of the surrounding countryside and rice paddies, Phnom Sampeau is located just off the Highway 57 on the way to Pailin and the Thai border, 10 km (7 miles) southwest of Battambang. Tragically, the mountain's caves were used by the Khmer Rouge to execute prisoners. In one, which contains the skeletal remains of victims, you can stand on the eerily dark floor and look up to a hole in the cave roof, with sunlight streaming through. Khmer Rouge cadres reportedly pushed their victims through the hole to their deaths on the rocks below. During sunset, you may be able to observe the spectacle of millions of bats flying from the caves to head out for their dinner.
