Prasat Ta Muen Thom

The temple is located in the Ta Muen Thom pass at the top of the escarpment of the Dangrek Mountains which forms the current border between Cambodia and Thailand in the region fenced with wireframe but was released out of the poles about 2011. North of the border is the Khorat Plateau while to the south are divided the two countries with long cliffs as the mountains form sheer drops down to the plains connected to Northwest of Cambodia. Ta Muen Thom was written in Kui language as Taa-Mian Phued, which means "Big (structures) named after Taa-Mian. The construction in former times where the Elephant-Kui were used for going for living and catching elephants from the lower land, so-called "Katae Khmaerrrr" กะแต๊ะขแมรรรร constructed of laterite On the south facade, the same side as the main entrance, is the main Gopura, which is much larger than the others. A large broad steep laterite staircase, also facing south and extending well down into Cambodian territory, leads to the entrance of the temple. There is also a laterite staircase that leads down to a stream on the Cambodian side which curves around the temple. The orientation of Ta Muen Thom is very similar to that of Prasat Hin Phimai and others at Phimai Historical Park. Recent excavations inside the main tower have revealed the existence of a natural linga protruding from the top of the hill around which the temple was built. There is a similar natural linga at the Khmer temple Vat Phou in Laos. ==Access==

During the 2008–2013 Cambodian–Thai border crisis which was primarily centered around ownership of Preah Vihear, border clashes spread to Ta Muen and access to the temple was temporarily closed. Afterwards, tensions remain high and tourists at the temple are not allowed to venture more than a few meters southward from the main entrance and armed Thai border police stand guard to mark the border. Since 2010, the entrance of Ta Muen Thom temple on Cambodia side has become easier due to the road infrastructure has been developed, including a road leads to Ta Muen Thom temple which was built in 2009 and officially launched in 2010. It consists of 24 km red gravel roads (but it has been upgraded to the asphalt road in recent years) and 500-meter mountainous concrete road. Visitors are recommended to park their cars near the hill then they can continue walking through a half-kilometer mountainous concrete road that some parts of it are steep. At this point, tourists also enjoy with the spectacular landscape of Dangrek mountain range along with many big trees and forest flowers. ==Gallery==