Preah Vihear has really taken a beating this time. According to local media citing a UNESCO report, the World Heritage site suffered heavy damage during the 2025 border clashes, leaving massive scars across the ancient temple complex.
When authorities went in to do a detailed site inspection, they tallied up 562 distinct spots of damage on record. Across the site and its immediate surroundings, they counted a staggering 501 bomb and artillery craters.
Between the exhaust fumes of motorbikes and the heavy afternoon heat of Phnom Penh streets, people usually talk about these ancient ruins as places of quiet escape. Who would have thought the fighting would flare up like that? Those ancient stones took the brunt of the hard artillery, and it's going to take years—who knows how many—to put it all back together.
