About Pursat
Pursat (Khmer: ពោធិ៍សាត់, meaning "Floating Banyan") is a province of Cambodia. It is in the western part of the country and borders, clockwise from the north, Battambang province, the Tonlé Sap, Kampong Chhnang province, Kampong Speu province, Koh Kong province, and East Thailand. It lies between the Tonle Sap and the northern end of the Cardamom Mountains. The Pursat River bisects the province, running from the Cardamoms in the west to the Tonle Sap in the east.
The fourth largest province of Cambodia in area, Pursat ranks only 14th in population. The region is accessible by National Highway 5, by boat, rail, and by numerous smaller roads. The capital, Pursat town, lies 174 kilometers northwest of the capital Phnom Penh by road and 106 kilometers southeast of Battambang.
Pursat is home to Wat Bakan, considered to be among the oldest active pagodas in Cambodia and revered as one of the most holy sites of Cambodian Buddhism. The province also hosts the annual River Run Race, an event that includes 5 km and 10 km races that generally follow the path of the Pursat River for men and women, including those requiring wheelchairs. Since its inaugural race in 2007, the event has grown to the second largest of its kind in Cambodia.
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The physical geography of Pursat encompasses many bioregions ranging from densely forested mountains to fertile plains to the Tonle Sap basin. Forests cover approximately 58% of Pursat. The mountains of the Cardamom range rise high in the west and southwest of the province along the border with Thailand and the coast. The land slopes toward the northeast, opening into the plains that continue into Battambang and from which much of Cambodia's rice crop is harvested. The Pursat River follows this orientation and drains into the Tonle Sap, which forms Pursat's eastern boundary. Pursat is one of the nine provinces that are part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.