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The trace of the Imperial Khmer road was clearly identified through examination of a series of aerial photographs covering the area from Vat Phou to Angkor. Some extensive sections of the road are still clearly visible at ground level.

The road was built after the Khmer Empire was unified, when travelling through provinces was no longer too dangerous. The connection from the Vat Phou Temple Complex to Angkor again points to the enduring significance of the temple and the lingaparvata.

The road was built of compacted earth and looks like a causeway. It can be easily recognized in some sections, others are in poorer condition. Chapels or resting-places were built at regular distances along the road; an inscription at Preah Khan (a 12th century temple at Angkor) mentions 121 rest houses (dharmasala) along the route. Ruins of several of them have been found. Today, there are a number of villages as well as other ancient monuments along the road, and bushes and trees have grown on it. It is possible to follow it at its base, but the track is not always easy and you would need an arcgaeologist. A walk of one hour along the road through open country and some woodland leads you first to Nang Sida temple and further to Ban That (18 km from Vat Phou).

Interestingly enough, Nandin Hall at Vat Phou precisely marks the end of the old Khmer road, leading scholars to believe at one time that the building may have been sacred chapel or resting house where pilgrims arriving via the road would stay for the first devotions. But remains of an unfinished, symmetrically placed building have been found on the other side of the walkway at Vat Phou recently and may lead to other interpretations of the two buildings' use.

Trace of the Ancient Road visible from Lingapura.