Angkor Thom
the big one
***
late 12th century
A former capital
The last capital of the Khmer empire, lies north of Angkor Wat. It's a 3x3km square region surrounded by a moat and largely covered by dense jungle.
There are four access points, beautifully ornate gates and bridges lined with statues, at the four cardinal points plus a fifth gate to the east leading nowhere - and suitably named “the Death Gate”. The Victory Gate is one of the most memorable entrances in the Angkor complex, lined with intricate statues on either side of a bridge.
At the capital’s core lies the Bayon Temple. Just next to it, Baphuon is another large temple, which you can climb. There are other smaller structures nearby that are worth visiting.
When to go
The temples themselves open at 7:30am, but you can see them from outside and wander around the area earlier when there is no one around. Within the Angkor Thom Complex, Bayon is by far the most popular site - best to visit either at opening time (07:30) or late in the afternoon, to avoid the crowds.
Bayon
Bayon lies at the heart of Angkor Thom. It's the second most popular temple after Angkor Wat, but very different in style. The distinctive feature of Bayon is the multitude of smiling faces, hence why it’s often called “the temple of faces”. Over 200 faces adorn its towers.
This is a good place to spot a few wild macaques. There is a large population of monkeys roaming the grounds of the Angkor temples. They like to hang out around popular spots like Angkor Wat (between the main gateway and the ponds) or Angkor Thom (between South Gate and Bayon), often in the afternoon.
Baphuon
A short walk from Bayon lies Baphuon, a temple with a unique history. It almost completely collapsed and therefore had to undergo a full reconstruction procedure in the 20th century. That meant archaeologists dismantled it and labelled each one of the 300.000 stones. The works were postponed though due to the civil unrest around the time. Later on, Baphuon became known as the largest 3D jigsaw puzzle in the world, due to the fact that the plans were lost, which made the whole project quite challenging. The temple has been open to the public since 2011 and you can climb to its top.
Terrace of the Elephants
Next to Baphuon, there is a an elevated platform, designed for larger events back in the day. Elephant statues adorn this structure to one side, hence the name. At one end of the platform lies Preah Ponlea Sdach Komlong, a small labyrinth with well preserved Hindu carvings on its walls.
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