Ta Prohm
the one with the trees
the crowded one
the Tomb Raider one…
***
12th-13th century
Nature meets Architecture
Ta Prohm is one of the most spectacular temples in Angkor, no doubt. Most of the temples were left abandoned after the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century, and were reclaimed by the jungle. They were later discovered by Westerners in the 19th century. Just when technological developments would have made it possible to restore the temples to their former glory, Cambodia entered a dark chapter in its history, going from one war into another, and culminating with the Khmer Rouge regime, which wiped out around 25% of the country’s population and affected many more. Millions of active landmines remained throughout the country and have made preservation a lot more challenging. Finally, restoration efforts began in the 1990s and the Angkor temples were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1992. The Angkor Park is therefore a newer tourist attraction than one might think.
What is different about Ta Prohm is that, while it has been restored and is still undergoing this process, it has been intentionally left in much the same condition as it was found in. This is because it is one of the finest examples of how nature and architecture have merged into one. The trees growing out of ruins are the main attraction here. Still, maintaining this appearance of apparent neglect requires considerable efforts to stabilise the ruins and allow safe access. Some of the larger trees had to be trimmed back because they were affecting the structure of the temple.
When to go
If you want to enjoy the tranquility of this place, you absolutely MUST arrive at opening time (7am). Right before closing time might also be ok, though I cannot confirm. Tour groups are the main inconvenience, because while the temple is just as popular as Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, it is much smaller and therefore feels more crowded. Do not listen to your driver. Any driver would prefer to take you there later in the day, because the temple lies somewhere halfway through the “small circle” tour, and they wouldn’t expect anyone to wake up early apart from the obligatory experience of the Angkor Wat sunrise.
When in Angkor, always go against the pattern. I planned to see this temple at opening time on our third day, but our driver suggested we stop there on our first - around 1pm. I thought - why not, let’s see what those crowds are like! They were just as intense as expected and really had an impact on our perception of the temple. We visited again on the third day, first thing in the morning, and it was a completely different experience.
A popular attraction
Ta Prohm was once a Buddhist monastery, and much larger than it is today. It was a very wealthy establishment, and home to more than 12,000 people. One could argue that hasn’t changed much, given the amount of tour groups wandering the grounds of Ta Prohm these days.
Everyone wants to see “the Tomb Raider temple”. The temple owes some of its popularity to the not-so-iconic movie Tomb Raider (the one with Angelina Jolie), which features some scenes filmed at this location. Regardless of the movie, the ruins definitely have “that look” that fans of the video game would appreciate.
Ta Prohm is also one of the most photogenic temples, and everyone wants to take pictures with the trees. That most often involves some form of interaction between the tourist and the tree - the closer you are, the better! A path has been built to guide visitors through the main sections, with fences for distancing and wooden platforms for posing with some of the more interesting stumps. I think that deters heavily from the original intention of preserving the temple’s authenticity, but I suppose this is the only way to keep tree huggers at bay.
