A week in Cambodia -11/18/2023-11/24/2023

Siam Reap-11/23/2023

Day 6- Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider)

 Ta Prohm gained a large chunk of its fame from the 2001 Hollywood movie “Tomb Raider,” where Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft maneuvered through the temple ruins, making it a favorite among movie fans and also earned the moniker “Tomb Raider Temple.”

Ta Prohm is an ancient Buddhist monastic complex that was constructed in the 12th century under the reign of the Khmer King, Jayavarman and was posthumously dedicated to Jayavarman VII’s mother, Jayarajachudamani. After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, Ta Prohm fell into disrepair. For hundreds of years, Ta Prohm was swallowed up by the Cambodian jungle. Trees began to grow from the tops of the walls, and as they got bigger, they began to topple the stone walls. These ancient trees, with their invasive, gigantic tree roots, is what adds to the beauty and the mystery of Ta Prohm.

Ta Prohm is also one of the most popular and most photographed temple in Siem Reap  and it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1992.

Entering Ta Prohm by the main East gate entrance.

In 1431, the temple complex fell to the city of Ayutthaya (modern-day Thailand). The once majestic city was then abandoned and, over time, hidden by the surrounding jungle before being rediscovered in the early 20th century.

Located inside the outer enclosure of Ta Prohm, on the Eastern side is a single sandstone building which is referred to as a Firehouse, or in some literature as a Dharmasala.

The library typically built in pairs on either side of an enclosure. Their entrance always faces west. Scholars doubt they housed manuscripts. However, their actual purpose is unknown. This library is at the southeast corner of the third enclosure at Ta Prohm.

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At first glance the library just look ordinary but if you look carefully you will see in a center a tree coming out of the roof.

View of the front of the library.  Our tour guide told us that the back is very interesting.

The exterior of the library.  Monks used to study scriptures inside this building.

Ta Prohm is built in Bayon style and uses a formula that is consistent with the later era of the Khmer Empire. Temples of this era had shifted away from the pyramid-like temple-mountain style of prior eras which rose up to the central shrine, rather everything here is on the same level.

The temple was highly decorated and extremely ornate with carvings and decorated lintel.

Passing through the gate of the temple.

Panoramic view as soon as you enter this area.

This is the area where the filming of Tomb Raider took place.

This tree is dubbed the Tomb Raider tree because this is where Angelina stood in front of this tree while picking a jasmine flower.

One of the most distinctive features at Ta Prohm temple has to be the extraordinary trees growing out of the ruins.

Two species of trees predominate the landscape: the larger is either the silk-cotton tree (Tetrameles nudiflora, and the smaller is either the strangler fig (Ficus gibbosa) or Gold Apple (Diospyros decandra).  This one is a silk cotton tree.

Thesilk-cotton tree that have the capacity to grow up to 70 feet. 

Ta Prohm Temple was abandoned centuries ago by the Khmer empire only to be reclaimed by the jungle.  The massive roots are anchored into the cracks between the stones.

Panoramic view.

The central sanctuary in the inner enclosure

Long corridor in the main sanctuary with people praying to a headless Buddha statue

Headless Buddha statue.

Over the centuries, the stones were levered apart by mighty roots growing over the ruins.

The root of this tree is enormous.

Tall trees growing around the temple.

Ancient Khmer had well-planned cities with schools, hospitals, and reservoirs, as well as a substantial population. Ta Prohm is one of the few Angkorian temples where a stone inscription provides detailed information about the inhabitants of the temple. The temple was home to around 12,640 people including 18 high priests and 615 apsaras or dancers.

Unlike the pyramid structure of many Khmer temples, the layout of Ta Prohm is relatively simple. It has several one-story buildings enclosed by a rectangular wall.

In the interior are many courtyards, passages, and towers that are partly destroyed and partly conserved by thick foliage.

In the 15th century, the invading Siamese destroyed the capital of the Khmer empire. Following this defeat, the Khmer kings left the Angkorian region for Phnom Penh. Thus they abandoned the Ta Prohm (along with the other surrounding Angkorian sites). The jungle eventually swallowed it up. It was forgotten until its rediscovery in 1860 by the French naturalist Henri Mouhot.

Out tour guide told us that it used to be possible to climb onto the damaged galleries, but this is now prohibited, to protect both temple and visitor.

So amazing to see how big this tree is and it is completely blending with the temple.

Many of these precariously balanced stones weigh a ton or more and would do some serious damage if they came down. Ta Prohm is currently under stabilization and restoration by an Indian team of archaeologists working with their Cambodian counterparts.

The appeal of Ta Prohm is that unlike the other monuments of Angkor, it has been swallowed by the jungle, and looks very much the way most of the monuments of Angkor appeared when European explorers first stumbled upon them.

The temple and surrounding is left as when it was rediscovered.

Ruins with a gigantic tree taking over one of corner the gallery.

Our tour guide took this picture of us using some trick.

The roots are supported by a bunch of metal supports.

How incredible is this!  Giant root over the entrance of the temple.

We are now headed to the central court.

Next...Ta Prohm continuation