Angkor VIP tour - Ta Phrom「ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម」

Ta Phrom「ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម」

• Date: Early 13th century
• Style: Bayon
• Highlights: Initially named 'the Royal monastery' founded by the king as a Mahayana 'greater vehicle' Buddhist monastery and university, this half-collapsed huge flat temple site where strangler ficus and silk-cotton trees grow at ease is one of the major temples in Angkor. Chosen by the École française d'Extrême-Orient to be left it its 'natural state' as an example of how most of Angkor looked during its Western discovery on the 19th century, Ta Phrom has not further collapsed but keeps the romantic appeal of imperial decadence. Maybe because of this, it was picked as a location in the film Tomb Raider which took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, but kept Ta Phrom scenes quite faithful to its actual eerie qualities.

One of the few gopura left standing, surrounded by fallen laterite blocks.