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I can’t describe how truly huge the ancient city of Angkor Thom is in Cambodia. Its grand scale actual dwarfs the land size of Angkor Wat, and if you’ve visited that impressive temple, you’ll know that it’s not a small area – it takes a fair while just to walk to Angkor Wat from the entrance. Walking around Angkor Thom would be impossible unless you were some crazy marathon runner.
Thankfully, most of Angkor Thom has been taken over by the jungle, and the main sites of interest are located in the central area of this huge ancient city, so you don’t need to walk around the whole thing. At the very heart of the city stands the true jewel of Angkor Thom – the towering temple of Bayon.
Bayon is a popular temple with tourists, and rightly so. This early 13th century structure is characterized by its tall towers that are covered in carved stone faces. As we explored the ancient stone rooms and passageways of the lower level of the temple, we climbed up to the upper terrace where the huge stone faces stared back at us. It was quite a sight to behold.
I hope you enjoy this photo journey through Bayon: The Jewel of Angkor Thom.
Panoramic view from outside Bayon
Looking up from a courtyard in the lower level
Exploring the passageways of Bayon
Detail carved into the stone walls
Intricate stone carvings
One of the towers of Bayon
Ancient faces carved into the top of a tower
View of more towers from the upper terrace
A window on the upper terrace
View down to the lower level
An ancient stone face stares back at me
Bayon
If you want to enjoy Bayon without the crowds, try to get there as early as possible. The big tour groups tend to arrive after visiting Angkor Wat in the morning.
Such a glimpse into a whole new world for me. Have not been to Asia yet. Seeing photos like this makes me yearn to go …
Southeast Asia is a must visit place, Cheryl. I think you’d love it 🙂
I just loved those faces – so intelligent and serene!
Hi Natasha. It is quite something to have all of those faces looking at you while standing in the temple. They are huge and very dominating, though the serene look on the faces is also quite calming.
[…] huge ancient city of Angkor Thom after going to Angkor Wat at sunrise. From the popular temple of Bayon, we began walking around to see some of the other sites, starting with Baphuon. This 11th century […]
[…] Angkor Thom, Cambodia. Bayon is one of the most impressive sites in all of Angkor, and is certainly the jewel of Angkor Thom – a huge ancient city in Angkor. It is characterized by these huge carved stone faces that […]