Consumed by jungle and time, very little is known about this temple ruin but it is believed this stone monument was once an ancient hermitage, a meditation retreat for elite monks or a sanctuary for sacred manuscripts. Located near the northwest corner of the holy reservoir of East Baray, deep inside the Angkor Archaeological Park, it was designed and constructed by King Jayavarman VII during the late 12th century.

The great city of Angkor Thom isn’t just a ruin, it’s a palimpsest of power, religion, blood and time. It’s where Hindu deities once danced with Buddhist ideals and where a king tried to become a god in the eyes of the world. Carved into the Cambodian jungle in 1181AD by the empire’s most ambitious rule King Jayavarman VII, this immense stone citadel rose as the crowning capital of the ancient Khmer Empire.