While Angkor Wat stands in meticulously restored grandeur, Ta Prohm has been surrendered to the wild embrace of the jungle. Towering silk-cotton trees and strangler figs entwine themselves around crumbling sandstone walls, their roots creeping through sacred corridors like ghostly fingers reclaiming what was once theirs. This temple complex was constructed in 1186 AD during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, one of the most prolific & devout rulers of the Khmer Empire.

This significant temple complex, within the dense jungles on the northern edge of the Angkor Archaeological Park, was commissioned by the great King Jayavarman VII in honour of his father and the Bodhisattva of universal compassion, Avalokiteshvara. Known as Preah Khan, or the Sacred Sword, the temple was erected in 1191 during the golden years of the ancient Khmer Empire.

Long before the iconic towers of Angkor Wat pierced the Cambodian skyline, another monument stood at the cradle of Khmer imperial ambition. Built in 881AD by King Indravarman I, Bakong Temple is considered the first large scale sandstone pyramid of the Angkorian period and the spiritual prototype for the grandeur that would come centuries later.