Cambodia: Ta Prohm temple – the one famous for the tree roots

Date: 13 May 2018

After Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Keo temples, we were now at our fourth stop on our trike tour around the Angkor archeological park.

Ta Prohm tree Siem Reap — Seeing such tall trees as you walk toward Ta Prohm should give you a hint to the role trees play here

Ta Prohm India funding restoration — After seeing so many of the temples being renovated with the financial support of Germany, Japan, China and France, finally I came across one that is being funded by India (since 2010)!

Ta Prohm entrance Siem Reap — We entered Ta Prohm through here

Ta Prohm wedding shoot Siem Reap — Cambodians make use of these heritage ruins as backdrops for wedding photoshoots

Ta Prohm temple Siem Reap — Ta Prohm is yet another temple made on the orders of one of the Jayavarman kings but what really sets it apart from the other structures…

Ta Prohm tree roots — … is seeing these gigantic tree roots that have grown over the stones over the decades

Ta Prohm (or “Old Brahma”) was initially called Rajavihara. Whatever it was called then or now, Ta Prohm is more famous for being the temple in Angkor archeological park which has many trees whose roots have extended themselves around and through the gaps of the structures.

Ta Prohm temple Cambodia — It’s what sets Ta Prohm apart from the rest

Ta Prohm tree roots growing — It’s really impressive a sight

Ta Prohm roots size woman — Just to show you the scale

Ta Prohm corridor Cambodia — You can walk through some of the structures

Ta Prohm inner structure — Ventilation in the olden days

Ta Prohm ruins Angkor Cambodia — But large parts of Ta Prohm still remain in ruins

Ta Prohm renovation Cambodia — And you can see the renovation work happening. Happy to know Archeological Society of India is helping out with the efforts.

Ta Prohm forest Siem Reap — We made our way back out

Ta Prohm ruins tree Cambodia — Without the role the trees play, Ta Prohm would be just like the other structures in Angkor park

Angkor Wat is impressive, sure, but that’s just down to its sheer size. I honestly liked Ta Prohm the most thus far on our tour. But we still had one more temple to visit and that would be our last stop for the day.

Previous posts in this series:

Cambodia: Ta Keo temple

Cambodia: Bayon temple – the one famous for stone faces

Cambodia: Visiting Angkor Wat

Cambodia: Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by bus

Cambodia: Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh

Cambodia: Mekong River Sunrise Cruise… and an insight into Chinese investment in the region

Cambodia: Phnom Penh Central Market and Wat Phnom

Cambodia: S21, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Cambodia: Choeung Ek genocidal center — the infamous “Killing Fields”

Cambodia: Sisowath Quay, Phnom Penh Night market

Cambodia: Arriving in Phnom Penh