Ta Prohm temple or The great jungle temple
Ta Prohm Temple or The Great Jungle Temple
Ta Prohm Temple was built by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th – early 13th centuries and is a Buddist temple dedicated to his mother. Ta Prohm is the modern name but it was originally called Rajavihara (Monastery of the King). It is located in Angkor Archeological Park and was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992
Ta Prohm is one the most popular temples in Angkor Park because of the hundreds of years old jungle trees growing up through its delicately carved stone blocks creating a sense of an Indiana Jones fantasy. It is here that you will find the supposed Tomb Raider tree. It seems the trees are holding up Ta Prohm as much as causing it to crumble. The many jumbles of rocks you will see have been caused by the roots of long since decayed trees. This temples shows you how the Angkor temples looked when first discovered by Europeans. It’s one of the few Angkor temples with inscriptions telling that 80,000 people lived there to maintain it and attend there! 615 of these were dancers.To visit Ta Prohm it is best to enter from the west and exit by the east gate because you see the temple from its most beautiful aspect. It takes about two hours to visit depending on how much you wish to explore its towers, closed courtyards and narrow corridors. I highly recommend to visit Ta Prohm when you come to Siem Reap city.