Siem Reap is one of the most important destinations when planning your vacation to Cambodia. Thousands of tourists visit Siem Reap every year to explore its rich culture, history, architecture and the temples of Siem Reap. Siem Reap is home to more than 1000 temples which date back to many centuries. Even though these temples are date back to many centuries ago, they are still maintained in pristine condition.

In 1992 the Angor Archeological grounds were recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temples of Siem reap have been the biggest crowd-pullers of Siem Reap. The Angor Archeological grounds have at least 50 Hindu and Buddhist temples inside the perimeter of the grounds. Some of the temples date back to the 12th Century.

10 must-visit Siem Reap Temples

Whilst Siem Reap is home to more than 1000 ancient temples, we have narrowed and listed down 10 of the most important temples that you must visit on your Cambodian vacation. Let us get right into it

1. Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm is one of the most significant and established temples in Siem Reap. This sandstone fabricated temple has a five layered pyramid with souk staircases on each of the sides. The underlying foundations of the tress have devoured into the significant portion of the remains. This is one of the most heavenly and stand out temples in Siem Reap.

Ta prohm temple — Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash

2. Banteay Srei

The Banteay Srei temple is located a little further away from the Siem Reap procure and city centre. The temple is located 35 kilometres away from the procure and passes by a lot of local establishments. The Banteay Srei is built using a pink sandstone rock, and the precision of the cuts in the stone still stuns the historians.

3. Angkor Wat

You cannot talk about temples in Siem Reap without mentioning the world-famous Angkor Wat temple. Angkor wat is one of the biggest religious temples in the world and has been widely acknowledged as being a memorial service temple to the Lord. The temple was built by the Tamil king Suryavarman and it took 30 years to build. The Angkor Wat temple put Siem Reap and Cambodia on the world map. Guess what you can also take a hot air balloon ride!

4. Phnom Bakheng

Phnom Bakheng is a tenth-century temple that is very famous for its vistas over Siem Reap and is especially famous for its nightfall over the Angkor Wat. The temple is covered with wilderness on all sides and you can take an elephant ride to reach the summit as well. As it is a go-to spot for nightfall, it can get pretty crowded.

5. Preah Khan

The Preah Khan temple is said to be the north of the famous Angkor Thom temple. This temple is a must-visit for its narrow passageways and the trees and greenery surrounding it. The northern passageway has a huge tree covering the focal point of the temple. This temple was a wrecked site couple of decades back and has since then been restored.

6. Bayon

The view of the Bayon temple takes your breath away as it comes to your sight. The temple was significant for the various narrow passageways in the temple which housed the statues of the neighbouring lords. The temples lower displays is where one can find bias-alleviation carvings. These carvings tell the prominence and importance of Hindu folklore culture, the Khmer history and also houses the vignettes of the king Jayavarman’s standard subjects. These carvings have amazing attention to detail and have been preserved and saved since time immemorial.

7. Baphuon

The Baphuon is one of the significant temples in Angkor Thom. This temple is in the northern end of Bayon. This is a three-tiered mountain temple and it was built in the middle of the 11th century. This temple was built by Udayadityavarman and was built as a dedication to lord shiva. The temple has steep stairs which lead the visitors to one of the best sights of Angkor Wat. The Baphuon is also a symbolical representation of the Mount Meru. The Baphuon temple can be found at the end of the causeway from the Bayon temple after the terrace of Elephants.

8. Chapel of the Hospital

The Chapel of the Hospital in Angkor was one of the most important structures in the royal empire. The king Jayavarman, during his reign, had built a lot of public works across the empire, including over 100 hospitals. Except for the outer structure, the others were not constructed using durable materials. Hence with time, there have been no traces of the medical facilities of the olden times. Similar to the Chapel of the Hospital, four such buildings were built around the Angkor Thom. These chapels were small and were styled to look like Bayon. This temple is best visited in the mornings to get the amazing views and to avoid the midday rush.

9. Pre Rup

Pre Rup is a Hindu temple that was built by the king Rajendravarman of the Khmer dynasty. The temple was built using brick, laterite and sandstone and the name roughly translates into ‘Turn the body’. The temple was dedicated to the Hindu Lord Shiva. It is one of the handful of temples in Siem reap that is celebrated for its sunset and nightfall views. Some might feel that the sunset is not as magnificent as the hype says, but to each his own.

10. East Mebon

East Mebon is one of the most unique temples in Siem Reap. It was built on what was believed to be an artificial island on the centre of the East Baray reservoir, which is now dry. The East Mebon was built in the 10th century by king Rajendravarman. It was dedicated to the Hindu lord shiva and was built in the memory of the kings parents.

Siem Reap temples pass

The Siem Reap temples pass has three different categories. It costs 1150 INR for one day, 2900 INR for 3 days and 4400 INR for a 7-day pass.

Cambodia is one of the most beautiful and unexplored regions of the world. Siem reap and a visit to the temples is one of the best things to do in Cambodia. Reach out to the destination experts at Pickyourtrail to customize your vacation package to Cambodia.