Angkor Wat - Ta Prohm

It was with great anticipation that I arrived at Ta Prohm temple. Possibly the most photographed temple in Angkor due to its unique appearance and subsequent rise to fame when it was used as a location setting for the 2001 Tomb Raider feature film. It’s not every day that you see trees growing out of ruins but that’s exactly what the jungle did during Angkor’s dormant centuries.

Ta Prohm was built by King Jayavarman VII around the late 12th century in honour of his family. He was the most prolific Khmer builder, constructing hundreds of monuments in as little as 40 years. The complex with the temple at its centre is made up of five wall enclosures. The outer wall is significantly larger and surrounded by a moat. Much of the internal space is now forested but this area once teemed with life when the complex had as many as 12,000 people living within its walls.

The three inner enclosures are galleried. With a low roofline, the interior passageways are very dark with little light filtering through the windows from outside. Some of the external walls have carved decorations of deities, meditating monks and temple guardians.

When restoration works began on the complex it was decided to leave it untouched allowing the trees to co-exist with the buildings they have grown over. Whilst it provides a fascinating view, the concerns are that the trees weigh heavily upon these fragile buildings. Although conservationists have added iron supports in some of the passageways, many of the ceilings in unprotected sections have collapsed under the weight.

Wooden walkways have been installed to protect the temples and as I walked around the complex I marvelled at the huge trees, snaking their roots along the temples’ roofline, spilling down the side like a fan. As nature strangles the narrow passageways it lets it be known that at any time it can reclaim itself and anything within it.



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