Ta Prohm is unbelievable. Ta Prohm is famous for the temples that are overgrown and covered by trees. Ta Prohm has been left as it was found, showing exactly what the jungle can do when it takes over control. The roots of the trees attach to the porous sandstone, extracting the water from the stones. The roots are firmly placed on the building itself, slowly crushing it but also holding it up at the same time. Hope you enjoy some of our Ta Prohm images.
Of course there is continous renovation going on, mainly repairs to stop further deterioration. But many of the Ta Prohm buildings are conquered by trees, which is now impossible to stop. And we are glad the trees are not removed, it provides a truly magical effect.
Trees growing out of ruins….this is without a doubt our most favorite Angkor temple. It’s totally photogenic, a feast for the photographer! We visited Ta Prohm two times where the second time we spent two hours at the end of the day. Hardly any other visitors, dusky, humid and with lots of squealing birds; the atmosphere was truly Indiana Jones or Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) like. You feel like an explorer, climbing piles of stones or discovering yet another temple merged with trees around a corner.
Ta Prohm was built from 1186 and home to more than 12,500 people. It has 39 towers connected by numerous galleries. After the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century, the temple was abandoned and left to the jungle to take over.
Our kids loved to play the famous Tomb Raider scenes while we were visiting for the second time. We had so much fun! For more Angkor fun and inspiration, please read also the post about Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat!
6 comments
Oh my goodness, this is so pretty! The way the roots and the trees grow amongst the ruins is definitely something to marvel at. And such stunning photos of the place, Emiel! Now, I’m really convinced that I should go visit Angkor very soon.
Cheryl, you should put Cambodia and Angkor on your list. It’s magical. Good luck with your plans and thanks for leaving a comment!
That’s what I’m planning to do. Where else in Cambodia would you recommend?
Cheryl, I still have not written all our stories about Cambodia on our blog. We went to Battambang, which was very laid back. Some don’t like it because there is not much to do. But we loved it because of the Bamboo train, but also visiting Sampeou mountain (temple on top, bat caves and the cruel Khmer killing caves…). Next to Battambang and Siem Reap we visited Phnom Penh and of course the Killing Fields as well as the Tuol Sleng prison. Always nice to visit big cities! In SR by the way don’t forget to rent some bikes and just ride towards the lake. You will pass lovely villages , temples and extremely friendly people. You can also visit the floating villages on Tonle sap lake. We went to Chong Kneas; I warn you it’s very expensive/commercial! There are other villages that are a much better choice, e.g. Kampong Khleang, but when we were there was not enough water yet to visit these villages. So it depends on the time of year. Have fun!
Great photos! It’s such an incredible place
Thanks, it certainly is!