Review of
Ta Prohm Temple

"Ta Prohm temple" was last updated on Nov 18, 2013
All information below is subject to change

CLICK ON ONE OF THE PICTURES TO START THE PHOTO GALLERY!

The Ta Prohm was built by Jayavarman the 7th in 1186 for his mother, and you can clearly see that it was built out of love.

You should visit Ta Prohm:

.... If you're a nature lover
... Enjoyed the wild beautiful scenes from the first Tomb Raider movie
If you want to walk among giants!

Ta Prohm tip:

My driver told me that we should head for this temple next because most people go to Bantay Srei after Angkor Watt.

I was still shocked by all the people at Angkor Watt, so I followed his advice!

When I arrived by the entrance to the temple (around 7:00), the guy was right! The place was so calm, and there were only a few people. I felt relaxed again.

Don't get me wrong though! Ta Prohm Temple site can be crowded. It all depends on your timing!

Banyan trees at Ta Prohm temple in Angkor park

The first time I was there in 2007, I ran into a pack of kids who wanted to sell stuff like candies and bracelets.

By the entrance, a small group of cute children ran towards me and wanted to sell home-made bracelets.

At first, I hesitated and started walking towards the entrance. Three of them went back to their parents, but two of them followed me. Then they showed me the puppy-look.

I'm a sucker for it and bought five bracelets (came in handy as gifts later).
Gave them 5 $ even though they told me 3 dollars.

The last time we visited Ta Prohm in April 2010, small begging children were gone. In fact, begging at all the temple sites we visited had in fact been banned. No limb-less beggars either. It made our Angkor experience a lot more easier.

Banyan trees?

This type of tree can live for 100s of years. A Banyan tree is a Indian fig tree found in tropic areas. The trees send out roots from their branches and they form as enormous trunks.

Once you get inside the entrance you have to walk on a path for 5-10 minutes before you get to the actual site.

The most amazing part about this place was the roots of the gigantic and majestic Banyan trees.

It was just breathtaking to watch how the roots have crawled and probed the temples' cracks and corners, and splitted the stones apart. And I'm not talking about twigs, but roots the size of an anaconda snake or something.

Here's one of my video clips from Ta Prohm!

Imagining how alive the nature is, can make you feel..kind of.. small and insignificant compared to it, and I don't mean it in a bad way :-)

But much of the temple is unfortunately in poor condition. Restoration work is at place, but it only sinks the 'rotting' process. In the end, you can't fight Mother Nature.

Recommended time: 1 hour

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Restaurants in Angkor park

Finding food in Angkor park isn't a problem since there are small family-owned restaurants and food stalls at almost every site.

This also applies for Ta Prohm. I tried one of the restaurants here, and the rice dish I chose was cheap and safe. 'My' driver also ate here and we didn't get sick or anything.