Angkor's Small Circuit Road - Touristically known as Small Tour
Don't be confused by the name "Small", it refers only to the length of the route in kilometeres but not to the number of monuments nor to their size nor to their significance. Actually, the temples along both circuit tours in Angkor, the so-called "Small Tour" as well as the the "Grand Tour", are equally worth visiting. Asked which one would be the first choice in case you have only time enough for one of the two classical Angkor round tours, our recommendation would be the Small Circuit, just because you should not miss to visit the world-famous "jungle temple" Ta Prohm, which is the highlight of the Small Tour. So this route combines all three highlights of Angkor: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom with Bayon temple, which are also located at the Grand Circuit, plus the picturebook temple in the jungle.
The Small Circuit Road allows you to combine a visit of Angkor's three major highlighty, namely Angkor Wat closest to Siem Reap town in the south, the even larger complex of Angkor Thom with the facetower-tempe Bayon further north and the jungle temple Ta Prohm to the east of Angkor Thom. The Small Circuit Road departs from the Grand Circuit Road at the Royal Square of Angkor Thom just north of the Bayon temple and runs east, crossing the Victory Gate, separating Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda from each other, turning south and then east again at the pyramidical temple of Ta Keo, then turning south to Ta Prohm and again east to Banteay Kdei. At the reservoir of Srah Srang, the Small Circuit Road again meets the Grand Circuit Road.
Thommanon
When traveling along the Small Circuit Road in a clock-wise direction, the first stop after leaving Angkor Thom will be only 500 m behind the Victory Gate. There are two temples at this first car park you will reach, one to the left and one to the right side of the road. Both are flat temples from the Angkor Wat period and similar though not identical in design.
Thommanon has only a single Prasat on a cruciform ground plan. The Prasat tower is of the classical Angkor Wat shape. The temple proper, built of sandstone, consists of the Prasat tower and an adjacent Mandapa hall to the east, connected by a passageway called Antharala in Indian architecture. A courtyard around the temple proper has a library building in the souteastern corner and comparatively large Gopurams as gateways to the east and west. All buildings are in a good state of preservation. But roofs were broken and were were restored in the 1960s by French archaeologists, who had to add concrete to stabilize the roof.
On the exterior walls, sculptures depicting Devatas, female semi-deities often called led Apsaras, are of excellent quality similar in style to the famous ones of Angkor Wat, with crowns, necklaces, bracelets, and ankle bands. Remarkably, the shirts called Sampots show the styles of various periods, not only designs similar to those of Angkor Wat. A lintel in the interior shows the classical themes of Vishnu on his mount Garuda and Indra on his mount, the three-headed elephant Airawata.
In the afternoon, the numerous reliefs at the western Gopuram are better exposed to the sunshine.
Chau Say Tevoda
The temple inscription of Chau Say Tevoda mentions a ceremony called Shivasaharatri, memorizing Shiva's night with his nine consorts giving him the energy to create the world. Remarkably, Chau Say Tevoda was not only a Hindu sanctuary but also Buddhist, as some lintel and pediment carvings depict Buddhist legends. But some of them were scratched out during the iconoclastic period under Jayavarman VIII.
The temple proper of Chau Say Tevoda, a cruciform Prasat tower with a single Mandapa hall to the east, is similar in design but slightly smaller than that of the neigbouring Thommanon. The enclosure wall made of laterite are better preserved. The enclosed courtyard measures 42 m from east to west and 33 m frm north to south. It has Gopuram gatehouses in all four directions. Two libraries are placed in the north-east and south-east corner of the enclosed temple compound, as usual. A causeway from the eastern Gopuram to the main shrine is a later addition constructed under the Hindu revivalist king Jayavarman VIII in the late 13th century. The southern front of the eastern Gopuram has carvings depicting scenes from the Indian Ramayana epic, one is the famous episode of monkey-king Valin being killed by an arrow shot by Rama. Two depictions of Ramayana scenes, including the death of Valin, at the south side of the east Gopuram, are in a sound condition. To the east of the temple enclosure is a cruciform terrace with balustrades in the form of snakes. From here, a sacred avenues flanked by lantern-shaped pillars to the east leads to the nearby Siem Reap River.
Chau Say Tevoda was built in the Angkor Wat style in the middle of the 12th century, it is a few decades younger than the nearby Thommanon temple. From 2000 to 2009 Chau Say Tevoda was restored by a Chinese team, sponsored by the government of the People's Republic of China. In late 2009 it was reopened and now is fully accessible for the public.
The best time to visit this temple is in the morning, as in the case of Thommanon. However, some of the carvings are better illuminated in the afternoon.
Spean Thma
"Spean Thma" simply translates to "bridge of stone". The structure can be seen around a hundred meters to the west of the Siem Reap River. The reason for the bridge being in a distance from the river is that the course of the Siem Reap river has shifted after the construction of the bridge. Spean Thma is from a late Angkorian of even post-Angkorian period, as carved stones from temples were reused fo the constructions. The bridged consists of 14 corbelled arches opening passageways of only 1.1 m in width. The piers are wider then the openings in between them. The entire bridge was much wider than the river to avoid a piling up of the water after heavy rainfall.
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Chapel of the Hospital
The small Prasat to the east of the large Ta Keo pyramid and close to the Siem Reap River is rarely visited. It was once the sacred centrepiece of a former wooden hospital from the Bayon period. Four such structures surrounded Angkor Thom. The southern counterpart, similar in design, was mentioned above as Ta Prohm Kel. The eastern one near Ta Keo is only known as Hospital Chapel. The general Sanskrit term of hospitals was Arogyashala.
Ta Keo
Ta Keo is surrounded by a moat, which is now dry most of the time. The exterior enclosure wall, measuring 122 m in length and 106 m in widh, is built at the edge of the first tier of the pyramid, which is a rather uncommon design leaving the impression of a fortification. The uppermost terrace is 21.5 m above ground level, whereas the central tower reaches a total height of 45 m above ground level. The main access stairway has a gradient of 55 degree, the other stairways are even steeper.
Ta Keo was probably the Hemagiri or Hemasringagiri, the "mountain with golden peaks", mentioned in contemporary inscription. Ta Keo was built as the new state temple of Jayavarman V (968-1001), after his predecessor Rajendravarman II had constructed the even larger Pre Rup further east. Both are step pyramids with five Prasat towers in quincunx order on the uppermost terrace. But Ta Keo is built of sandstone, whereas Pre Rup was mainly a laterite building. The large sandstone blocks deserve admiration not only for their sheer size but also for the accuracy of the stonemasonry. Like all former state temples, Ta Keo was dedicated to Shiva and enshrined a Lingam as symbol of the divine power of the king.
An invention first seen at Ta Keo is a contionuous gallery replacing the series of rectangular structures found at the base of previous state temples in the form of artificial mountains. Long Galleries like those of Ta Keo became one of the hallmarks of future Khmer architecture, most notably at Angkor Wat. Remarkably, the brick-roofed galleries of Ta Keo had no doors, indicating that they served merely as decoration.
Ta Keo seems to have remained unfinished, as there are almost no carvings at this temple, though they were planned, which can be seen from the fact, that some ornamental carvings are begun at the eastern Gand western Gopuram gatehouses. In the case of the pediment carvings, only the frames were finalised.
The best time to see the entire pyramid from an angle is the afternoon. But the frontal view from the east, of course, is better illuminated in the morning.
Ta Nei
The Ta Nei temple is a little bit hidden and can only be reached via a gravel road. This forest has become better known in recent years due to an adventure park. But the temple is still tranquil and undisturbed, the noises here are mostly those of birds and monkeys.
The medium-sized flat temple of Ta Nei is attributed to the Buddhist ruler King Jayavarman VII, who is the founder of roughly the half of the temples of Angkor. But Ta Nei seems to have been restored several times afterwards. This means, in its current form it's from the 13th century and thereby one of the youngest temples in Angkor.
The current enclosure wall of the temple measures 55 m in length and 47 m in width and has two Prasats in the central courtyard. However, the eastern one seems to have been a Gopuram, namele the eastern gate originally, before the temple compound was enlarged to the east. The new Eastern Gopuram now faces a terrace to the east. The enlarged courtyard had a library building in the southeastern corner, now partly collapsed.
There are fewer decorations than at contemporary temples, but they were less affected by the anti-Buddhist iconoclasm under Jayavarman VIII. Some of the pediment carvings show uncommon themes. The northern pediment of the main Prasat depicts a person standing on a boat giving blessings, with flying figures carrying parasols. Other carvings in show a palaces scene with kneeling figure blessing children and a horseman wielding a sword.
There is a modern weather station within Ta Nei's court for scientific research on the effects of wather conditions on the stones of the ancient monument. The afternoon might be the better time to visit this temple, but this is debatable.
Jungle Temple Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm is commonly called "the jungle temple", as French archaologists decided to leave the temple partially unrestored and not to cut the largest trees growing on the temple walls untouched. Besides Angkor Wat and the facetower temple Bayon, the jungle temple is definitely among the top 3 attractions of Angkor.
The temple dated to 1187 due to its foundation stele. The original Sanskrit name was "Rajavihara", which translates to "King's monastery" in Sanskrit. Ta Prohm is one of the four major temples of the Bayon period and extraordinarily rich in sculptural decoration. According to the inscription, 12,640 people lived in this temple, thousands of them were monks, but most of the inhabitants were laymen as their assistents, including 615 female dancers. The monastery accumulated an enormous wealth, it had vast stores for silk, pearls, jewels and gold. 80,000 villagers in the surroundings hat to contribute to the maintenance of the temple. It was almost a state within the state.
There are two kinds of trees wrapping the temple walls with their roots. Most strangler figs seen in Cambodia are of the species called dye fig or humped fig (Ficus tinctoria). The tree covering the "Tomb Raider Door", which served as a setting of the movie, situated in the innermost coutyard (first enclosure) of Ta Prohm, is the most impressive specimen of such a dye fig. It's easily recognizable by the myriad of thin rootes searching their way to the soil. Actually, these trees usually start growing on walls or rocks or other trees and not on ground level. |
However, the Thitpok trees (Tetrameles nudiflora) are even bigger, their fewer roots are thick as arms or even as wide as trunks. Three large specimens can be seen in Ta Prohm. One is in a narrow courtyard to the west of the said the Tomb Raider tree. This tree is very close to the central Prasat of Ta Prohm, but towers a gallery that already belongs to the second enclosure. Two of its roots cover the other side of the same building, which can be seen from the wide opening of the thirs enclosure near its western gate. |
Another Thitpok tree can be seen in the eastern courtyard of the third enclosure. The weight of the tree and the force of the growing roots are so immense that the monument had to be stabilized by a metal framwork in order to protect one of the valuable carvings in particular. It can be seen, when entering or leaving the courtyard via a modern elevated footbridge. But the most photogenic part of the tree is its northern side, where the rootes are entirely covering the walls framing a small door. |
You will not miss to see another large Thitpok tree, when crossing the eastern exterior areas of the large temple compound. When arriving from the temple proper, there is a huge gatehouse at the opposite side of the Hall of Dancers. This is the Eastern Gopuram of the fourth enclosure. It has a square groundplan and is noteworthy for its large wall carvings anyway. The roots of the picturesque Thitpok tree can be seen in the northwestern angle of the cruciform gatehouse. Tetrameles nudiflore can grow up to 150 feet (48 m). |
Not many people know that there is another strangler fig in Ta Prohm. The fifth giant tree can be seen growing on the rarely visited North Gate of the huge compound, which measures 1 km from east to west and 650 m from north to south. The exterior gatehouses, counted Gopurams of the fifth enclosure, have face towers. The North Gate of Ta Prohm is one of only two face-tower edifices strangled by a large tree, the other one being the exterior East Gate of Ta Som. |
Though the jungle trees reconquering the temple compound are the main attraction of Ta Prohm, the works of scultural art at this Bayon-style temple are also worth noting. The walls of the inner courtyard and several Prasat towers Gopuram gatehouses re decorated with intricate ornamental and floral carvings and femals sculptures. Furthermore, there are numerous excellently carved lintels depicting Buddhist and Hindu themes.
The opening hour is the best time to visit Ta Prohm. You should be aware, that the jungle temple attracts literally thousands of visitors every day. So don't be disappointed not to be undisturbed in this jungle temple. The rush to this picturebook ruins in the jungle has become so large that the temple can now be explored only along a signposted one-way path. It has become almost impossible to take a photo of a tree without a tourist taking a selfie posing in front of it.
Banteay Kdei
The southeastern corner of the exterior enclosure of Ta Prohm almost touches the northwestern corner of the only slightly smaller compound of Banteay Kdei, which is a kind of sister temple, as it was built by the same king, Jayavarman VII, only a few years prior to the establishment of Angkor Thom as the new capital. Banteay Kdei is actually the first huge temple built by this Buddhist ruler, who became the most prolific temple builder in Cambodia's history. The style of Banteay Kdei is said to mark a transition from the Angkor Wat to the Bayon period. On the other hand, Banteay Kdei is also one of the latest Bayon-period temple, as it was redesigned in the decades to come.
Banteay Kei is one of the half a dozen face-tower-temples of Jayavarman VII. The huge face carvings may be additions from the later years of his reign. The stone masonry of Banteay Kdei is not as elaborate as that of the previous Angkor Wat period. Construction works were carried out more hastily and the sanstone was of poorer quality. In contrast to most other temples in Angkor, Banteay Kdei remained to be a monastery over many centuries. Due to the maintenance works for the monasters, this temple has never been reconquered by the jungle in a similar way as the neighbouring sister temple Ta Prohm. Nonetheless, there is an impressive tree growing on the western wall of the temple proper.
The groundplan of Banteay Kdei resembles that of the two contemporary large flat temples, Ta Prohm and Preah Khan. Entering from the east, a cruciform terrace gives access to a Gopuram in front of a Hall of Dancers, behind which is the temple proper.
Entering through the exterior East Gopuram IV, which is a facetower building, the visitor arrives at another large gatehouse, the East Gopuram III, in front of which is a large terrace with Naga and lion sculptures, they are in a sound condition. Behind it, a causeway flanked by Naga balustrades leads to the rectangular building, which is the Hall of the Dancers, as in the case of Preah Khan. It is only slightly smaller than that of Preah Khan but has many more pillars. In contrast to Preah Khan, the interior group of stone buildings comprising the Hall of Dancers, the library building to the north and the temple proper to the west is enclosed not only by a wall but also by an 330 m long and 300 m wide inner moat, which is dividing the large temple compound into this inner and an exterior part.
The groundplan of the temple proper is simple. Three by three towers mark the centre, the four corners and the four cardinal points of the first enclosure. Four more towers mark the Gopurams of the surrounding second enclosure wall. The style of Prasat towers in the centre and at the corners does not differ from that of the Gopuram towers in the cardinal points. Despite of that overseeable groundplan, the corridors and courtyards within the complex are somewhat confusing. This is the result of later additions of auxiliary building added in the course of several decades.
One of the most notworthy carvings can be found in a corridor just to the north of the central tower. It is a classical scene from Buddhist mythology, namely the assaults of Mara on the meditating Siddharta Gautama to prevent him from becoming a Buddha, which of course were overcome by him, just prior to his enlightenment.
As in the case of Preah Khan and many other Buddhist temples of the Bayon period, Buddhist sculptures were defaced or otherwise damaged under the reign of Jayavarman VIII, who forecefully tried to reestablish Shivaism. However, there was comparatively less damage done at Banteay Kdei, as most of the sculptures are not Buddhist but depict Devatas and Dvarapalas, that are also known from Hindu mythology.
The morning is the best time to visit the temple from the main gate. But for taking pictures, the afternoon is better, when the temple towers are mirrored in a pool of the inner moat at the back of the temple proper.
The easternmost gatehouse of Banteay Kdei faces the terrace of the Srah Srang, a medium-sized reservoir. Today, this is the place where the Grand Circuit and Small Circuit roads meet and where the best restaurants within the archaeological zone are located.
The easternmost gatehouse of Banteay Kdei faces the terrace of the Srah Srang, a medium-sized reservoir. Today, this is the place where the Grand Circuit and Small Circuit roads meet and where the best restaurants within the archaeological zone are located.
Kutishvara
Within the cultivation area to the north of Banteay Kdei and to the east of Ta Prohm, not far from the restaurant are at Srah Srang, is a very small temple, which is one of the very few known under an Indian name. Kutishvara might be the original name of the site. The central tower of this temple is one of the very few buildings in Angkor that predates the era of Yashovarman I, who was the first Khmer king residing in Angkor. More precisely, the central Prasat of the Kutishwara temple is from the Preah Ko period, this is to say, it's from the period when Roluos was the capital. The construction might have begun even earlier, in the preceding Phnom Kulen period. In any case, it's from the first half of the 9th century.
The Kuthisvara temple has remnants of three Prasats, which were once surrounded by a moat. The basis of the central tower is of brick, those of the other two are made of laterite and date from a later period, rougly the mid 10th century. The only well-preserved tower is the older one in the centre. It was once dedicated to Shiva, who is symbolized by a Linga on a pedestal, as usual. There is one lintel in situ at the central twoer and two lintels on the ground are from the 10th century Pre Rup period. The latter are in a much better state of preservation. The northern lintel depicts the "churning of the milk ocean", it's one of the earliest known illustrations of this theme in Khmer art. A seated Brahma surrounded by worshippers can be seen on the other lintel. As usual, the four-headed Brahma is shown with three heads, without the head at the back. Originally Brahma had five heads, but he was beheaded by Shiva, whom he had dared to disturb.
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