Joe Louis walks through a temple

 

With a name like the “Jungle Temple”, Ta Prohm is surely in the elite class of Angkor temples. The temple does not wait to captivate; the gateway, encased by a giant strangler fig tree, heralds entrance to a new world. While the stone walls and pillars are stunning displays of masonry, the prominent beauty of Ta Prohm is expressed through the sturdy, gnarly, trees that twist through the temple grounds as if to prove that nature is as powerful as man in the creation of remarkable buildings. Even the green mossy growths on the side walls add to the appeal of the sanctuary.

The problem with the popularity of Ta Prohm is the number of people that come through. Everyone wants to take pictures with the giant trees and oftentimes you have to queue up before getting to see what’s behind the crowd, let alone to get a picture for yourself. I enjoyed taking time at the side and back of the temple where it is less crowded, but without the iconic tree outgrowths.

 

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See what other blogs are saying about the Ta Prohm temples:

“I feared that when I walked through the doorway, I would be taken into another world. To my astonishment, that’s exactly what happened.”
–The Poor Traveler

“Shrouded in dense jungle, the temple of Ta Prohm is ethereal in aspect and conjures up a romantic aura. Fig, banyan and kapok trees spread their gigantic roots over stones, probing walls and terraces apart, as their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof over the structures. Trunks of trees twist amongst stone pillars. The strange, haunted charm of the place entwines itself about you as you go, as inescapably as the roots have wound themselves about the walls and towers’, wrote a visitor 40 years ago.”
–Tourism of Cambodia