Prasat Baksei Chamkrong Temple

Address: Prasat Baksei Chamkrong, Angkor area (Siem Reap Province), Cambodia

Hours: Angkor Archaeological Park hours (typical): 5:00am-6:00pm daily

Admission: Included with Angkor Archaeological Park pass (single Angkor pass covers entry to this temple)

Prasat Baksei Chamkrong is a small brick temple within the Angkor archaeological area near Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is a compact stepped sanctuary executed primarily in brick with sandstone decorative elements and is set on a laterite platform.

The temple originally served as a Hindu sanctuary and retains a single central tower and associated enclosure elements characteristic of Angkorian temple architecture. Its modest scale contrasts with larger neighbouring monuments but it is noted for the quality of its brickwork and carved lintels.

Scholarly dating places the construction in the late 10th to early 11th centuries CE during the classical Angkorian period, and the monument has been the subject of conservation work. It sits within the wider Angkor complex of temples visited by many travellers to the Siem Reap region.

The temple is located in the Angkor area of Siem Reap province, northwestern Cambodia, within easy reach of the main Angkor park road network and other nearby monuments.

• Scale and style: A compact brick sanctuary built in the Angkor style; its relatively small footprint and steep stepped form make it one of the more immediately recognisable minor temples around the central Angkor group.

Prasat Baksei Chamkrong lies inside the Angkor Archaeological Park near the main temple groups around Angkor (Siem Reap). From Siem Reap town most visitors reach the Angkor zone by tuk‑tuk, taxi or organized minibus (a typical transfer to Angkor takes about 15-30 minutes depending on which temple circuit you visit). Once inside the park the temple is a short walk from the park road/path that serves that group of monuments.

• Go at sunrise or in the late afternoon to avoid the heat and harsh midday light - Baksei Chamkrong is a relatively small brick temple that benefits from low-angle light for photography and detail.
• Combine Baksei Chamkrong with other nearby small temples on the same side of the Angkor complex, because it's a short visit on its own and is easily paired with other nearby ruins to make efficient use of travel time.
• Be prepared for uneven, ancient brickwork underfoot and limited shade around the monument; take care when climbing or walking among the ruins and respect barriers and conservation signage.

Baksei Chamkrong is the most pronounced of Angkor’s pyramid-style temples, a lone brick tower rising above a steep flight of laterite stairs on the road linking Angkor Wat to Angkor Thom. It is unusual among the Angkorian pyramids in that it was probably never a state temple, save perhaps for Phimeanakas. Dedicated to Shiva, it originally housed an image of the god cast in gold.

A monument to ancestors and legitimacy. The first temple on this site was built by Harshavarman I, who honoured his ancestors, including Indravarman I and Yasovarman I, with statues in the round. An inscription on the eastern doorway records that the tower itself was dedicated to Shiva in 948, during the reign of Rajendravarman II. Its inscriptions are prized by historians for their references to earlier kings, among them Kambu, the legendary founder of Cambodia, and Jayavarman II, the founder of Angkor. Together with Rajendravarman’s many temple dedications, they appear to have been part of an effort to legitimise his rule after he returned the capital to Yasodharapura following the Koh Ker period.

A bird with sheltering wings. The lone brick tower stands some 12 metres above the ground, its eastward-facing lintel carved with Indra riding Airavata, the three-headed elephant, above finely worked doorway inscriptions; a small reclining Buddha rests within. The temple’s modern name translates loosely as “bird with sheltering wings”, after a legendary king said to have been saved in battle by a protective bird.