Banteay Kdei Temple

Address: Banteay Kdei, Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

Website: https://www.apsaraauthority.gov.kh/

Hours: Angkor Archaeological Park daily 5:00am-6:00pm

Admission: Access via Angkor Archaeological Park pass: 1‑day US$37, 3‑day US$62, 7‑day US$72 (Angkor pass required to enter)

Banteay Kdei is a Buddhist monastic complex in the Angkor area, built in the late 12th to early 13th century and associated with the building activity of the Jayavarman VII period. The temple is characterized by multiple courtyards, collapsed and restored galleries, and a quieter atmosphere compared with some of Angkor’s largest monuments.

• Location within Angkor: Located within the Angkor Archaeological Park, it sits close to Srah Srang and is often included on shorter Angkor circuit visits because of its proximity to larger monuments.

Like most Angkor temples, Banteay Kdei is oriented east, its outer eastern gate facing the platform on the west bank of the reservoir Srah Srang.

The eastern gate. Passing through the eastern tower gate, note the two-metre Garuda sculptures in the corners beside the entryway - the mythological half-man, half-bird that served as Vishnu’s mount. The northern interior Garuda here is the best preserved, though those at the western entrance are in finer condition.

The causeway and outer gopura. A short walk through the wooded grounds leads past two small ruins to a rectangular causeway lined with guardian lions and naga balustrades that spans the moat. Just beyond stands the cruciform outer gopura; inside its central chamber, look for the small Garudas beneath the corbel-arch ceiling and a seated Buddha added after the temple’s founding. On the surrounding walls, especially the small chamber to the north, you can see where lightly carved Buddhas were chipped away or recut - one just west and north of the seated Buddha was given a third eye to transform him into Shiva.

Site of a great discovery. Near the building to the northeast of this landing, 274 fragmentary and intact images of the Mahayana Buddhist Triad - the Buddha, the Bodhisattva Lokesvara and the Prajnaparamita - were unearthed from a single pit covered with sandstone blocks, apparently buried during the backlash against Buddhism. Many have since been restored, some displayed in Siem Reap’s museums.

The Hall of Dancers. Beyond the gopura, a naga-lined causeway leads to the now roofless Hall of Dancers. Before entering, note the guardians carved into the sandstone: a scowling Asura (demon) to the right and a serene Deva (god) to the left, with the remnants of free-standing guardian statues outside the doorway. Apsara dancers carved into the pillars give the hall its name and suggest it once hosted ritual dances, as at Preah Khan and Ta Prohm. The best photograph of the central sanctuary is taken from just south of the hall, atop the base of a small ruined structure.

The central sanctuary. The final two gopuras lead to the central sanctuary, where the anti-Buddhist backlash is again visible in pockmarked doorways and sealed windows. Look for a westward-facing pediment carved with the Buddha above the doorway just before the western interior gopura - spared because a wooden roof once hid it. Complete the circuit through the western gopuras: the first is partially collapsed around a large silk-cotton tree, and the outer gate, capped with a Lokesvara face tower, retains intact Garudas gripping nagas, their mortal enemy.

Banteay Kdei is inside the Angkor Archaeological Park near the central temple group around Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. From Siem Reap town centre it is roughly 7-10 km away - typically a 20-30 minute tuk‑tuk or car ride along the park roads that lead from Siem Reap into the temple complex; bicycles are also commonly used by visitors for shorter trips inside the park.

When you arrive by vehicle there is a short walk from the temple parking area to the monument (usually a few hundred metres). Most visitors organize transport from Siem Reap (tuk‑tuk, taxi or tour car).

• Include Banteay Kdei on the Angkor small circuit either early morning or late afternoon when it's noticeably quieter than Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm-soft light also brings out the collapsed galleries and carved lintels.
• Don't rush past the inner galleries and laterite walls: the temple's intimate courtyards and surviving carved blocks reward slow inspection and are often overlooked by visitors moving between bigger sites.

Banteay Kdei was built in the late 12th to early 13th century under Jayavarman VII, the great builder-king of Angkor, and stands as an expansive, forested Buddhist complex closely related to its larger neighbour Ta Prohm. No consecration inscription has ever been found, so its exact founding date and dedication remain uncertain, but its plan and artistic style place it firmly in Jayavarman VII’s Buddhist building programme.

A Buddhist monastery and ancestral shrine. Laid out on a single level, the temple is complex in design, with interconnected rooms and galleries that echo Ta Prohm and Preah Khan - both Buddhist temples dedicated to the king’s ancestors. Banteay Kdei likely served the same purpose, as a monastic complex and ancestral shrine.

Buddhism erased, then endured. After Jayavarman VII’s death, a Hindu backlash swept the kingdom and much of its Buddhist imagery was destroyed or recut; at Banteay Kdei, carved Buddhas were chipped away or crudely converted into Hindu figures. Unlike Ta Prohm, however, the temple never fell into total ruin - Buddhist monks lived on the grounds on and off for centuries after the fall of Angkor, which is partly why it survives with fewer trees splitting its walls and far fewer crowds today.