East Baray

The East Baray is a major artificial reservoir from the Angkor civilisation located in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, and is one of the largest barays associated with the Angkor temple system.

A broad rectangular expanse defined by surviving embankments, with the 10th-century East Mebon temple standing on a central island when the baray holds water. The baray’s scale and the temple island are the primary visual and archaeological attractions, especially when reflected water remains on the basin.

The site is typically approached from the Angkor road network and is experienced as a landscape monument rather than a compact built complex; seasonal water levels and surrounding rice fields alter its appearance through the year.

Constructed during the Angkor period as part of large-scale hydraulic works, the East Baray functioned both for irrigation and as a symbolic water reservoir linked to state temples. Over centuries it silted and its water management function changed, but the central temple and embankments remain as the main archaeological evidence.

Situated east of the main Angkor temple group in Siem Reap province, the baray lies within the Angkor archaeological landscape and is accessed from roads radiating out from the core sites.

• Scale and dimensions: Measures roughly 7.5 kilometres east-west and about 1.8 kilometres north-south, covering an area of around 11 square kilometres and representing one of the largest artificial reservoirs of the Angkor period.
• Notable feature: The central island hosts the East Mebon temple, which was built on dry land when the baray was filled and is now surrounded by seasonal water or rice cultivation depending on the time of year.

What to See #

• East Mebon: A temple complex built on an artificial island at the centre of the reservoir, constructed in the 10th century and notable for its stone elephant and lion sculptures and tiered terraces.
• Baray embankments: Long earthen embankments that define the baray's rectangular outline and survive as raised banks visible across the floodplain; these embankments are the primary archaeological remnants of the original hydraulic works.