Roluos Group

The Roluos Group is a cluster of early Angkor-period temples near Roluos village east of Siem Reap, Cambodia. The complex dates to the late 9th and early 10th centuries and contains some of the earliest large stone monuments of the Angkor area.

The site’s principal monuments are Bakong, Preah Ko, and Lolei, arranged around a baray and open rice plain. Bakong is the largest, built as a stepped temple mountain in sandstone with a laterite enclosure, while Preah Ko is notable for its row of brick sanctuary towers and carved lintels.

Lolei occupies an island within its baray and retains much of its original brickwork and decorative carving. The group is compact, allowing close-up inspection of 9th century Khmer masonry and sculpture in a single short visit.

Construction was undertaken during the Hariharalaya period under rulers such as Indravarman I and Yasovarman I, with major building activity dated to approximately 879-893 AD. The temples functioned as state temples and ancestor shrines and mark a transition toward larger sandstone construction in Angkorian architecture.

The complex sits on a flat agricultural plain near the village of Roluos, about 13 km east of Siem Reap town, and is accessible by road from the main Angkor archaeological area.

• Main temples: Includes three principal late 9th to early 10th century monuments: Bakong, Preah Ko and Lolei, which are among the earliest large stone temples in the Angkor region.
• Period: Dates to the late 9th and early 10th centuries, representing the Hariharalaya phase of early Angkorian architecture.
• Distance from Siem Reap: Located roughly 13 km east of Siem Reap town, commonly visited as a half-day excursion from Siem Reap.

What to See#

• Bakong: Largest temple mountain in the group, built in sandstone with a laterite enclosure around the late 9th century (c. 881-889); served as the state temple of King Indravarman I and is the most monumental structure at Roluos.
• Preah Ko: Erected c. 879 as an ancestral shrine for King Indravarman I; composed of a group of brick sanctuary towers on a sandstone platform with carved lintels and pediments.
• Lolei: Built c. 893 on an island within the Indratataka baray; notable for its brick towers and well-preserved carved decoration in a compact riverside setting.

The Roluos Group is a cluster of three of the oldest surviving temples in the Angkor region - Bakong, Preah Ko and Lolei - set on the plain about 15 km east of Siem Reap, where the first Angkor-era capital, Hariharalaya, once stood. Together they preserve some of the finest early Angkorian art and architecture.

Hariharalaya was established by Jayavarman II, first king of the Angkor era, who moved his devaraja here late in his long reign. His successor Indravarman I built the ancestral temple of Preah Ko and then raised Bakong as his own state temple, home to the Shiva-linga of his devaraja, before excavating the great artificial lake, the Indratataka baray.

A precedent for later kings. Indravarman bound royalty to the gods and honoured his ancestors in keeping with traditional Khmer belief, setting a pattern the dynasty would follow: an ancestral temple and a public waterwork built before the consecration of a state temple. Yasovarman I continued the tradition, raising Lolei on an island within the Indratataka before shifting the capital to build his own state temple, Bakheng, and the East Baray.

The Roluos Group of temples sits just east of Siem Reap town along National Road 6 near Roluos village. From Siem Reap city center it is a short drive of roughly 12-15 km east (about 20-30 minutes by car or tuk‑tuk); many visitors take a tuk‑tuk or taxi for the short trip. There is a brief walk from the road into each temple site (typically a few hundred metres).

• Aim for early morning light to avoid the main tour groups and to get softer light on the brick towers at Bakong, Lolei and Preah Ko.
• The Roluos Group is a short drive east of Siem Reap and can be visited as a half-day outing; visit Bakong first (largest) then Lolei and Preah Ko for an easy walking circuit.
• Hire a local guide to explain early Angkorian architecture and the carved lintels - many visitors breeze through and miss the subtleties of the 9th-10th century brickwork and iconography.