Whenever you plan for Cambodia and visit in Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm is one of the most important temples in this World Heritage site. As we shared in our last post, there are different categories of tickets which allow you to explore Angkor wat Heritage site in a day, 3 days or a week. Irrespective of the ticket you have bought, it's highly recommended to visit Ta Prohm and appreciate it grandness and how the giant trees have converted some of it structures into ruins.
At times I find it hard to explain the scale at which these temples of Angkor Wat are built and now being preserved. These temples were ignored for few years and that's when huge trees of the forest adopted them. As of today you can see some of the trees hugging the temples tight.
Above photograph is clicked just after buying our tickets for Angkor Wat. Ticket counter is in the building which you see in this photograph.
Just after buying the ticket tuk Tuk took us to the Ta Prohm temple of Angkor Wat. Very first thing I saw outside the main gate was huge board with Indian flag. As I went closer to the board I got to know that preservation of Ta Prohm temple of Angkor Wat is being done in collaboration with Indian Government. That's certainly a proud moment for an Indian to see the government supporting search beautiful causes.
As we entered into the main gate we had to walk through a rough path through dense forest with high trees all around us. Fortunately the weather was in our support. Usually it's very hot in Cambodia in the month of December as well, but when we were there the weather was relatively pleasant. And because this Temple is in the middle of a forest there are very few points wear your body gets exposed to the sun. When you are exploring Angkor Wat, it's important to know that you need to walk a lot.
That's the first view you get at Ta Prohm, when you enter through the East Gate. If you see carefully there is a huge tree sitting on the top of this Temple. But when I go to the back side, you realise that the tree has grown through the cracks of the structure and then broke the structure apart.
Lot of people get stuck at this place. Some are interested in getting clicked with this structure, while others start appreciating the nature power. And this is just the beginning of the beautiful temple Ta Prohm in Angkor Wat heritage site. There is an interesting thing about these temples that local authorities have built wooden platforms at appropriate areas which are more photo friendly. You would always find these places busy with queue of people. We didn't need any defined places to click the photographs so We moved on :)
If you notice closely there are these iron rods used to provide support too many of the structures around Angkor Wat Heritage area. It was sad to see the state of these beautiful temples which were built in 12th Century.
Just look at the photograph above and try to guess what it is and how big it would be.
Just look at this huge tree which has wrapped around the temple and try to imagine how old this tree would be. That would give us a sense about the time for which these temples on their own in this cruel forest.
Above photograph of Ta Prohm shows the most popular spot with the tree growing through the walls of the temple. If you notice a lot of people standing close to the tree and I was wondering what exactly there trying to click, because it would be pretty hard to take wide shot of the place when you are standing so close to the walls. Probably I was overthinking.
Since the famous photogenic tree of Ta Prohm was crowded with lot of people who wanted to get clicked, we chose to move little away and compose above photograph :).
Sun at Angkor Wat was harsh but the forest around these temples keep the temperature a little balanced. Above is the favorite star effect shot by my TravellingCamera.
At Angkor Wat, every thing is grand - temples as well as the tree like what you see in above photograph.
Ta Prohm in Angkor Wat used to be called as 'Rajavihara', which was build in Bayon style by Khmer King Jayavarman VII.
We loved roaming around these ruins of Ta Prohm in Angkor Wat heritage area of Cambodia. It's an interesting place with plenty of trees growing through these structures and the best part is that it's being preserved well now.
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