Banteay Srei, Angkor Wat

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Located some 25km (15 miles) north-east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Banteay Srei is known for the intricacy of its carvings. Instead of the carving being done into a plaster coating normally layered onto the stone, the temple was faced with pink sandstone and the carvings done into that. The results are breathtaking.

The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and the carvings display mythical creatures and Hindu stories and legends. The best carvings are found on the two libraries where the pediments display Shiva seated on the summit of Mount Kailasa, the ten-headed demon king Ravana, and the god of the sky Indra creating rain to put out a forest fire.

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Even though this temple is located some 25km (15 miles) north-east of the main group of temples at Angkor, if you have the time then you should take a visit here. Banteay Srei is undoubtedly Angkor's most beautiful, yet smallest temple, with soft pink sandstone and exceptional carvings which have led it to be widely praised as a "precious gem", or the "jewel of Khmer art."

Consecrated in 967 AD during the reign of King Rajendravarman, Banteay Srei (meaning "Citadel of Women") was never a royal temple. It is thought to have been built by a guru of the king and it's believed that this lack of a royal go-ahead is one of the reasons why it is so small. What it may lack in size it more than makes up for in beauty. Some have suggested that the temple was built by women as no man could have created something so beautiful and with so fine a hand. The carvings cover an incredible amount of the temple's surface and the reliefs are often deep.

As with many Khmer temples, the main sections of Banteay Srei were built of laterite, but instead of the carving being done into a plaster coating normally layered onto the stone, the temple was faced with pink sandstone and the carvings done into that. The results are breathtaking. Throughout the monument are lintels, door jambs and window columns all layered with amazingly well executed and preserved carvings. Shear magic!

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Banteay Srei is a 10th century temple made of sandstone dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. It is made very dramatic by the detailed carving on its walls. This temple is a very popular part of the Angkor Wat tour. Being so, it is advisable to go there early in the morning so you can miss the swarm that descends in the mid-morning.

Banteay Srei aka Citadel of Women (also Citadel of Beauty) is so named because of the numerous carvings of minor female dieties scattered all over the complex.

Sadly, it is currently undergoing repairs so some sections are visibly newer than the rest. To get dramatic photos you'll just have to be creative and stick to the older sections. :)

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Banteay Srei is a beautiful temple complex, north-east of Angkor, founded by the king's chief Brahman advisor, Yajnavaraha in 967AD. This is known from an inscription at the site.

Banteay Srei was rediscovered by French archaeologists in the twentieth century.
Its remote location meant that tourists used to get shot and robbed here. An American woman and her guide were killed here in 1995. But, don't worry: nowadays it is perfectly safe and very much on the Japanese package tourist trail. So much so, that it is difficult to take a picture of the ruins without getting a group of tourists in front of them. After about twenty minutes waiting, I finally succeeeded.

The temple complex itself is very small, so it doesn't take anywhere near as much time to walk around as most of the other Angkor sites do.

The temple is surrounded by a moat, still filled with water, so you enter through a triumphal caseway over the moat. Inside there are three tower shrines, made of red sandstone, the tallest of which is 10 metres high. The temple doorways are protected by carved heads of Kala, a demon who ate his own body.

Banteay Srei is supposed to be Angkor's temple with the most extraordinary carvings. This is certainly true, as there are marvellously carved pictures of mythic creatures as well as humans. It is said that only women could have done this due to their smoother hands... :-) Well, I couldn't do it, so this must be true, too!
Banteay Srei's drawback are the hordes of tourists visiting it. Furthermore, when I was there parts of the complex were off limits to visitors. And last but not least it's 30km away from Angkor's main sights - on Cambodian roads, this equals a daytrip! Still, it's worth going there - usually in combination with the Roluos temples.

Banteay Srei. While some of the temples are impressive because of their sheer size, Banteay Srei stands alone in the quality of its construction and decoration. Its pink sandstone wall are decorated with what some consider to be the best carving of all and in an amazing state of preservation. Built in 967 and dedicated to Brahma it is located twenty five kilometers North of Angkor Wat.

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The walls and doorways of this beautiful temple have so much to capture your attention. Although the size of this temple is small, the artistic details make it become one of the most popular temples in this area. Banteay Srey is also called woman temple and the only disadvantage is its location: It is 32km north of Siem Reap.

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Another great temple well worthy of the travel to get there and time needed to explore. Unique in its own respect as well, this temple is built from more volcanic like rock and features bass reliefs and carvings to gain your imagination. It is a fairly large structure and affords many photo opportunities. Overall, one of the top 5 temples of the complex, don't miss it!