Bayon Temple And The Terrace of Elephants at Angkor Thom

When I first visited the Temples of Angkor back in 2008, I was completely fixated on Angkor Wat.

It was the temple I had seen in books and photographs. The heavyweight. The postcard. The one you travel halfway around the world to stand in front of while quietly hoping your camera battery does not die.

Little did I know just how impressive the Temples of Angkor are in their entirety.

One temple that grabbed me immediately was the richly decorated Prasat Bayon. Its stone-cold smiling faces loom over a compressed maze of corridors, towers and bas-reliefs at the centre of Angkor Thom, the immense walled capital associated with Buddhist King Jayavarman VII.

When we filmed the accompanying video, the phrase that came out of my mouth was that Bayon’s most fascinating feature was its “cold faces that have a hint of a smile.” It was not polished documentary narration, but it was honest. The expressions are calm without being especially warm. Friendly, perhaps. Slightly suspicious, certainly.

Bayon does not reveal itself as neatly as Angkor Wat. From a distance, it can look like somebody dropped an enormous pile of dark stones in the middle of the jungle and then forgot to tidy up.

Walk closer and the faces begin appearing.

Move again and one disappears behind another. Profiles emerge against the sky. Shadows change their expressions. A face that seemed rather warm and benevolent thirty seconds ago suddenly looks like it knows exactly what you did last night.

When I returned later, Bayon was far busier than I remembered. During my first visit, I could wander around without noticing many other people. Those days are mostly gone. Bayon is now one of the essential stops on virtually every Angkor circuit, and tour groups tend to arrive with military efficiency.

You are unlikely to have the whole temple to yourself. That ship sailed a long time ago. But arriving when Bayon officially opens—or returning later in the afternoon—still gives you a fighting chance of experiencing it without spending the entire visit staring at somebody else’s sun hat.

This guide combines my original Bayon and Angkor Thom photo essay, the firsthand narration from our video and the practical information needed to visit today. It covers the famous faces, the bas-reliefs most people rush past, the Terrace of the Elephants, current ticketing and access considerations, photography advice and a realistic route through Angkor Thom.

The goal is not to “complete” Angkor Thom in record time. Nobody wins a medal for temple velocity. The goal is to slow down enough that the place becomes more than a collection of enormous stone objects viewed through a sweat-streaked camera screen.

Visiting Bayon Temple and the Terrace of the Elephants

Why Bayon Feels So Different From Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat impresses through symmetry, scale and one of the most recognizable silhouettes on the planet. You approach it across a huge open causeway. Its towers line up. The composition makes sense. Even a photographer operating on three hours of sleep can usually figure out where to point the camera.

Bayon plays a different game.

It feels dense, compressed and mildly disorienting. Its galleries push against one another. Towers appear to have been squeezed into a space that was never quite large enough. Instead of admiring one dominant façade, you keep turning corners and discovering new arrangements of stone.

Bayon was constructed around the late 12th and early 13th centuries as the state temple of Jayavarman VII. It occupied the symbolic centre of Angkor Thom, the king’s fortified capital. Its original conception was Buddhist, although later rulers altered parts of the monument as religious priorities shifted.

What visitors see now is not one perfectly preserved design frozen in time. Bayon is layered. Buddhist and Hindu imagery, later modifications, missing structures, centuries of weather and ongoing restoration all contribute to its present appearance.

In other words, it is complicated. Good. The world has enough attractions reduced to five neat facts and a souvenir magnet.

Who Do the Faces of Bayon Represent?

The honest answer is that nobody can identify them with complete certainty.

The faces are commonly associated with Avalokiteshvara—or Lokesvara—the bodhisattva of compassion central to the Buddhist symbolism of Jayavarman VII’s reign. They have also been interpreted as idealized representations of the king himself, perhaps deliberately merging spiritual compassion with royal authority.

I once read that the faces were meant to resemble the king. That idea stuck with me, even though the interpretation is more complicated than one confident guidebook sentence.

In our original video, I repeated the familiar claim that Bayon had 54 towers carrying 216 faces. That was the standard figure circulating in guidebooks and travel material at the time, and it sounded reassuringly exact.

I would phrase it more carefully now.

Towers have been damaged, lost, altered and counted differently, so published totals vary. The beautifully tidy calculation of 54 towers multiplied by four faces is easier to remember than the messy architectural reality.

Wonderful arithmetic. Slightly less cooperative archaeology.

It is safer to describe Bayon as a forest of surviving face towers than to pretend one universally accepted number settles the matter.

What is not disputed is their effect. Some appear broad and warm. Others look stern. A face that seems serene in soft light can become rather sinister when half of it disappears into shadow.

Faces of Bayon: My Original Photo Essay

The enormous faces dominate Bayon equally from a distance and close up. That sounds contradictory, but it is part of what makes the temple so compelling.

From below, the towers form a crowded skyline. Once inside, individual faces suddenly fill your entire field of vision. You stop looking at a temple and start looking at noses, eyelids, lips and cheekbones carved into blocks of weathered stone.

One of the most interesting things about photographing Bayon was watching the same expression change with the light.

Bright sun flattens some features and exaggerates others. Clouds soften the stone. Low side light pulls cracks, lips and eyelids from the surface. Midday light, meanwhile, tends to attack everything with the subtlety of a police interrogation lamp.

I have always found inaccessible sections slightly magnetic. Tell me I cannot walk somewhere and suddenly it becomes the most fascinating square metre in Cambodia.

Access at Bayon has changed repeatedly as conservation work advances. Photographs from earlier visits may show people standing in places that are currently closed—or areas that have since reopened through controlled routes.

Do not build your entire visit around reaching one exact platform. Bayon remains worthwhile even when parts of it are hidden behind barriers and scaffolding. Ancient temples are not theme-park rides, although tourists occasionally behave as if somebody owes them access to every staircase.

Do Not Skip Bayon’s Bas-Reliefs

A lot of visitors head straight for the face towers, collect the required photographs and leave.

I understand the temptation. The giant faces are right there, looking famous. But charging past the outer galleries means missing one of Bayon’s most informative features.

The long bas-relief sequences depict warfare, processions, religious imagery and ordinary life. Look carefully and the Khmer Empire becomes less abstract. People cook, trade, fight, fish, travel and gather. Boats move through naval battles. Animals appear between human figures. Domestic scenes unfold beneath the grand historical drama.

That everyday material is what makes the carvings so valuable. Kings are always building monuments to themselves. Fishermen, cooks and market vendors rarely receive the same promotional budget.

You do not need to decode every figure. Unless you are an Angkor scholar with unlimited time and knees made from industrial machinery, that is probably unrealistic anyway.

Instead, give yourself one slow circuit. Look for repeated human actions: carrying, cooking, rowing, fighting, trading, watching and celebrating. A licensed guide can explain the narrative in detail, but even an unguided walk becomes more rewarding once you stop treating the reliefs as decorative wallpaper.

Khmer Dancers at Bayon

Traditional Khmer dancers wearing elaborate costumes greeted tourists during one of my visits to Bayon.

The bright costumes looked almost electric against all that weathered grey stone. After photographing tower after tower in variations of sandstone, shadow and more sandstone, the colour was impossible to ignore.

This was part of my own visit rather than something travellers should assume will be waiting every morning. Performances and visitor arrangements change. Still, the photographs preserve an interesting contrast between living Khmer culture and the remains of the former capital.

Entering Angkor Thom Through Its Monumental Gates

Bayon stands at the centre of Angkor Thom, but the experience begins before you reach it.

The South Gate is the familiar approach for visitors arriving from Angkor Wat. Its causeway is lined with enormous stone figures gripping the body of a naga. The rows are generally interpreted as devas and asuras—gods and demons—pulling the serpent in imagery connected with the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.

Above them, the gate tower carries the same broad face imagery found elsewhere around the city.

Traffic still passes through the narrow ancient opening. Tuk-tuks, bicycles, cars, buses and the occasional driver who has grossly overestimated the available width all funnel beneath the carved faces.

The South Gate deserves a deliberate stop. Do not settle for firing one blurry photograph from a moving tuk-tuk while your driver accelerates towards Bayon.

Step out. Walk part of the causeway. Look back towards the gate. Study how the figures line up with the moat and the tower.

The Victory Gate on the eastern side can be quieter depending on the day and route, while the North and West Gates reveal how the walled city connected to the broader Angkor landscape.

The Terrace of the Elephants

My second favourite stop inside Angkor Thom was the imposing Terrace of the Elephants.

The long platform once faced the Royal Square and supported royal reception structures. It served as a vantage point over ceremonies and processions connected to the king and royal court.

In our original video, I described the terrace as 350 metres long. That figure has circulated widely, but the APSARA National Authority currently describes it as approximately 300 metres. Ancient Khmer architecture has survived nearly nine centuries only to be dragged into a modern dispute over fifty metres.

Whatever measurement you use, its size is hard to understand from one fixed viewpoint. You need to walk beside it, look up from ground level and then examine the surviving upper sections to appreciate how long the façade really is.

The name comes from the elephants carved along the walls, although the decoration is more varied than an endless parade of well-behaved pachyderms. The carvings include elephant hunts, royal processions, lions, garudas and Airavata, the three-headed elephant associated with the Hindu god Indra.

The elephant carvings are often easier to understand after stepping back.

Up close, the terrace breaks into trunks, legs, platforms, stairs and weathered fragments. From farther away, the animals begin assembling into complete scenes. This was one of those places where I found the larger view more revealing than pressing my nose against every carving.

Immediately north is the Terrace of the Leper King. It is close enough that skipping it makes little sense unless the heat has already reduced your group to silent resentment.

Its narrow inner passage and densely carved hidden wall create a very different experience from the long, open façade of the Elephant Terrace. Together, the two terraces make far more sense than either one viewed as a hurried roadside stop.

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Our original Bayon and Angkor Thom video, filmed during an extremely hot April visit

Bayon Tickets, Opening Hours and Current Access

Bayon does not require a separate temple ticket. It is covered by the standard Angkor Pass, which also includes Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and dozens of other monuments within Angkor Archaeological Park.

Tickets can be purchased through the official Angkor Enterprise website, its mobile app, official kiosks or authorized ticket counters.

Check the official site before buying. Prices, validity rules and procedures can change, and Cambodia has no obligation to keep old travel blogs correct for eternity.

Children under twelve are normally exempt from the Angkor entrance charge, but families should carry a passport or another accepted form of age verification.

The Park Opens Earlier Than Bayon

This distinction causes unnecessary confusion.

Angkor Archaeological Park admits ticket holders from 5:00 a.m. because certain locations accommodate sunrise visitors. Bayon’s official visiting hours are listed as 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Leaving Siem Reap at 5:00 a.m. makes sense when you are visiting Angkor Wat for sunrise and continuing to Bayon afterwards. Racing directly to Bayon several hours before its listed opening mostly gives you extra time to contemplate your life choices in the dark.

For cooler air, softer light and a head start on the larger groups, aim to reach the entrance shortly before 7:30 a.m.

Is Bayon’s Upper Level Open?

Possibly. Do not treat it as guaranteed.

Bayon remains an active conservation site. The official APSARA Bayon information page continues to list the central tower as temporarily closed, while restoration work and visitor arrangements can evolve.

Check current notices, ask at the entrance or confirm with a licensed guide. More importantly, visit Bayon for the entire monument rather than making your enjoyment dependent on climbing one staircase.

The Best Time of Day to Visit Bayon

No time guarantees an empty temple. Tour routes, holidays, weather and conservation barriers all affect visitor flow.

The real advantage of arriving early is not total solitude. It is having cooler air and enough patience left to notice something beyond the famous faces.

A Realistic Bayon and Angkor Thom Route

Bayon is often squeezed between Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm as a quick central stop. That is understandable when you have one day. It also reduces Angkor Thom to one temple and a photograph of some elephants taken while the driver waits with the engine running.

A better half-day route follows the old city’s layout.

1. Enter Through the South Gate

Ask your driver to stop before the causeway. Walk part of the approach, look at the figures gripping the naga and then pass beneath the enormous face tower.

2. Give Bayon 90 Minutes to Two Hours

Begin with the outer galleries rather than charging straight towards the faces like a moth towards a particularly famous flame.

Complete at least one slow bas-relief circuit, explore the interior passageways and then follow whatever upper route is currently open.

3. Walk to Baphuon

Baphuon predates Bayon and offers an entirely different architectural form: a large temple mountain reached along an elevated causeway.

Its stairs require more effort. Whether that sounds invigorating or cruel will depend on the temperature and the current condition of your knees.

4. Continue Through the Royal Palace Area

The palace buildings were largely made from materials that did not survive like the stone temples. Even so, the enclosure, gateways, Phimeanakas and surrounding remains help restore the sense that Angkor Thom was a functioning royal city rather than a convenient cluster of ruins for modern tour buses.

5. Walk the Terrace of the Elephants

View it from ground level and from above wherever current access permits. A platform this long does not reveal itself through one hurried photograph.

6. Finish at the Terrace of the Leper King

Walk through the narrow inner passage beside its densely carved hidden wall. It feels enclosed and almost secretive after the broad, exposed Elephant Terrace.

This route usually requires four to five hours once photography, water stops and basic human fatigue enter the equation.

Adding Preah Palilay, the Khleangs, Prasat Suor Prat or another city gate can turn it into a full day. That is worthwhile for serious Angkor enthusiasts. Everybody else should remember that stopping before archaeological enthusiasm becomes open hostility is perfectly acceptable.

Getting to Bayon From Siem Reap

Most visitors stay in Siem Reap and travel into Angkor Archaeological Park each day. The distance is manageable. The tropical heat makes it feel less manageable.

For a Bayon-heavy day, a private tuk-tuk remains the practical middle ground. Agree on the route, pickup time, waiting points and price before leaving.

Angkor Thom contains several parking and meeting areas. “I’ll find you later beside the old stones” is not a transport plan.

Should You Visit Independently or Book a Tour?

You can absolutely explore Bayon independently. The temple is visually powerful without anybody narrating it, and travelling alone gives you the freedom to wait for changing light, walk the same gallery twice or spend fifteen minutes photographing one face because the clouds are finally cooperating.

Bayon is also one of the Angkor monuments where a knowledgeable licensed guide can make a genuine difference.

Without context, the bas-reliefs are fascinating old carvings. With context, they become battles, daily routines, religious narratives and political messaging carved into stone.

A useful compromise is to hire a guide for the Angkor Thom portion of the day and leave additional unstructured time for photography.

Travellers who prefer to compare organized options can browse guided Angkor tours on GetYourGuide. Look closely at the itinerary before booking. Some “Angkor tours” race through Bayon in less time than I spend deciding which camera lens to use.

For visitors with several days and a serious interest in the wider complex, this private three-day Angkor temple tour offers a slower, more flexible alternative to cramming the main sites into one heroic but slightly deranged day.

The Angkor Pass is normally separate from commercial tour prices, so check exactly what is included before paying.

What to Wear and Bring

Angkor’s monuments remain sacred places as well as archaeological attractions. Clothing should cover shoulders and knees, particularly around active religious spaces and elevated sanctuary areas.

• Wear lightweight, breathable clothing that still provides respectful coverage.
• Choose shoes or sturdy sandals with grip. Bayon contains worn stone, uneven thresholds and steep stairs.
• Carry more water than seems necessary. Heat fatigue arrives considerably faster than enlightenment.
• Bring a hat and sunscreen even though parts of Bayon appear shaded.
• Pack a light rain layer during the wetter months.
• Carry spare camera batteries. Heat, video and constant image reviewing chew through them.
• Keep your Angkor Pass accessible because it may be checked at several monuments.

Do not carry half your earthly possessions through the temple. A heavy backpack becomes less charming with every stone staircase.

Mobility and Accessibility

Bayon is challenging for visitors with limited mobility. The temple has irregular floors, narrow passages, high thresholds and steep stairways. Conservation routes and temporary barriers can create additional detours.

Visitors who cannot climb can still see portions of the face towers from lower levels, examine sections of the bas-reliefs and view the broader exterior. The Terrace of the Elephants can also be appreciated from ground level, although surfaces around the Royal Square are not consistently smooth or barrier-free.

Mixed-ability groups should use a private vehicle or patient tuk-tuk driver, reduce the number of monuments and abandon the idea that everybody needs to follow an identical route.

There is no spiritual prize for hauling somebody up a staircase they never wanted to climb.

Photography Tips for Bayon

Bayon is ridiculously photogenic and surprisingly difficult to photograph well.

The temple is visually busy. Faces overlap with towers, visitors, railings, restoration equipment and large patches of white sky. You can easily take hundreds of photographs and still return to your hotel wondering why none of them feels like the place you just experienced.

Use Profiles Against Open Sky

A clean profile often reads more strongly than a face surrounded by five competing layers of stone. Move sideways until the nose, lips and chin separate from the background.

Let the Shadows Help

Perfectly even light is not necessarily your friend. Side lighting gives the faces depth and makes the same expression appear different from one tower to another.

Photograph the Temple From Several Distances

Close-ups reveal eyelids, lips and weathered stone. Medium views show how faces relate to neighbouring towers. Wider images explain Bayon’s dense and slightly chaotic structure.

Use People for Scale Without Becoming a Nuisance

A person crossing a doorway or climbing a permitted staircase can show how enormous the architecture is. Wait for a natural moment. Do not block paths, stage elaborate fashion shoots or ask strangers to remain perfectly still while you rediscover aperture priority.

Stop Looking Up Occasionally

The bas-reliefs, corridors, doorframes and lower-level details are as important to the photographic story as the famous faces. A complete Bayon sequence should show both the monumental and the human scale.

For more advice, I have a separate guide covering ten humorous and practical ways to improve your travel photography.

When to Visit Angkor Thom During the Year

No season delivers cool temperatures, empty temples, perfect skies, dramatic clouds and zero chance of rain.

Angkor does not offer the entire buffet on one plate.

Cooler Dry Months

Roughly December through February normally offers the most comfortable conditions for long temple days. This was the cooler window I recommended in our original video, and I still think the trade-off is straightforward: more tolerable temperatures, but more travellers having exactly the same idea.

It is peak season for a reason. You share the temples with more people, but you are less likely to feel as though your clothing has been permanently welded to your body.

Hotter Dry Months

We filmed our Bayon video in April.

On camera, I described it as the hottest time of year, called it “literally the worst month” for heat and announced that I was sweating buckets. None of this was theatrical exaggeration. I looked and felt like a human sprinkler system.

March through May can be punishing around exposed stone. Start early, reduce the number of stops and plan a real midday break rather than pretending one coconut has transformed you into a desert animal.

The upside is that the heat forces honesty. By the third or fourth temple, nobody is pretending they need to see twelve more sanctuaries before lunch.

Wet and Green Months

The wetter season brings humidity, showers, greener vegetation and moodier skies. Stone can become slippery, but rain often arrives in bursts rather than destroying every hour of the day.

For photography, clouds can be a gift. Bayon’s faces often look far more interesting under shifting grey skies than beneath relentless flat glare.

Where to Stay in Siem Reap for Angkor Days

Siem Reap is the practical base for Bayon and Angkor Thom. Choosing where to stay is less about finding one perfect neighbourhood and more about deciding which inconvenience annoys you least.

• Old Market and Pub Street: convenient for restaurants, bars and abundant transport, but potentially noisy.
• Wat Bo and the riverside: a useful balance between central dining and somewhat quieter accommodation.
• Charles de Gaulle Road and the northern hotel zone: convenient for early departures towards Angkor, although less appealing if you want to walk everywhere at night.
• Quieter outskirts: larger resorts, gardens and pools can feel magnificent after a hot temple day, but you will depend more heavily on arranged transport.

The best hotel is not automatically the one physically closest to Angkor. A reliable driver, an early breakfast arrangement and a decent pool often matter more than shaving seven minutes from the morning commute.

You can compare Siem Reap hotels on Booking.com across the Old Market, Wat Bo, riverside and resort districts.

Travellers prioritizing quick temple departures can also browse hotels near the Angkor complex. Check the map rather than trusting a hotel name containing the word “Angkor.” In Siem Reap, practically everything eventually acquires the word Angkor.

Common Bayon and Angkor Thom Mistakes

Arriving at 5:00 a.m. Expecting Bayon to Be Open

The wider park opens early for sunrise access elsewhere. Bayon’s listed visiting hours begin later. Confirm current hours before reorganizing your sleep schedule around a closed entrance.

Photographing the Faces and Ignoring the Galleries

The faces are the headline. The bas-reliefs are where much of the temple’s human story survives.

Assuming the Upper Level Must Be Accessible

Conservation work is real work, not an inconvenience arranged specifically to sabotage your holiday. Routes change. Build a visit that remains worthwhile from the lower levels.

Treating the Terrace of the Elephants as a Drive-By Stop

A platform several hundred metres long cannot be understood through one photograph fired from a parking area. Walk beside it. Step back. Look again.

Trying to Finish Angkor in One Day

A single day can cover Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm. It cannot give each of them much depth.

The three-day pass is the more sensible option for most first-time visitors. It also reduces the likelihood of reaching your final temple completely numb and pretending to be interested because everybody else still has their camera out.

Ignoring the Heat Until It Wins

Temple fatigue is often dehydration wearing an archaeology costume.

Drink before you feel thirsty. Stop in the shade. Remove sites from the itinerary when everybody has stopped caring what century anything was built.

Bayon Temple and Angkor Thom FAQ

Is Bayon inside Angkor Thom?

Yes. Bayon stands at the centre of the walled city of Angkor Thom. The city also contains Baphuon, the Royal Palace area, Phimeanakas, the Terrace of the Elephants, the Terrace of the Leper King and numerous smaller monuments.

Can you visit Bayon at sunrise?

Not under the standard listed schedule. The wider park admits visitors from 5:00 a.m., but Bayon’s official visiting hours begin at 7:30 a.m. Sunrise visitors normally go to Angkor Wat or another approved location before continuing to Bayon.

How long should you spend at Bayon?

Allow at least 90 minutes. Two hours is more realistic if you want to examine the bas-reliefs, photograph the faces and explore without rushing. A wider Angkor Thom route takes approximately four to five hours.

Is the top of Bayon open?

Access can change because of conservation work. Check with APSARA, staff at the entrance or a licensed guide immediately before visiting rather than relying on old photographs or itineraries.

Do you need a guide at Bayon?

No. Independent visitors gain more freedom and can linger over photography. A licensed guide is nevertheless useful for understanding the bas-reliefs, Jayavarman VII’s Buddhist programme and the relationship between Bayon, Angkor Thom and the royal terraces.

Can Bayon and Angkor Wat be visited on the same day?

Yes. They are commonly combined as part of the Small Circuit, often with Ta Prohm. The trade-off is time. One day gives you the icons. Separate days let you study the reliefs, explore more of Angkor Thom and return under different light.

Is Bayon better than Angkor Wat?

They offer completely different experiences. Angkor Wat delivers scale, symmetry and one of the world’s great temple silhouettes. Bayon is denser, stranger and more intimate.

Angkor Wat was the temple that first occupied my imagination. Bayon was one of the places that made me realize how much more there was to Angkor.

What is it like visiting Bayon in April?

Extremely hot. We filmed our Bayon video in April, and I described myself on camera as “sweating buckets.” The heat is manageable with an early start, plenty of water, fewer planned temples and a proper midday break, but it is not the month I would choose for maximum comfort.

Final Thoughts on Bayon and the Terrace of the Elephants

The days of casually having Bayon and the Terrace of the Elephants to yourself are largely gone.

Fair enough. Extraordinary places have a habit of attracting people.

Angkor Thom remains one of the most impressive areas in the entire Angkor complex, but Bayon deserves more than a quick photograph of one smiling face.

Walk the galleries. Study the ordinary lives carved into the bas-reliefs. Notice how the expressions change when clouds move overhead. Step back from the Terrace of the Elephants until its animals begin making sense. Stop at the city gate rather than treating it as a stone tunnel between hotel breakfast and the next famous temple.

When I arrived in 2008, Angkor Wat occupied most of my imagination.

Bayon helped knock it from the pedestal—not by replacing it, but by showing me how varied, strange and enormous Angkor really is.

For another side of travelling in Cambodia, you can also read my account of returning to Sihanoukville and confronting how dramatically the beach destination had changed.