🌳 Ta Prohm
Cambodia
About This Sacred Site
Ta Prohm is a hauntingly beautiful temple in the Angkor complex, famous for the massive silk-cotton and strangler fig trees whose roots have merged with the ancient stone structures. Built in 1186 CE by King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university, it once housed over 12,000 people. Unlike most Angkor temples, Ta Prohm was deliberately left largely unrestored to preserve the dramatic interplay between jungle and architecture. The temple gained worldwide fame as a filming location for the movie 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.'
Key Facts
- •Built in 1186 CE as a monastery and university housing over 12,000 people
- •Deliberately left unrestored to show the power of nature reclaiming human structures
- •Giant silk-cotton and strangler fig tree roots grow through and around the ruins
- •Featured prominently in the 2001 film 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'
- •Inscriptions record that the temple owned 3,140 villages with a staff of 79,365 people
Location
Coordinates: 13.4352, 103.8891
Related Holy Sites
☸️Bodh Gaya (Mahabodhi Temple)
Where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became the Buddha.
🛕Angkor Wat
The largest religious monument in the world, originally Hindu then Buddhist.
🪷Shwedagon Pagoda
Myanmar's most sacred Buddhist pagoda, gilded with 60 tons of gold.
☸️Lumbini
The birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha.
🪷Borobudur
The world's largest Buddhist temple, with 2,672 relief panels.
🏯Potala Palace
Former winter residence of the Dalai Lama, towering over Lhasa.