Ta Prohm
Jungle-Swallowed Ruins Left Deliberately Unrestored
Ta Prohm — Quick Facts
- What is it?
- temple — Jungle-Swallowed Ruins Left Deliberately Unrestored
- Where?
- Siem Reap , Cambodia
- Entry Fee
- Included in the Angkor Pass ($37 / 1-day, $62 / 3-day, $72 / 7-day)
- Opening Hours
- 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM daily
- Time Needed
- 45 minutes – 1 hour
- Best Time
- Early morning before 8:30am, or late afternoon for golden light and thinner crowds
- Don't Miss
- The Tomb Raider tree — a silk-cotton root cascading over the Hall of Dancers gallery
What to See at Ta Prohm
The Tree-Root Galleries
Ta Prohm’s defining image is its trees: silk-cotton (Ceiba) and strangler fig roots, some over a metre thick, that have grown directly into the temple’s sandstone and laterite walls over eight centuries. In several places the stonework and root system have become structurally inseparable — a genuinely unique sight in the Angkor complex, where every other major temple has been actively cleared and restored.
The Hall of Dancers
This roofless gallery, lined with carved apsara dancers, sits beneath one of Ta Prohm’s most photographed root formations — the so-called “Tomb Raider tree.” Expect a queue for photos here during peak hours.
Original Inscriptions
A stele found at Ta Prohm recorded that the monastery once housed over 12,500 people, including 18 high priests and more than 600 dancers, and that 80,000 people from surrounding villages were assigned to maintain it — giving a sense of the scale of the Khmer Empire’s temple economy at its peak.
How to Get to Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm sits about 1km east of Angkor Thom’s Victory Gate, roughly a 15-minute tuk-tuk ride from Angkor Wat.
- Tuk-tuk: Included on the standard “Small Circuit,” $15–20 for a half-day combining Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm
- Bicycle: Doable but adds meaningful distance to a full Angkor day — better suited to a dedicated cycling day
- E-bike: A popular middle ground, available for rent in Siem Reap town
Best Time to Visit
Ta Prohm is consistently the most crowded temple after Angkor Wat at sunrise, since most circuits route here by mid-morning. Arrive right at opening (7:30am) or wait until after 3pm — both the light and the crowd levels improve significantly.
Practical Information
- Covered by the standard Angkor Pass — no separate ticket needed
- Uneven ground and exposed tree roots underfoot — watch your step, especially with kids
- Narrow walkways at the main root-gallery photo spots get genuinely congested at peak times
- A guide adds real value here, explaining which structures are original versus reinforced for safety
Nearby Attractions
Ta Prohm is close to Banteay Kdei and Sras Srang (a royal bathing pool), both quieter stops worth combining on the same circuit, plus the dedicated pages for Bayon and Preah Khan elsewhere in Angkor Thom.
Useful Links
Practical Info
- Entry Fee
- Included in the Angkor Pass ($37 / 1-day, $62 / 3-day, $72 / 7-day)
- Opening Hours
- 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM daily
- Time Needed
- 45 minutes – 1 hour
- Best Time
- Early morning before 8:30am, or late afternoon for golden light and thinner crowds