Prasat Beng Mealea — Attraction in Siem Reap

Prasat Beng Mealea was built by king Suryavarman II, early 12th century by primary deity to Vishnu with architecture of Angkor Wat. This temple is located 40 km east of the main group of temples at Angkor, and 77 km from Siem Reap by road.

Beng Mealea (its name means "lotus pond") is a temple in the Angkor Wat style located 40 km east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Cambodia. It was built as hinduist temple, but there are some carvings depicting buddhist motifs. Its primary material is sandstone and it is largely unrestored, with trees and thick brush thriving amidst its towers and courtyards and many of its stones lying in great heaps.

The history of the temple is unknown and it can be dated only by its architectural style, identical to Angkor Wat, so scholars assumed it was built during the reign of king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century. Smaller in size than Angkor Wat, the king's main monument, Beng Mealea nonetheless ranks among the Khmer empire's larger temples: the gallery which forms the outer enclosure of the temple is 181 m by 152 m. It was the center of a town, surrounded by a moat 1025 m by 875 m large and 45 m wide.

Beng Mealea is oriented toward the east, but has entranceways from the other three cardinal directions. The basic layout is three enclosing galleries around a central sanctuary, collapsed at present. The enclosures are tied with "cruciform cloisters", like Angkor Wat. Structures known as libraries lie to the right and left of the avenue that leads in from the east. There is extensive carving of scenes from Hindu mythology, including the Churning of the Sea of Milk and Vishnu being borne by the bird god Garuda. Causeways have long balustrades formed by bodies of the seven-headed Naga serpent.

It was built mostly of sandstone: Beng Mealea is only 7 km far from the angkorian sandstone quarries of Phnom Kulen, as the crow flies. Presumably sandstone blocks used for Angkor were transported along artificial water canals and passed from here. Despite of lack of information, the quality of architecture and decorations has drown the attention of French scholars just from...

Amazing Temple in the jungle surrounded by trees. This temple is 72km out of town and so does not have many visitors. Having said that, I would highly recommend going. It’s a bit of a walk up a lane and out again, but the temple area itself has wooden staircases, balconies and steps that are well laid out. The first thing you see when entering the site is that the area is ‘under construction’. There is a huge crane uncovering lots of large rectangular slabs, each one if which is given a ‘placement number’ for re-positioning. One of the amazing wonders are the long bridge like stone structures that swan-neck up with a large cobra head on the tip. These snake-heads are intricately carved and detailed as are a number of stone structures in the area.

As you wonder through this vast area, the most notable things are:- The extraordinary amount are large rectangular slabs (each about 3’x1.5’x1.5’), each one with 2x2” holes (some more) for the insertion of sticks and twine for moving - although these slabs aren’t going anywhere as they are too difficult to move / reconstruct and too overwhelming cumbersome and abundant. Many of the structures have trees growing around them or through them / and many of these very large trees are covered and smothered by smaller, thinner fig trees that surround, suffocate and kill the larger trees. A truly amazing and unique experience to witness.

Remember to take water, sunscreen, a hat & maybe sunglasses. It’s hot in this part of the world. Also, I highly recommend getting a guide and driver with an air conditioned car. Going to any temple on a tuk-tuk or scooter on dirt or bumpy roads in traffic on a hot day does not look...

This temple is very far from the main temples of Angkor, and as such, you'll need at least a motorbike or tuk tuk to get here. By motorbike/tuk tuk it's going to take you at least 1.5 hours to get here, and although the "highway" is quite new and in good condition compared to most Cambodian roads, it isn't by any means a smooth drive. Make sure to buy your Angkor Pass before coming to Beng Mealea, they don't sell them here.

This is an enormous temple. It had to be one of the finest in Angkor when it was built. Although not as big as Angkor Wat, I can't think of another temple I went to that felt as large as this one (except maybe Preah Vihear). So you're getting to see the pinnacle of the Angkor Empire here. But the last 800 years haven't been kind to Beng Mealea, and now the temple is in an advanced state of ruin (think Ta Phrom after a couple of earthquakes). So more than any temple in Angkor, this one had the eerie feeling of stepping into a lost world that had long ago been reclaimed by nature.

Although it isn't the easiest temple to get to, it is absolutely worth seeing. If you have 3 or more days in Siem Reap, see this temple (along with Bakong and Preah Ko on the way back to Siem Reap). The combination of sheer size and advanced state of ruin makes it one of the coolest...