The Angkor Archaeological Park contains three of the world’s most remarkable ancient structures within a single circuit — and walking between them produces one of the most sustained experiences of architectural wonder available anywhere. This siem reap angkor wat walking tour companion is paired with “Bayon Temple | Angkor Thom | Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia | 4K Walking Tour” — a walk through the Bayon temple complex that documents the mysterious stone faces and the extraordinary spatial quality of this 12th-century Buddhist monument.
About This Walking Tour
This 4K walking tour covers the Bayon temple within the walled city of Angkor Thom — one of the three principal stops on the Angkor small circuit alongside Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. The Bayon, built by Khmer king Jayavarman VII around 1200 AD, is perhaps the most architecturally unusual of the Angkor temples: 54 towers each carved with four faces (totalling 216 faces, though some towers have been lost) staring serenely outward in every direction. The faces are believed to represent either the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or the king himself in divine form — or both simultaneously.
The broader Angkor small circuit walk encompasses Angkor Wat (the world’s largest religious monument, built 1113–1150 by King Suryavarman II), the Angkor Thom south gate causeway with its stone gods and demons pulling the naga serpent, the Terrace of the Elephants, and Ta Prohm — the temple deliberately left unrestored where silk-cotton trees have grown through the stone galleries, famously used as a filming location for the Tomb Raider film in 2001. The three temples together represent three completely different architectural visions from the Khmer Empire’s greatest period.
Highlights of the Angkor Temple Circuit
Angkor Wat at sunrise — when the five towers are reflected in the long reflection pool and the sky moves from dark to gold — is one of the world’s great visual experiences. The 800-metre bas-relief gallery that lines the temple’s outer walls depicts the Battle of Kurukshetra from the Mahabharata, the celestial apsara dancers of the Khmer cosmos, and the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu cosmology in continuous carved narrative. The central tower climb gives access to the temple’s innermost sanctuary.
The Angkor Thom south gate is reached via a causeway lined with 54 stone figures of gods on one side and 54 demons on the other, all pulling a giant naga (cosmic serpent) in the mythological churning of the ocean scene. The gate tower itself is carved with four faces. Angkor Thom was Jayavarman VII’s walled capital city covering approximately 9 square kilometres — with the Bayon at its exact centre, the Royal Palace to the north, and the Baphuon pyramid temple also within the walls.
Ta Prohm is the Angkor site that has been most deliberately left in its state of partial jungle reclamation. Massive silk-cotton (Tetrameles nudiflora) and strangler fig (Ficus) trees have grown through the stone galleries and over the towers, their roots spreading across collapsed masonry in formations that conservators now actively manage to preserve both the aesthetic and the structural stability of the ruins.
A Brief History of Angkor
The Khmer Empire reached its maximum extent and cultural achievement in the 12th–13th centuries under a series of powerful kings. Angkor Wat was built by Suryavarman II as a state temple dedicated to Vishnu — an enormous cosmological model in stone with the central tower representing Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods. The subsequent shift to Buddhism under Jayavarman VII produced the Bayon and the face towers that have become the Angkor complex’s most distinctive image.
At its peak around 1200 AD, the Angkor capital had an estimated population of 750,000 — making it the largest pre-industrial city on earth. The empire’s decline from the 14th century, accelerated by Thai invasions and possible ecological collapse of its hydraulic infrastructure, led to the abandonment of Angkor and the movement of the Khmer capital to Phnom Penh area. The temples were never entirely forgotten by Cambodians — they remained active religious sites — but Western awareness was renewed when the French explorer Henri Mouhot published his accounts in the 1860s.
Practical Tips
Siem Reap International Airport is 8 kilometres from the city centre; tuk-tuks are the standard transport. Angkor archaeological park is 8 kilometres from Siem Reap; temple passes (1-day $37, 3-day $62, 7-day $72) are required and sold at the official booth. Sunrise visits to Angkor Wat require arriving by 5am; tuk-tuks run at this hour from the town. The small circuit (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom/Bayon, Ta Prohm) is approximately 17 kilometres by tuk-tuk with walking at each site. Cambodia uses the US dollar alongside the Cambodian riel.
Best Time to Visit
November through March is the dry cool season and the standard high season for Angkor visits. The sunrise reflection at Angkor Wat occurs every day of the year and is worth the early alarm regardless of season. The rainy season (June–October) brings fewer tourists and lush green vegetation around the temples.
Watch & Explore More
Watch the full 4K Bayon temple walk above. Find more Cambodia and Southeast Asia content at the @walkingtoursvideoscom channel. Related posts: Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace and riverfront walk and Bangkok’s Grand Palace and Wat Pho walk.