The Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom: Faces, Reliefs and Visiting

The King and the Date

Jayavarman VII reigned from 1181 to 1218, and the Bayon was built at the end of the 12th or the start of the 13th century as his state temple (Wikipedia). The same king founded the walled city of Angkor Thom in the late 12th century, and also built Ta Prohm, Preah Khan and Neak Pean, plus 102 hospitals and 121 rest houses across his realm (Wikipedia). The temple was founded as a Mahayana Buddhist sanctuary, with Avalokiteshvara among its deities, and it later became a Theravada site.

Its original name was Jayagiri, also written Chey Kiri (Wikipedia).

Towers, Tiers and Height

The central tower rises 43 m (Wikipedia). The temple has three tiers: an outer gallery, an inner gallery and an upper terrace crowned by that central tower. It faces east and stands in the middle of Angkor Thom, the 9 sq km walled city whose laterite walls run about 3 km on each side and stand 8 m high (Wikipedia).

The Terrace of the Elephants and the Baphuon sit nearby inside the same walls. The Angkor Thom guide covers those gates and terraces in detail.

The Central Buddha in the Well

Under Jayavarman VIII, the temple's central Buddha image was smashed. The statue stood about 3.6 m tall, and the broken pieces were recovered from a well in 1933 (Wikipedia).

Who Keeps It Standing

The Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient (EFEO) restored the Bayon by anastylosis, dismantling and rebuilding collapsed structures stone by numbered stone, in the early 20th century (Wikipedia). Since 1995 the Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (JSA) has been the main conservation body at the temple (Wikipedia).

One Temple, Many Texts

Wikivoyage puts the combined bas-reliefs at more than 1 km long. Wikivoyage rates the stretch from about 10:00 to 16:00 as what most visitors prefer for light here, and Angkor Wat itself photographs best around 13:00 to 14:00 by the same source.

A Round Sanctuary and a Record of War

Two details mark the Bayon out from every other state temple at Angkor. First, the central sanctuary is round, dedicated to Buddha, which Siem Reap.de calls unusual for its time, and a Cornell Siem Reap class page notes it was the only Angkorian state temple dedicated to Mahayana Buddhism. Second, the Cornell page says a panel on the east wall depicts the 1177 Cham war, the war in which Angkor fell.

Along with the 3.6 m central Buddha recovered from a well in 1933 and the central tower rising 43 m, these make the temple both a shrine and a chronicle.

How Many Faces, Really

The count depends on who is counting. Wikipedia says the Bayon originally had 49 face towers, that 37 remain, and gives about 200 faces on the upper terrace in one passage and 216 in another, explaining that the number shifts according to how partly preserved faces are treated. Wikivoyage gives a different scheme entirely: 54 towers with four faces each, 216 faces in all.

In short, at least 37 towers stand today, and the number of visible faces runs from about 200 to 216. If a guide quotes a single confident number, ask which towers they are counting and how much of each face survives.

Whose Faces Are They

The temple was founded as a Mahayana Buddhist temple, with Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, among its deities (Wikipedia). The face towers belong to that Buddhist iconography. Wikivoyage describes each tower as carrying four faces.

Where to Stand

The upper terrace is where the face towers and the 43 m central tower stand. The temple faces east, and Wikivoyage's preferred window for the Bayon runs from about 10:00 to 16:00.

Seeing Them with a Guide

The tours in the catalog that list the Bayon among their stops include the following. The $15 Angkor Wat Small-Group Sunrise Tour runs 8 to 9 hours in a group of up to 15 and takes in the Bayon with Ta Prohm and the Angkor Thom South Gate, and the Angkor Pass at $37 is extra, making $52 the total the listing gives. If you would rather be alone at the faces, the $31 Private Angkor Temple Highlights Tour runs 7 hours for a private group of up to 14 and covers the Bayon plus Baphuon, Phimeanakas and both Terraces.

Again the $37 pass is not in the price, for a stated $68 total. Small-group days, private cars, tuk-tuks, bikes and multi-day routes all stop at the Bayon, and the table below lays the options out.

The Outer Gallery: Khmer Life and War

The outer gallery shows historical events and scenes of daily life, including military processions and naval battles (Wikipedia). Allow real time here, because a guide can point out the small scenes between the battles.

The Inner Gallery: Gods Return

The inner gallery was added by Jayavarman VIII, the king who smashed the central Buddha, and it shows mainly Hindu mythological scenes (Wikipedia). The full length of carved wall exceeds 1 km according to Wikivoyage, so most visitors see a selection, and a guide's route through the best panels is the main practical argument for a guided visit here.

What to Look For, Gallery by Gallery

The table sums up what each gallery level shows and where the description comes from, so you can decide where to spend your minutes on site. The contrast between the two levels is the point: history and daily life outside, Hindu myth inside, and the face towers and the 43 m central tower waiting on the terrace above both.

Eleven Thousand Figures and Ordinary People

The carved figures across the Bayon galleries number over 11,000, a count given by a Cornell Siem Reap class page, and the travel site Gezgincift puts 11,000 semi-carved figures on the outer walls alone. Wikivoyage adds that the Bayon has more than 1 km of bas-reliefs. What sets it apart is who appears.

Siem Reap.de points out that the reliefs record ordinary Khmer people at work and at market, not only the king and his army. That matters because written records of the Khmer Empire come mostly from outsiders such as Chinese envoys, so these carvings are one of the few home-grown accounts of daily life. For the park's other great carved walls, see the Angkor Wat guide.

The Ticket You Need

Foreign visitors need an Angkor Pass, and it is checked at almost all sites including the Bayon (Wikivoyage). The official Angkor Enterprise site sells the 1-day pass for US$37, the 3-day pass for US$62 and the 7-day pass for US$72. The 1-day pass expires in 1 day, the 3-day pass expires in 7 days, so its three visit days must fall inside one week, and the 7-day pass expires in 30 days.

Park entry runs from 5:00 AM to 6:30 PM on all three passes, and the pass covers more than 50 temples. Children under 12 enter free with their passport. You can buy the pass online at the official site or in its app, or at the ticket office, and passes can be paid by credit card, US dollars or riel, though Wikivoyage notes the riel rate is unfavourable.

For the full rules and where to buy, see the guide to Angkor Wat tickets.

The Best Light and How Long to Stay

Wikivoyage says the stretch most people prefer at the Bayon runs from about 10:00 to about 16:00. Nearby Angkor Wat photographs best around 13:00 to 14:00 by the same source. No single figure is published for time at the Bayon.

The tours below that include it run from 7 hours up to 3 days across the Angkor complex, and no listing states time per temple. Expect the Bayon to be one stop of several on any itinerary, not the whole morning.

Tours That Stop Here

The tours below list the Bayon among their stops. The table lists the catalog price in US dollars and the duration of each, since per-temple minutes are not stated by any listing. None of these prices includes the Angkor Pass, and each tour's own page gives the stated total with the pass where the listing provides one, such as $52 for the $15 small-group sunrise or $76 for the $39 Vespa or tuk-tuk sunrise.

Which Tour Suits Which Traveller

On a one-day budget, the $14 Angkor Wat Full-Day Tour with Sunset is the cheapest guided day that includes the Bayon, running 9 hours from about 9:10 AM pickup through Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm and a Phnom Bakheng sunset, with the $37 pass extra for a stated $51 total. Cyclists get the Bayon two ways: the 30 km Angkor Temples Bike Tour at $33 with a 7:15 AM pickup, and the Angkor Sunrise Cycling Tour at $69, which pairs the Angkor Wat sunrise with a 15 to 25 km ride past Ta Prohm to the Bayon. For two days, the $34 Angkor Wat 2-Day Tour puts the Bayon on day one and the Grand Circuit temples on day two, and its listing does not say which pass the two days need, so plan for the $62 3-day pass as the safe choice.

Dress code applies at the Bayon as across Angkor: long trousers or a long skirt with covered shoulders, and Wikivoyage notes a scarf over bare shoulders is not accepted.

Heat, Stairs and the Practical Warnings

The Bayon is climbed in tiers, and the upper terrace is exposed to the sun. Angkor sits in a hot tropical climate and the park day runs 5:00 AM to 6:30 PM, and the tours here that start at dawn do it to catch Angkor Wat at sunrise and beat the worst heat. Carry water.

Age limits apply on some tours: the $19 highlights tour does not take children under 8 and the $15 small-group sunrise excludes under 4s.

Best Light and Crowds

Wikivoyage says 10:00 to about 16:00 is the stretch most people prefer at the Bayon. Siem Reap.de names morning or early afternoon as good light and warns of crowds at peak times, so start inside the galleries and climb last. For more on light across the park, see the page on the Angkor Wat sunrise.