Ta Prohm: the Tomb Raider Temple

Jayavarman VII and His Mother

Jayavarman VII founded Ta Prohm as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and centre of learning, completed in 1186, during a reign that ran from 1181 to 1218. The same king built Preah Khan, the Bayon and Neak Pean, along with 102 hospitals and 121 rest houses across his empire. The temple was originally called Rajavihara, the Royal Monastery. The name Ta Prohm means ancestor Brahma.

The temple honours the king's mother. Its main image, the Prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom, was modelled on her. Ta Prohm lies inside the Angkor area inscribed by UNESCO in 1992.

The Size and the People

Ta Prohm is big. Its outer wall measures 1,000 by 650 m and encloses about 650,000 sq m. Wooden walkways run through the site while large unstable sections stay cordoned off.

The foundation stele records more than 12,500 residents inside the complex, including 18 high priests and 615 dancers, plus about 80,000 people in the surrounding villages who supported it. The Wikipedia article on Angkor gives a different figure, 12,640 people serving the complex. Either way, this was a working city of religion, dance and study, not a quiet shrine.

What the Film Did to the Name

Ta Prohm is now nicknamed the Tomb Raider temple because Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) was filmed here. The film made the tree-covered ruins known to people who had never heard of Jayavarman VII. Ta Prohm is on the itinerary of nearly every tour compared here, from the $15 small-group sunrise day to the $75 private SUV morning, alongside Angkor Wat itself.

Five Walls, One Line

The temple has five rectangular enclosure walls around a central sanctuary and faces east. Today you can enter only from the east or the west, so most people walk one way through the courtyards and exit the other side. The outer wall measures 1,000 by 650 m and encloses about 650,000 sq m. The galleries are single level, though large unstable sections are cordoned off and wooden walkways carry you through the site.

The stone is sandstone and laterite, built without mortar. Face towers were added to the gopuras in the 13th century and some have collapsed.

Where the Famous Trees Stand

Agate Travel puts the Crocodile Tree in the easternmost gopura, so look up as you enter from the east. Agate Travel names the Tomb Raider tree as the most photographed one. Agate Travel also notes that climbing on damaged galleries is restricted, so shoot from the path.

The temple carvings reward a slower pace too. Lucas Varro points to a Great Departure pediment that survived the iconoclasm under Jayavarman VIII, and a well-preserved face tower on the outer west gopura, alongside devatas and medallions. Agate Travel is a secondary source for the tree names, so treat the labels as guide tradition rather than official signage.

Combine It With Banteay Kdei

From the east gopura a 600 m path leads to Banteay Kdei, a mid-12th to early 13th century temple on the same side of the Small Circuit. Walking it after Ta Prohm adds a second temple to the morning without a long drive. Most guided days cover the pair anyway.

The Angkor Wat Small-Group Sunrise Tour visits Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei after the sunrise, and the Angkor Wat Private Tuk-Tuk Tour includes both on its private route. If you want Ta Prohm as the headline stop, the Private Angkor Wat Ta Prohm Angkor Thom Tour runs 4 to 5 hours across just those three sites.

Which Trees They Are

Sources disagree on the species, and it is worth knowing both names before a guide tells you only one. The giant trees crushing the galleries are either silk-cotton (Ceiba pentandra) or thitpok (Tetrameles nudiflora). The smaller trees are either strangler figs or gold apple. The practical effect is the same: roots pour down walls like melted wax, and trunks sit on top of the galleries.

This is the look the Tomb Raider film used, and it is what separates Ta Prohm from tidier monuments such as the Bayon temple.

Trees and Cordoned-Off Sections

The trees are part of the visit, and they sit among ruins that are not all safe to enter. Large unstable sections are cordoned off and you follow wooden walkways through the site rather than walking freely.

The Restoration by India and APSARA

Conservation at Ta Prohm is run as a partnership between the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA National Authority, the Cambodian body that manages Angkor. One result is the Hall of Dancers, where the renovation work was completed in November 2022.

The Crocodile Tree and the Tomb Raider Tree

Two names matter for photos. The Crocodile Tree stands in the easternmost gopura, so it is one of the first things you see entering from the east. Agate Travel calls the Tomb Raider tree the most photographed one.

Both names come from Agate Travel rather than official signage, and the species labels on the big trees are disputed anyway. The large trees are either silk-cotton or thitpok, and the smaller ones either strangler fig or gold apple. Climbing on damaged galleries is restricted, so keep to the wooden walkways and the marked path.

Crowds and the Side Galleries

The park is open from 5:00 AM to 6:30 PM on all Angkor passes, per the official Angkor Enterprise site. Wikivoyage notes that most visitors stick to a central route through Ta Prohm, so the sides of the complex can be surprisingly quiet. Heading out to the side galleries is the way around the crowds.

Banteay Kdei is reached from Ta Prohm's east gopura by a 600 m path, so you can walk on from the east side straight to Banteay Kdei.

Tours That Stop Here

Nearly every tour in the comparison lists Ta Prohm on its itinerary, from group sunrise days to private SUV mornings and bike tours. The one honest caveat repeats for all of them: the Angkor Pass is in no tour price. The one-day pass costs US$37 on the official Angkor Enterprise site, and the table shows what each tour costs with it where a total is given.

No tour in the comparison publishes how long it spends inside Ta Prohm, so that column says so rather than guessing.

The Pass You Need

Ta Prohm sits inside the Angkor Temples Park, so the same pass covers it as covers every other temple. Angkor Enterprise sells the 1-day pass for US$37, the 3-day pass for US$62 and the 7-day pass for US$72. The official site lists the 3-day pass as expiring in 7 days and the 7-day pass in 30 days.

You can buy online at the official ticket site, and children under 12 enter free with their passport. Full buying details, including the evening pre-entry trick, are on the Angkor Wat tickets page, and the map page shows where Ta Prohm sits on the Small Circuit.

Distance and Travel Time

Ta Prohm lies about 1 km east of Angkor Thom, on the southern edge of the East Baray. Agate Travel gives about 13 km and roughly 30 minutes by tuk-tuk from Siem Reap, and Exotic Voyages says over 12 km. No official source publishes a distance, so allow half an hour from town and you will not be far out. A tuk-tuk for the main temples costs about US$15 a day by Wikivoyage, or about US$25 per day for 3-4 people by Nomadic Matt, so a driver is the simple way in.

A private option that keeps the driving short is the Private Angkor Wat Ta Prohm Angkor Thom Tour, an SUV day with pickup around 4:45 AM.

How Long to Allow and When to Come

Agate Travel says to allow at least two hours at Ta Prohm. That fits the one-way walk from the east gopura to the west exit with time for the inner courts and the famous trees. The park opens from 5:00 AM and closes at 6:30 PM on all Angkor passes, and early morning stays coolest. Most visitors stick to a central route, so the sides of the complex can be surprisingly quiet (Wikivoyage).

On a guided day the temple is one stop among several. The Angkor Wat Highlights Sunrise Tour reaches Ta Prohm after the sunrise, and the Angkor Wat Full-Day Tour with Sunset puts it after lunch on a 9-hour day that starts with a pickup around 9:10 AM.

The Pass You Need, Corrected

Ta Prohm needs the standard Angkor Pass. The official Angkor Enterprise site sells the 1-day pass for US$37, the 3-day for US$62 and the 7-day for US$72. Agate Travel still prints a cost of about $20, which conflicts with the official US$37, so budget $37 for a single day.

The pass covers more than 50 temples across the park, so it also opens Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Angkor Thom on the same ticket. Children under 12 enter free with their passport (Wikivoyage). Every tour in the Angkor Wat tours comparison leaves the pass out of the listed price, so add the pass to the listed price before you compare.