Angkor Thom: Inside Cambodia's Ancient City of a Million People

Most travelers who visit the Angkor Archaeological Park spend the majority of their time at Angkor Wat — and many leave without properly exploring Angkor Thom, the ancient walled city that surrounds it. That is a profound mistake. Angkor Thom was not a temple. It was a functioning capital city of over one million people at a time when medieval London held perhaps 50,000 — a metropolis of waterways, palaces, markets, and administrative districts enclosed within nine kilometers of stone wall. Understanding Angkor requires understanding both of its centerpieces: the spiritual monument and the living city.

History: The City Jayavarman VII Built

Angkor Thom was constructed in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, the most ambitious builder in Khmer history. After the Cham people of present-day Vietnam sacked and burned the previous Khmer capital in 1177 CE, Jayavarman VII drove out the invaders, unified the empire, and immediately commissioned a new capital on an unprecedented scale. Angkor Thom — meaning "Great City" in Khmer — covers nine square kilometers and was enclosed by an eight-meter-high laterite wall surrounded by a moat 100 meters wide. At its peak in the 13th century, the city supported an estimated 700,000 to 1,000,000 inhabitants, with the surrounding agricultural region pushing total population higher. It was, by the standards of its era, one of the largest cities on Earth.

The city was accessed through five monumental gates, each standing 23 meters high and decorated with carved faces on all four sides — serene, enormous representations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (or, according to some scholars, idealized portraits of Jayavarman VII himself). The approach to each gate crosses the moat via a stone causeway flanked by 54 gods on one side and 54 demons on the other, each pulling the body of the mythological serpent Vasuki — a representation of the Hindu myth of the churning of the cosmic ocean that gives rise to the nectar of immortality.

The Bayon: 216 Faces at the Center of the World

At the precise center of Angkor Thom stands the Bayon, one of the most extraordinary structures in human architectural history. Built as the state temple of Jayavarman VII, the Bayon rises through three levels to a central tower, with 54 smaller towers radiating outward — each carved on all four faces with the same serene, slightly smiling countenance. In total, scholars have counted 216 individual faces on the Bayon's towers. Walking through it, you are watched from every direction simultaneously, from above, from the sides, from shadows — it is an experience unlike any other temple in the world.

The lower galleries of the Bayon are lined with more than 1.2 kilometers of bas-relief carvings. Unlike Angkor Wat's mythological reliefs, the Bayon's carvings depict real life: Khmer soldiers marching to battle the Cham, naval warfare on the Tonle Sap lake with crocodiles visible beneath the warships, markets where merchants sell fish and pigs, cockfighting, circus acrobats, women giving birth, and ordinary families cooking and eating. These are among the finest documentary records of daily life in medieval Southeast Asia — carved in stone seven centuries before photography.

Baphuon: The Mountain Temple and Its Hidden Buddha

Northwest of the Bayon stands the Baphuon, a pyramid-temple built in the 11th century — predating Angkor Thom itself — and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. It rises on three levels to a central tower 43 meters high and was described by a 13th-century Chinese envoy as a "Tower of Bronze" so magnificent it exceeded description. The Baphuon was closed for a decades-long UNESCO restoration project (the most complex archaeological puzzle of the 20th century — 300,000 stones were catalogued and disassembled before the Khmer Rouge destroyed the documentation) and only reopened to visitors in 2011. The remarkable surprise at the Baphuon: on the western side of the second level, 15th-century Buddhists dismantled much of the temple's exterior galleries and used the stones to construct an immense reclining Buddha 70 meters long — the world's largest reclining Buddha built from recycled temple stone, recognizable once you know what you are seeing.

Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King

Stretching 350 meters along the eastern edge of the royal palace compound is the Terrace of the Elephants, a ceremonial platform used by the Khmer king to review his army and watch public performances. Its facade is carved with life-size elephants in procession, their trunks curling to pick lotuses, along with garuda figures, five-headed horses, and lions. The scale is designed to be read from a standing position at ground level — and at that eye level, the effect is cinematic. Adjacent stands the Terrace of the Leper King, a smaller platform whose walls are carved with seven tiers of gods, goddesses, and nagas in dense relief — the quality of carving here is among the finest on the entire Angkor site.

Phimeanakas: The Royal Palace Compound

Phimeanakas is a late 10th-century Khmer Hindu temple that formed part of the royal palace compound at the center of Angkor Thom. According to Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan, who lived in Angkor in 1296 and left the only eyewitness account of the city at its peak, the king was required to sleep each night in Phimeanakas's golden tower with the spirit of a female serpent (naga) who appeared in human form — if the king failed to make this nightly visit, disaster would befall the kingdom. The palace itself is long gone — built of perishable wood and organic materials — but Phimeanakas's stone pyramid remains, surrounded by the earthen foundations of what was once an enormous royal residence.

Practical Visitor Guide

Tickets: Angkor Thom is covered by the standard Angkor Archaeological Park pass — $37 for one day, $62 for three days (non-consecutive within 10 days), $72 for seven days (non-consecutive within 30 days). Purchased at the official ticket center; photographed for your pass on-site. Getting there: Hire a tuk-tuk from Siem Reap for a full day at $15–20, which covers Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat comfortably. Arrange the driver directly with your guesthouse or at the tuk-tuk stand near Pub Street. Best time: Arrive at the South Gate when the park opens at 7:00 AM — the Bayon in morning light with minimal crowds is an experience without equal. By 10 AM, tour buses arrive in volume. Dress code: Covered knees and shoulders are required to enter active temple spaces; light cotton clothing dries quickly. Essentials: Bring at least two liters of water and sunscreen — the terraces and approach causeways are fully exposed. A licensed guide ($25–40 for a half day) adds profound context that transforms the carvings from beautiful imagery into legible history.