R. Doug Wicker — Author

To say that Ta Prohm is impressive is quite the understatement. The photographic opportunities here are numerous, and the site is not too difficult to navigate. Ursula and I are in our 70s and we had no difficulty. Indeed, it was much easier to walk than Angkor Wat (part one of my three-part Angkor Wat series starts here: Cambodia — Predawn Arrival to Angkor Wat). By the way, the following picture depicts a real anachronistic conundrum. I’ll give you a closeup of what I mean on this week’s Fun Photo Friday, but take a look at this and see if you can spot it:

As I mentioned in Monday’s article, portions of Ta Prohm are encased in spung trees:

Where spung trees are not, moss and lichen frequently are. And that vivid green makes for some fun contrast with the gray stones:

And while gray sandstone is used throughout Ta Prohm, you’ll occasionally run across some red sandstone as well:

As stunning as some of today’s images are, they aren’t even among my favorites. You’ll see those on this week’s Fun Photo Friday, as well as a closeup image that may astound you. Until then, here’s a photo gallery/slide show to hold you over:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

The next temple on our tour this Thursday, 6 November 2025, was the Buddhist temple of Ta Prohm. If Ta Prohm looks cinematically familiar, here’s a clue as to why: it also goes by two other names — Tomb Raider Temple and Angelina Jolie Temple. Yes, that means this was indeed a location for the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. And looking at the eerie shot above, it’s easy to see why the location was chosen. Portions of the temple is overrun with spung trees (Tetrameles nudiflora). These massive trees can grow to 145 feet/45 meters in height and spread out some 33 feet/10 meters at the base.

All in all, it gives off a creepy (pun intended) vibe as you can see in this shot:

The temple itself is as intriguing as it is spooky, and it takes a short while to explore it.

For one thing, this is a pretty popular location that does draw a crowd:

But it is not so crowded that you won’t be able to get some people-free photos, as long as you’re willing to wait a few moments:

Ta Prohm Temple was completed in 1186, which makes it 840 years old this year, but the site was surrendered to the jungle at the end of the Khmer Empire in the early 15th century. In the early 20th century, when the decision was made to begin restoring the temples of Angkor, Ta Prohm was left mostly alone by the French School of the Far East (EFEO — the organization charged with preserving and restoring Angkor since 1907) because it was, “one of the most imposing [temples] and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it.”

The walls of Ta Prohm are covered in bas-relief:

Stepping inside you’ll find an arched colonnade leading to a headless statue of Buddha:

On Wednesday I’ll be taking you back to the exterior of this impressive temple. Until then, here’s a short photo gallery/slide show:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)