Ta Som

About this place

Ta Som is a small, quiet temple at Angkor, wrapped in forest, with trees growing among its stones. Towers of grey sandstone are covered in moss, laterite walls are crumbling, and at the outer eastern gate a fig tree has sent its roots down through the stones to the ground, holding the gate in its grip. The temple was built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII, who dedicated it to his father Dharanindravarman II, ruler of the Khmer Empire from 1150 to 1160. It has a single shrine on one level, ringed by a moat and three walls. Like Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, it was left largely unrestored; in 1998 the World Monuments Fund began work to stabilise it. You enter through the cross-shaped gateways, walk among the courtyards and two small libraries, see the carvings on the walls, then leave by the east gate to see the fig tree above it. It is quieter than the big temples, so it suits anyone who wants some calm. The temple is about 7.6 km in a straight line northeast of Angkor Wat, on the Grand Circuit. Temples are sacred places, so cover your shoulders and knees, and do not climb on carved stone.