Beng Mealea, the lost temple

An immense twelfth-century temple left almost entirely to the jungle, explored on wooden walkways and by scrambling over fallen blocks.

Area

Far temples

Start from

Siem Reap town

Distance

about 65 km east of town

Time needed

1 day

Best season

All year; wet season for green moss and mist

Difficulty

Moderate

Transport

Car or tuk-tuk (tuk-tuk takes about 1.5–2 hours each way)

Tickets & rules

Separate ticket at the entrance, not included in the Angkor Pass

Why go

If Ta Prohm whetted your appetite, Beng Mealea will feed it. This is a temple on the scale of Angkor Wat that has hardly been restored. Its towers have collapsed into mountains of carved blocks, trees grow out of its galleries, and the courtyards are filled with tumbled stone and moss.

A wooden walkway carries you through part of it, rising over collapsed roofs and dipping into dark corridors. If you go with a local guide, you can also clamber through passages and along the tops of walls, where it feels as though you are the first person to see a carved window in a hundred years.

I came here in the rain, which made everything greener and the stones slick, and spent two hours without wanting to leave. Along the way are villages and rice fields, and the trip can be combined with Koh Ker on a long day.

The story

Beng Mealea was built in the early twelfth century, probably under Suryavarman II, the king who built Angkor Wat. Its layout and style are similar, and some think it was a model or a test for the larger temple. The name means lotus pond, after the water that once surrounded it.

The temple stood at an important junction on an ancient royal road heading east to Preah Khan of Kompong Svay, and it was close to the sandstone quarries of Phnom Kulen. Archaeologists believe it served as a regional centre with its own community.

Unlike the main temples, Beng Mealea was not restored by the French. For decades it lay in a contested area, and the countryside around it was mined during the civil war. Demining teams cleared the site in the 1990s and 2000s. Today it remains mostly as nature has left it, with only the walkways and some stabilisation work added for visitors.

Getting there

By car the trip takes around an hour and a half; by tuk-tuk, closer to two hours. The road is paved. Many drivers combine Beng Mealea with Koh Ker or with Phnom Kulen.

Tickets are sold at a booth on the access road and are not part of the Angkor Pass; check current prices.

A suggested plan

1. 7:30Leave town and drive east past the villages around Damdek.
2. 9:00 – 11:00Explore the temple on the walkways, then with a local guide through the scrambles.
3. 11:30Lunch at the simple restaurants near the entrance.
4. 12:30Continue to Koh Ker, or head back to town via the villages.

Where to stay

Stay in town. If combining with Koh Ker, some travellers sleep at basic guesthouses near Koh Ker.

Good to know

• Local guides at the entrance can show you hidden scrambles for a small fee.
• Wear good shoes; the stones are uneven and often wet.
• Bring a torch for the dark inner corridors.
• Combine with Koh Ker for a full, rewarding day.