Prasat Ta Tuot

Prasat Ta Tuot

ប្រាសាទតាទួត

Province

Siem Reap

Period

Angkor period (802–1431 CE)

Condition

Partial

Access

Easy access

Visited

19 October 2024

Coordinates

13.44876, 103.86216

How to find it

Inside Angkor Thom, across the road from the Terrace of the Leper King and a short walk east into the trees. It is inside the Angkor park, so you need an Angkor pass.

The stair is steep and slippery when wet. Take it slowly.

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Field notes

Prasat Ta Tuot is one of the five temples of the Preah Pithu group, in the woods just east of the Terrace of the Leper King inside Angkor Thom. Archaeologists know it as Preah Pithu X. It is a stepped pyramid with a small sanctuary on top, reached by a single steep stair.

The other Preah Pithu temples are Hindu. Ta Tuot is Buddhist, and probably the latest of the group, from the 12th or 13th century. Its sanctuary walls are carved with row upon row of seated Buddhas, and the doorways hold panels of the Buddha between attendants. It was never quite finished.

Stone elephants stand in the grass around it. Even with the crowds at the Bayon a few minutes away, it is usually quiet here.

Angkor ThomPreah PithuBuddhistpyramid

Photographs

A stepped sandstone pyramid with a steep central stair rising to a small sanctuary at the top, tall trees behind and grass in front — A steep stair climbs the tiers of the pyramid to the sanctuary at the top.

Two weathered stone elephants standing in the grass among trees, one close and one further off on its pedestal — Stone elephants stand guard in the grass around the temple.

Looking up at a stone elephant on a tall pedestal, its trunk broken off, a carved fragment resting against its front legs — One of the elephants, its trunk broken off, on its pedestal.

Mossy sandstone steps rising steeply between two walls to the sanctuary tower at the top, framed by leaves — The stair is steep, and green with moss in the rainy season.

Looking through a line of stone doorways into the sanctuary, a row of seated Buddhas carved above the inner door and broken carvings on a stand — Doorway after doorway leads to the sanctuary. Above the inner door, a row of seated Buddhas.

A carved seated Buddha in meditation inside an arched niche on a sandstone wall, the face worn but calm — A seated Buddha in meditation. Ta Tuot is the one Buddhist temple in the Preah Pithu group.

Inside the sanctuary, rows of small seated Buddhas carved along the walls, broken carvings stacked on a stone stand in the centre — Inside the sanctuary the walls carry rows of seated Buddhas, one above another.

A 360-degree photograph looking straight up inside the sanctuary: tiers of carved seated Buddhas wrapping round on every side, doorways at the four points — Looking straight up inside the sanctuary with a 360 camera. The Buddhas wrap round all four walls.

Broken steps leading up to a stone doorway, a carved panel of a seated Buddha with attendants filling the opening — A doorway filled with a carved panel: the Buddha seated between attendants.

Looking up at the sanctuary tower from the foot of the pyramid, the tiers of stone mossy, trees and white clouds above — The sanctuary from the foot of the pyramid.

A 360-degree photograph bent into a circle: the carved stone tower curling over the top, Buddha reliefs wrapping round — The sanctuary folded into a circle by a 360 camera.

A 360-degree photograph bent into a tiny planet: a figure standing on the top of the temple, stone elephants and trees curving round it — On top of the temple, the forest of Angkor Thom bent into a circle.

How to find it

Field notes

Sources

Photographs