Terrace of the Leper King

LEPER KING TERRACE

Reign
Period
Religion
Highlights

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Jayavarman 7th
1181 - 1220
Buddhist
1. Bas relief carvings
2. The double layer walls

The name Terrace of the Leper King is taken from the naked statue on the top of the terrace. No one actually knows if the statue is really of a king instead of Yama, the god of the underworld.

Some say that King Jayavarman 7th was a leper, which was why he built so many hospitals in the area.

This theory, however, has no proof whatsoever. The more popular explanation is that the terrace's name came from the fact that the stone statue has started to age and discolor, causing that blotchiness that is identified with leprosy.

The outer wall of the terrace

But then, what was terrace called when the statue was still spotless? Makes you wonder.

The two walls at the terrace

The Terrace of the Leper King is located on the north side of the Elephant terrace. It’s a ‘smaller’ terrace, but it’s unique that there’s an ‘alley’ filled with intricate carvings, from top to bottom. Plus, there are more carvings on the outer side.

The double walls, you can see the bas relief inside and outside

This ‘alley’ is actually the work of the conservators. When they say that the wall of the Terrace was collapsing, they found that there’s another wall before the outermost wall. So they made this ‘alley’ to allow the visitors to see the first wall.

Based on this double wall condition, researchers say that it looks like they old builders extended the terrace without destroying the first wall. This was why the carvings on the old wall were left intact, because they just added more stones to the existing terrace.

There is an abundant amount of bas relief here. They are not fine delicate work like at Banteay Srei, but they are carved deep into the stone, resembling more like statues instead of just reliefs.

Inside the zigzag alley you can see multiple headed serpents, garudas, giants, gods and women carvings.

Carvings everywhere

Leper King Terrace - Women carvings

Carvings of women and gods

Going inside the alley on a hot day is a relief. The alley is somewhat cool in temperature because you’ll be shaded from the blazing sun while you’re in there.

P.S. The statue that is currently in on the terrace is actually a copy. The original is stored at the Phnom Penh museum.

The Leper King, or Yama?

Where would you like to go next?

Go to the next Angkor Thom temple: Prasat Suor Prat.

Return from Terrace of the Leper King to Angkor Thom temples, for a list of other sites that you can easily visit.

Return from Terrace of the Leper King to Holiday in Angkor Wat (homepage)