Phimeanakas & The Royal Enclosure

Aerial Palace

Phimeanakas is another mountain temple within Angkor Thom gates. This temple, however, is surrounded by its own five-meter high walls. It also has two ponds at the back of the temple that were once used for ritual washings.

The Royal Palace was here in the old days and Phimeanakas was the temple where the King worshipped the gods. 

Compared to Baphuon just next door, this mountain temple is rather small. But Zhou Da Guan, a Chinese ambassador who visited Angkor in the 1300s, described the temple as the Tower of Gold. So back then the temple must have been covered with a golden top.


This Golden Tower is where the King had to sleep with the nine-headed Naga serpent who appeared to him as a woman. He would die if he missed just one night. Well, at least that’s what legend tells us.

As it is with mountain temples, the visit won’t be ‘complete’ unless you climb to the very top. At Phimeanakas, however, the condition of the stairs is terrible. Plus, they're also very steep.


Luckily, there are narrow, wooden stairs with a railing to make the climbing much easier and relatively safer. But still, the stairs are very narrow and the width is just enough for one person. This means there could be a line when you want to climb up the temple since a person can only go one direction at a time: up or down.

When you reach the top of the temple, try walking inside the side hallways. They somehow made it small and cramped, with the roof being so low that a tall person won’t be able to walk comfortably. You can also see the ponds through the many open windows, although huge trees partially block the view.


There are two ponds at this temple and the smaller one is called Srah Srei (Women’s Bath). There are also some carvings of crocodiles and other marine animals on the insides of the ponds. Even though this was the place for ritual washing in the past, today it looks like the pond is used by the public for fishing and swimming.
 

Although the temple itself is small, the large overall area and the enclosing walls will remind you what a great place this must’ve been in the past. With the Terrace of the Leper King and the Elephant Terrace at the front side of Phimeanakas, how could you not?

Where would you like to go next?

Go to the next Angkor Thom temple: The Elephant Terrace.

Return to Angkor Thom temples for a list of other sites that you can easily visit.

Return from Phimeanakas to Holiday in Angkor Wat (homepage)

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