Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei is the temple people remember longest, and it is nothing like the others. Consecrated in 967, it was built not by a king but by a court Brahmin, and it is tiny by Angkor standards, with doorways low enough that adults stoop. What makes it extraordinary is the carving. The hard pink sandstone took detail that softer stone would not hold, and the pediments and lintels are cut so deep and so finely, with dancing figures, monkey guardians, foliage and scenes from Hindu epics, that the surfaces read as sculpture rather than decoration. Because the stone is pink, the whole building changes colour through the day, at its warmest in the first and last hours. It sits away from the main circuit, which used to mean solitude and now means an extra drive.

History

Consecrated on 22 April 967, Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a ruler: it is credited to the courtiers Vishnukumara and Yajnavaraha, counsellors to King Rajendravarman II, and was first dedicated to Shiva under the name Tribhuvanamaheshvara, with a town called Ishvarapura around it. It was enlarged in the 11th century, given in 1119 to the priest Divakarapandita and rededicated to Shiva, and stayed in use at least until 1303. Rediscovered in 1914, it became famous when André Malraux stole four devatas in 1923, which were returned after his arrest; it was cleared the next year and in the 1930s restored by anastylosis, the first major use of the method at Angkor, and the foundation stele found in 1936 showed it to be older than its rich decoration had suggested (Wikipedia, Banteay Srei).

What you'll find

• The pediment carvings - deeply cut mythological scenes above the doorways, the finest at Angkor.
• The guardian figures - monkey and garuda sentinels flanking the sanctuary steps.
• The pink sandstone - the colour shifting from rose to gold across the day.
• The moat and causeway - the small formal approach that frames the temple.

When to go

November to March for dry weather. Go at opening or in the last light for the colour; the middle of the day is both hot and crowded, and the temple is small enough that fifty people fill it.

Things to know

It is genuinely small, and visitors who expect an Angkor Wat in miniature are surprised by how quickly you walk through it. The inner sanctuary is roped off, so the closest carvings are viewed from a short distance. Combining it with the Landmine Museum and Kbal Spean on the same trip makes the drive worthwhile.

Nearby

Kbal Spean's carved riverbed and the Cambodia Landmine Museum are on the same road.

Key facts