East Mebon

East Mebon was consecrated in 953 in the middle of the East Baray, a reservoir some seven kilometres long, so that it could only be reached by boat; the baray is long dry and the temple now stands in farmland, which makes its landing stages and stepped terraces read oddly until you know what they were for. Five brick towers rise on a platform, with monolithic stone elephants standing at the corners of the two lower terraces, well preserved and among the more memorable free-standing sculptures at Angkor. Brick towers retain holes where a stucco coating was keyed, and lintels over the doorways are finely carved. It is a short visit and normally combined with Pre Rup next door.

What you actually see

• Corner elephants - monolithic stone elephants on the terrace corners.
• Five brick towers - the shrines on the upper platform.
• Carved lintels - detailed doorway carving on the towers.
• The dry baray - farmland where the reservoir once stood.

When to go

November to March for the cool dry season. Morning light is good on the elephants. The temple is small and quiet compared with its neighbours and rarely crowded for long.

Honest expectations

The visit is short, half an hour or so. Understanding the temple depends on knowing it was an island, which nothing on site makes obvious. Steps are steep. Brick surfaces are eroded and the stucco is entirely gone.

Nearby

Pre Rup lies south; Ta Som is north.