Roluos Group

Roluos was Hariharalaya, the capital before Angkor, and its temples are where the Khmer architectural tradition takes shape. Preah Ko, consecrated in 879, is six brick towers on a low platform, dedicated to the king's ancestors, with carved sandstone lintels and traces of the lime stucco that once covered the brick. Bakong, from 881, is the first temple-mountain built of sandstone, a five-tier pyramid with stone elephants at the corners and a working monastery beside it. Lolei, from 893, stood on an island in a reservoir and is the most ruined of the three, with a modern pagoda in its grounds. Together they show, in fifteen years of building, the invention of the form that Angkor Wat would perfect three centuries later.

The main sights

• Preah Ko - six brick ancestor towers with carved lintels and stucco traces.
• Bakong - the first sandstone temple-mountain, with corner elephants.
• Lolei - the ruined island temple with a working pagoda beside it.
• The origins of the form - the temple-mountain being worked out in stone.

When to go

November to March. The group is quieter than the main park and mornings are best. It is often done on the way to or from Siem Reap rather than as a separate trip.

What to expect

The temples are smaller and plainer than those in the main park and reward some background reading. Lolei is heavily ruined and shares its site with an active pagoda. Brick surfaces are eroded and the stucco is nearly all gone.

Nearby

Siem Reap lies west; the main Angkor park is northwest.