Ta Nei

Ta Nei is a modest Buddhist temple of the late twelfth century, built by Jayavarman VII, standing in forest away from any road with a track leading to it that discourages coach traffic entirely. It is small, partly collapsed, covered in moss and lichen, with trees growing through the galleries and carved lintels lying where they fell, and the silence is the point: this is what the larger temples felt like before mass visitation. Some consolidation work has been done and a research programme has used it for conservation training. Reaching it means walking or cycling in from Ta Keo or from the West Baray side, ten to twenty minutes on a dirt track through woodland.

What you actually see

• Mossy collapsed galleries - stone under lichen with trees through it.
• Fallen lintels - carved blocks lying where they came down.
• Forest silence - a temple with no road and usually no other visitors.
• The walk in - a dirt track through woodland from Ta Keo.

When to go

November to March; the track is muddy in the rains. Any time of day is quiet. Morning light through the forest suits the stone.

Honest expectations

There is no vehicle access, so it means walking or cycling in. The temple is small and heavily ruined with unstable sections. Mosquitoes in the forest are a nuisance. There are no facilities and no vendors, which is both the appeal and the inconvenience.

Nearby

Ta Keo lies south; the East Baray is east.