“Wherever you stand in the Bayon, a giant stone face is watching you - around 200 of them, faintly smiling, carved across the towers by Jayavarman VII around 1200.”
About Bayon
Jayavarman VII, the great Buddhist builder-king, raised the Bayon as the state temple at the centre of his new capital, Angkor Thom, late in the twelfth century. Later rulers altered it as the empire shifted between Buddhism and Hinduism, leaving a complex, much-modified structure. The serene faces are widely interpreted as a fusion of the king and Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.
Overview The Bayon stands at the exact centre of Angkor Thom, the walled capital, and is instantly known for the roughly two hundred enormous, faintly smiling stone faces carved on its towers, gazing out in every direction. Built around 1200 by the Buddhist king Jayavarman VII, it is a dense, multi-level temple whose faces are often read as the king himself merged with the bodhisattva of compassion.
Built around 1200 by the Buddhist king Jayavarman VII, it is a dense, multi-level temple whose faces are often read as the king himself merged with the bodhisattva of compassion.
A Forest of Faces There is no clear vantage from which to grasp the whole; you wander among towers and the faces appear at every turn, in profile, three-quarter, head-on. Lower galleries carry lively bas-reliefs of ordinary Khmer life, battles and markets, rather than only gods and kings.
The Experience
The Bayon is a maze rather than a single facade; you climb between narrow towers and the faces loom up unexpectedly, lit differently through the day. The lower-gallery reliefs are a highlight many rush past, showing cooking, fishing and naval battles in vivid detail. Early morning or late afternoon light brings the faces most dramatically to life.
Why It Matters
The Bayon is the architectural heart of Angkor Thom and the defining image of Jayavarman VII's Buddhist empire, famous worldwide for its enigmatic face-towers and its unusually human bas-reliefs of everyday Khmer life.
Why Visit
Nowhere else are you surrounded by monumental carved faces like this, and the everyday-life reliefs are unique at Angkor. Come early or late for raking light, and take time in the lower galleries most visitors skip.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Wander slowly between the towers; the faces reveal themselves from constantly shifting angles.
- 2
Study the lower-gallery bas-reliefs of markets and battles, which many visitors overlook.
- 3
Visit in early morning or late afternoon for the most dramatic light on the faces.
- 4
It sits at the centre of Angkor Thom, so combine it with the South Gate and Baphuon.
