Jayavarman VII’s Faces of Stone

If you have visited the temples of Angkor, you probably still remember the impressive face towers of Bayon temple. These enigmatic and slightly smiling faces carved in sandstone are the signature of the king Jayavarman VII. This design is very important in Angkorian architecture and unique among all archaeological sites of South East Asia.

To this day, the meaning of these faces is still a mystery: some authors are connecting these faces to Shiva, Brahma, Avalokiteshvara, Buddha or to the King Jayavarman VII himself.

So how many faces can be found in Cambodia? 300 is probably a good estimate and with Bayon alone counting for 200 of them. These faces can be found on the side of towers of temples in Angkor and beyond, some in very remote areas. If you want to visit all the sites with face towers, it is a long journey that we take you hundreds of kilometers on both sides of Angkor. We found that face towers are the most spectacular and enigmatic in remote temples where they are still surrounded by jungle and hidden away from tourists. In Angkor, the best way to see the face towers is to join us for a day of adventure with e-bikes.

BAYON TEMPLE

Face towers temple by design, Bayon has a unique and imposing architecture. Whether you look at it from far or close from the upper terrace, the faces carved in sandstone are unique and best seen early morning or the evening at the golden hour.

Bayon temple is the one with the highest concentration of face towers and is also the top 3 visited temple in Angkor. Many photography opportunities exist from the upper terrace as it is possible to frame the faces with many compositions. It then becomes quite a game of composition for photographers to find new angles and play with the window openings.

GATES OF ANGKOR THOM

Angkor Thom is an ancient fortified city of 3 square kilometers with five entrances and surrounded by a moat. It was also the last capital of the Khmer Empire. Each gate has a 20-meter tower with 4 faces and 4 three-headed elephants. All 20 faces are intact but in the last 5 years, some faces have been secured by metallic cables.

TA SOM TEMPLE

Ta Som is a small temple located just east of the Preah Khan Baray (Jayatataka) with two face towers. The East gopura is photogenic although the strangler fig does not grow directly around the faces. 50 years ago when the number of tourists were very low, the western gopura was one of the most famous spots in Angkor with a tree growing around one face. Unfortunately, the tree was cleared up in the 60s.

60 years later, the tree of the eastern gopura (picture below) had the same story; the tree was also cut.

BANTEAY KDEI TEMPLE

A few hundred meters from Ta Prohm lies the less-visited temple of Banteay Kdei (the citadel of chambers) with four entrances. Most visitors are familiar with the eastern and western ones.

TA PROHM TEMPLE

Built in the 12th century by Jayavarman VII and dedicated to his mother, Ta Prohm is one of the most famous temples along with Angkor Wat and Bayon. Ta Prohm has four entrances with tower faces. The eastern entrance, under restoration in July 2026, has 4 brand new faces, as the original faces were nowhere to be found. The south gate, also under restoration, has 2 original faces and 2 new ones. The western gate is intact, but the most interesting one is the less-visited northern entrance. At the end of 2017, a side of the tower collapsed as a tree holding the structure went down because of a landslide. The gate was partially restored in June 2018.

BEYOND ANGKOR

BANTEAY CHHMAR TEMPLE

Banteay Chhmar is a large temple complex in Banteay Meanchey Province, nearby the Thai border. Research has shown that Banteay Chhmar originally had 28 face towers, but because of its remote location, it was not saved from the jungle like Bayon at the beginning of the 20th century. Many structures collapsed in the last 100 years. Its proximity to Thailand also made it a target for looting. Today, some beautiful face towers remain in the temple itself and in its satellite temples. To read more about Banteay Chhmar please have a look at our blogpost.

PREAH KHAN KOMPONG SVAY

Preah Khan is probably one of the most remote Angkorian temples built under the reign of Jayavarman VII. This huge complex has only a small temple with a face tower. To learn more about this temple, please have a look at our blog entitled the enigmatic temple of Preah Khan of Kompong Svay.