The sun setting over the Cambodian countryside from the summit of Phnom Bakheng.

© Joshua Davenport/Shutterstock

Phnom Bakheng

Temples of Angkor


Located around 400m south of Angkor Thom, the main attraction at Phnom Bakheng is the sunset view over Angkor Wat. For many years, the whole affair turned into a circus, with crowds of tourists ascending the slopes of the hill and jockeying for space. Numbers are now restricted to just 300 visitors at any one time, so get here early (4pm) to guarantee a sunset spot. The temple, built by Yasovarman I (r 889–910), has five tiers, with seven levels.

Phnom Bakheng lays claim to being home to the first of the temple-mountains built in the vicinity of Angkor. Yasovarman I chose Phnom Bakheng over the Roluos area, where the earlier capital (and temple-mountains) had been located.

At the base are – or were – 44 towers. Each of the five tiers had 12 towers. The summit of the temple has four towers at the cardinal points of the compass as well as a central sanctuary. All of these numbers are of symbolic significance. The seven levels represent the seven Hindu heavens, while the total number of towers, excluding the central sanctuary, is 108, a particularly auspicious number and one that correlates to the lunar calendar.

Some prefer to visit in the early morning, when it’s cool (and crowds are light), to climb the hill. That said, the sunset over the Western Baray is very impressive from here. Allow about two hours for the sunset experience.

To get a decent picture of Angkor Wat in the warm glow of the late-afternoon sun from the summit of Phnom Bakheng, you will need at least a 300mm lens, as the temple is 1.3km away.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Temples of Angkor attractions

1. Baksei Chamkrong

0.18 MILES

Located southwest of the south gate of Angkor Thom, Baksei Chamkrong is one of the few brick edifices in the immediate vicinity of Angkor. A well…

2. Angkor Thom South Gate

0.36 MILES

The south gate of Angkor Thom is most popular with visitors, as it has been fully restored and many of the heads (mostly copies) remain in place. The gate…

3. Run Ta Dev

0.79 MILES

Head down below the walls in the southwest corner of Angkor Thom to see the water outlet of Run Ta Dev. In its heyday this once powerful city was criss…

4. Prasat Chrung

0.82 MILES

Prasat Chrung, one of four identical temples marking the corners of the Angkor Thom, rarely sees a soul, making for an atmospheric place to seek solitude…

5. Battle of Lanka

0.93 MILES

The northern half of the west gallery shows scenes from the Ramayana. In the Battle of Lanka, Rama (on the shoulders of Hanuman), along with his army of…

6. Battle of the Gods & the Demons

0.93 MILES

The western section of the north gallery depicts the battle between the 21 gods of the Brahmanic pantheon and various demons. The gods are featured with…

7. Battle of Kurukshetra

0.98 MILES

The southern portion of the west gallery depicts a battle scene from the Hindu Mahabharata epic, in which the Kauravas (coming from the north) and the…

8. Krishna & the Demon King

0.98 MILES

The eastern section of the north gallery shows Vishnu incarnated as Krishna riding a garuda. He confronts a burning walled city, the residence of Bana,…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "cambodia/temples-of-angkor/attractions/phnom-bakheng/a/poi-sig/500574/1002179",
      "destination": "Temples-of-Angkor",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Cambodia",
      "region": "Temples-of-Angkor",
      "position": "superzone"
    }