Bayon is a temple in the ancient Khmer city of Angkor Thom. It was the state temple of Jayavarman VII and his immediate successors. The Bayon is one of the most enigmatic structures in the world, and its design has a close symbolic relationship with the architecture of Angkor Thom itself.

Bayon is one of the many temples in Angkor that is constructed to represent Mount Meru, the center of the Hindu universe. But what makes Bayon stand out over the other temples is that it uses a mass of towers carved with stone faces to create this illusion of a stone mountain. From far away, Bayon does look like a mountain. But as you come nearer to it, the many different towers – 49 in total originally, now only 37 left – start to take shape right before your eyes. Faces, serene gazes, stare down at you. You move slightly, and more faces appear. Like a child searching for Wally, your eye searches the mountain, looking for more stone faces, and finding them. This is the uniqueness of Bayon that makes it one of the most popular ruins at Angkor.

Bayon is the most complex temple in Angkor. And unlike others, it does not have a surrounding wall, making it possible for you can enter it from practically any direction. This makes it the most difficult ruin to explore in any given order. Although it is customary to approach the Bayon from the eastern causeway, and I have done that many a time, Bayon’s maze-like quality, heaps of fallen stones and narrow passages, quickly confuse me. That each time, I would simply give up and surrender the desire to explore it systematically. I know once I’ve peeled away the confusion, Bayon would have lost its magic. I can’t let that happen. It’s the Bayon magic that kept me coming back again and again.

Exploring the Bayon

To make sense of everything that is at Bayon, it is necessary to separate what we can expect to see here into two groups. Group One is the bas-reliefs on the downstairs galleries. Group Two are the shrines with face towers on the terraces of the upstairs terraces.

I am now going to take you on a tour of Bayon. Feel free to print this out when you explore the monument. The route I am taking you is the one I would recommend to most first-time visitors to Bayon. It provides a good introduction to all the best carvings and sights, without overwhelming you with too much at one go. Use this explanation alongside the Google Map for Exploring the Bayon. I have mapped out and numbered the route you should take. Approach Bayon from the eastern causeway. Visit Delta Airlines Flights to get high discount on flight booking with vacation packages to Bayon.

In this section, we see bas reliefs in three rows – top, middle, bottom. The carvings show soldiers of the Khmer army marching, from left to right. They carry spears. They wear a loincloth and thick cord looped across their chest.

On the lower row, you see soldiers with beards and patterned tunics. I read that they are supposed to be Chinese soldiers. Their commander ride on elephants. Their rank is signified by the number of parasols that shed them. Then there’s also the cavalry – soldiers on horses – riding without saddles. Musicians appear, including one beating a gong. On the upper row, you see princesses being carried in palanquins. There are also women and children in the scene, and ox-carts exactly like those you’d see in Siem Reap today. Look for the scenes of a man blowing at the cooking fire, two men cutting up a deer, a woman handing a turtle or tortoise to another man.

There’s a door interrupting the carvings. Don’t go in. From outside the door, you can see the towers of Bayon. Walk past to continue with the gallery.

Past the door, the carvings are shown of scenes moving from right to left. In other words, if you stand back from the door, it appears as though the scenes emerge and are moving away from the door.

Look for these. More carvings of soldiers and musicians. Goods carried on ox-carts. A buffalo tied to a pole. Birds on top of people’s houses. Eventually, you reach the end of the gallery. There is a corner pavilion (3) on the southeast of the Bayon.

At the corner pavilion

The carvings here are not complete. There’s a scene of a temple with three towers. It could be Angkor Wat, which was built earlier than the Bayon. Much of this section was never completed. Get Delta Flights for cheap flight fares with special offers on vacation packages.

This section has some of the best carvings at Bayon. It shows a war fought by the Khmers against the Chams (an ancient people that came from southern Vietnam; their descendants still live in Cambodia today and are mostly Muslims). It could be a depiction of the war that happened in 1177 when the Chams conquered Angkor, or 1181 when Jayavarman VII vanquished the Chams.