Bayon, Siem Reap – Travel and History

Bayon highlights

• Temple: Bayon, Prasat Bayon
• Date: It was built in late 12^th, early 13^th century
• King: Jayavarman VII
• Location: Bayon is located in the middle of Angkor Thom complex.
• Highlight: The temple is the complex of face-towers and many well-preserved stone carvings and sculptures which narrative bas-reliefs of daily life and Khmer history.
• Ticket: Bayon is included in the Angkor Wat pass ticket. My recommendation is 3-day pass ticket which is enough for you to explore the Angkor Archaeological Park.
• Visit duration: about 2 hours
• Best time to visit: Sunrise: If you want to avoid the crowds when visiting Bayon, let’s go in the early morning because most of tourists would appreciate sunrise at Angkow Wat temples. Or you can visit at noon time because many people try to avoid the heat of Siem Reap, the temperature can reach over 40 degree in the middle of the day. However, it is not recommended at all to visit at this time if you are not comfortable with the Cambodia heat.
• Peak Seasons in Siem Reap is November to February because the weather is cooler and more comfortable. April and May are the hottest months since the temperature can reach up to 40 Celsius or over. However, many choose to visit in April since they want to experience Khmer New Year (13rd or 14th April) which is the most colorful festival here.

Travel Guide to Bayon

The unique and mysterious temple attracts millions of visitors every years. If you want to explore Angkor Wat Complex’s history, then Bayon is an important part with amazing carvings and many stories behind that. This remarkable place is worth a visit, believe me!

Prepare a pair of comfortable shoes, a bottle of water and a sun hat as a lot of walking is waiting for you. Since Siem Reap is really hot, around 38-40 degree, sun screen is a must.

Check out this travel guide article to Angkor Wat Complex: Angkor Wat Travel Guide – Everything you need to know

Bayon names

The temple was originally called ‘Jayagiri’ which means ‘victory mountain’. In the period of French colony, it was renamed ‘Banyan Temple’ because the temple is covered with lots of banyan trees around, and the Buddha usually seated beneath the Banyan tree to deeply adsorb in meditation and achieve enlightenment. So for that reason, they wanted to change the temple’s name to Banyan. However, the local people who worked on the restoration of the temple mispronounced the name as “Bayon” instead of “Banyan” and the name has remained since then.

Bayon history

The Bayon was constructed in the center of Angkor Thom and it is well-known as a complex of face-towers, many people want to visit to witness the beauty of history. The temple is built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII. Unlike Angkor Wat or Ta Prohm temples, Bayon is not surrounded by walls but an open space.

Bayon is a large gallery with bas-reliefs and historical stories, battles and daily life sculpted on the walls. And the stories in the wall galleries have passed through different religious phrases from Pantheon of the Gods, Hindu worship and Buddhism. To be honest, the temple is extremely complex both in terms of its structure and meaning.

There were originally 49 face-towers and around 216 mysterious smiling faces which relief Cambodia people’s life in 12th century. Most are carved 4 faces and a few is 3 or 2 faces.

There are 2 sets of bas-reliefs in Bayon which were carved at different times. The outer enclosure were carved at the beginning of the 13th century, while the inner closure were carved in the second half of the 13th century. Both tell the stories of historical battles or people’s life events, however the earlier set of bas-relief narratives the battles with the Chams, while the later is related to Hindu mythology.

Bayon library photography

Bayon offers a great wall gallery which includes more than 1000 figures, the gallery narratives lively the battles, crucial historical events as well as people’s daily life. It is recommended to travel to Bayon with a local guide who can explain clearly these history events, or bringing a guide book with you is okey. Below are some parts of the library, read the brief description below each pictures!

References:

• Michael Freeman, Claude Jacques, Narisa Chakrabongse (ed.). 2003. Ancient Angkor – Books Guides.
• Angkor National Museum, Siem Reap, Campodia. (visited 25-4-2019).
• Siemreap.net, The Inspire’s guide to Siemreap, Bayon,
  https://www.siemreap.net/visit/angkor/temples/bayon/ (Accessed 2019-6-15)
• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Bayon
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayon (Accessed 2019-5-26)
• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Angkor Wat, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat (Accessed 2019-5-26).