Cambodia: Preah Rup Temple
The upper central tower of Preah Rup
I still have quite a lot of materials from my fave temples in Cambodia’s Angkor Wat Archaeological Park. Like I said before, this place is quite huge so there’s a lot of photo opportunity here. I will try to post an entry or two each month until it runs out along with some new materials. Please note that not all travel post are real time, as some materials are posted for documentation purposes as well. And for this entry, is another temple that I enjoyed exploring at the park, Preah Rup Temple.
Corner walls and towers
Originally, our destination that morning is the elaborate temple of Bantei Srei, but on our way, there are several temples we passed by and one that’s quite impressive is Preah Rup Temple. Just a few distance passing by Sras Srang at the eastern side of the park, you won’t fail to see this huge temple mountain standing proudly on the corner of the road.
Stone guardians and views from the top
We went to the south entrance of the temple and climbed from there. The area of the temple is quite vast and the temple itself is three levels high. Even though some of the lower structures of the temples are destroyed some of the guardian statues on the upper level are still intact. I may say this is one of the artistically designed temple in the park in terms of architecture. Nice windows and impressive carvings can be found here. From this south side top, ou could also have impressive view of the surrounding countryside and looking a little to the west you could actually see the spires of the Angkor Wat.
Walking at the upper temple level
The top most level of the temple have four temple towers on each corner and one larger central tower in the middle. The temple is actually Hindu, built in dedication to Shiva. At first t was thought to be a funerary temple where bodies are burned, but in fact it was a state temple of Rajendravarman II. Historically significant for it was the 2nd temple built after Angkor was returned as a capital from Koh Ker post a political upheaval.
Descending the temple at the East Gate
After enjoying the view and walking around the upper temple we decided to go down the East Gate. From the top we could se an arrival of a bus load of tourist so I guess it was time for us to go. The staircase here is a bit thin like in Angkor Wat but more manageable. Upon descending, you could see the other towering structures of the base level of the temple which is quite impressive.
View of the stairs and the top level 3 towers at the East Gate
Tags: Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia, Heritage, Preah Rup, Siem Reap, Structures, Temples, UNESCO
Posted on
Sunday, August 12th, 2007 at 2:15 pm 
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August 12th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Very impressive photos again Ferdz! I have never been to this temple (got sick of all those stones after awhile… hehe!). But this is really nice… also like Angkor Wat with the 5 towers and built like the Hindu mountain. Very informative post too.
August 12th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Awesome pics!!!
Darn. Adding another country in the list of places I want to go to is getting too long.
*sigh*
And I don’t even have a passport yet. LOL
Thanks for sharing this Ferdz
August 12th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
the view from the top, your 5th photo. Its like I’ve seen it on some anime series. Like Yu-gi-og perhaps, or One Piece. Hehehe.
Lovely photos again Ferdz!
August 12th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Ferdz man! Great set of pictures again! Reminded me somehow of the movie Apocalypse Now.
August 13th, 2007 at 12:56 am
Pang brochure yung mga pics! As usual, maganda.
August 13th, 2007 at 4:34 am
wow. those shots are amazing. How do you find time to travel to all these places!!!
OT: I love movies. What can I say. Next week will either be STARDUST or RUSH HOUR 3. haha
August 13th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Hi!
Superb! You got a nice collection of temples.
August 13th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Nice set Ferdz! Whew! Naglalaway ako sa mga napupuntahan mong lugar! Hehehehe!
August 13th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Very grand pictures Ferds; you really captured the mystic of the Angkor Wat. I am so fascinated by this structural achievement of the ancient Khmers that I have reaseraced about it heavily in the past.
August 13th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Wow, I’m speechless. I love looking at pics of ruins. And I’d love it even more if I can visit one myself. Hmmm… I think I will cross out Singapore muna in my priority list. Cambodia na lang muna kaya.
August 13th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
It surely is amazing, the temple! Cambodia is definitely the right place for those whom are interested in historical sites especially temples. I hope I’d be able to go there one day though.
Nice photos by the way.
August 13th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Everything looks beautiful! I’m so glad you’re posting this all in detail because I plan to go to Cambodia next year. I’ll be referring to your site for tips for sure!
August 13th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
wah, ang ganda neto. bahagi pa rin ito ng Angkor Wat di ba? grabe ang ganda. excited na din ako pumunta dyan, hehe. lapit na…wahoo.
yung tanong mo sa blog ko…seryosong sagot? oo nakikibasa din sila. itong mga unseeable creatures na ito, they’ve tried to co-exist with us. kilala na nga nila kami eh. seryoso ko tsong. at sa pamilya ko, sa akin lang sila mabait. haha. feeling ko trip nila personality ko.
August 13th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
nice place… i like the 5th picture…
keep it coming! 
August 13th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Great pictures Ferdz.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:06 am
great pictures! ngayon gusto ko na ring makapunta jan. sarap pumunta sa lugar na puro ruins kagaya ng angkor wat.
August 14th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Wow. The place looks so serene, so peaceful. I wonder what what during the time when these temples were in their “prime”. An interesting slice of history, I suppose.
Thanks for sharing the photos, Ferdz.
August 14th, 2007 at 10:51 am
[...] ferdz, i’m sorry this is late, and that i can’t come up with 8. i have already done the random things, so i hope this is will do. thanks for the kind words. [...]
August 14th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Wow! Those are photos that can only be viewed from international magazines!
Hi, Ferdz! thanx for sharing your photos and adventures to us for free…
August 14th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
walal nanaman akong msabi.. kondi.. galeng…
August 14th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
great photos indeed. Visit me if u have time. TC
August 14th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
It sure is a lovely place from the looks of it on your articles. You must have had a wonderful time visiting this place. I hope that I would be lucky to go there as well.
August 15th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
wala talagang kakupas kupas dre ah hehehe
August 17th, 2007 at 1:36 am
Great archeological info and pics bro .. Parang National Geographic ang presentation mo
August 17th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
awesome pictures!!! hayy… i really wanna go to cambodia especially after seeing your pictures
August 17th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Another WOW! when could I visit these places featured in your blogs Ferdz?
August 17th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
graaabe! i’ve always known, this place is a must see. and i cant be more convinced now seeing these photos. need to save talaga na!