Elephant Terrace in Angkor Wat Temple complex

To the north of Bayon Temple, there is a large area, which was the main square of the capital of the Khmer Empire in the ancient time. On the western side of this area you can see the Elephant Terrace of 320 meters long, which was used by the king and his retinue as a platform to view army parades and the other events.

In 11 century the Elephant Terrace was erected over the Royal Square where took place all the main events of the empire: various festivities and army reviews. As the king and his retinue couldn’t stand among common people, there was constructed a long terrace, called the Elephant Terrace, as all along the terrace you can see the bas-reliefs of elephants.

In the center of the Elephant Terrace you can see two steep stairways descending to the square. On the sides of the stairways you can see the heads of elephants, with their tusks put to the ground, and on the walls of the terrace – the bas-reliefs of elephants.

On the northern side of the Elephant Terrace there is the so-called the Terrace of the Leper King. At the terrace there were burnt the bodies of dead kings.

The wall of the Terrace of the Leper King is covered by volume bas-reliefs representing the kings of the Khmer Empire, as well as their wives and dancers. However, you can`t see these beautiful bas-reliefs from the square. They are behind the wall surrounding the Terrace of the Leper King. Between this wall and the terrace there is a small passage where you can enjoy the beauty of the bas-reliefs.