Ta Kheo temple in Angkor Wat temple complex photo

Each temple of Angkor Wat temple complex has its peculiar feature, for example, Ta Phrom is famous for its mighty trees, Bayon – its stone faces, and, finally, Angkor Wat temple – its dimensions. Huge pyramid of the Ta Kheo temple is memorable by its highly steep stairways, which all tourists try to climb.

The construction of the Ta Kheo was started by the king Jayavarman V in 975, that is, a century before all the other main temples of Angkor Wat. It was designed as a mountain temple having the shape of a pyramid. It was completely made of sandstone.

During the reign of the king Jayavarman V the building works were finished but they hadn’t time to start its decoration because of his death. The successors of the king concentrated on their own grandiose projects, so all works on the Ta Kheo temple were stopped.

The size of the lower tier of the pyramid temple Ta Kheo is 120х105 meters. The second tier is at the height of 6 meters and its area is 79х73 meters. The second tier is encircled by a small gallery.

Totally, Ta Kheo has four tiers and five towers on its top. You can climb to the towers by the way of a very steep stair. In some places its steps reach the height of 30-40 cm, and the width of no more than 20 cm. These towers on the top of the pyramid are at the height of 40 meters. At that, there are no railings or some other devices to facilitate the ascent at Ta Kheo.