What Jayavarman VII built

Jayavarman VII came to the throne of Angkor in the early 1180s, after war with Champa, and is credited with more than 100 religious buildings. This trail follows what he built, in the order the inscriptions date them, from a monastery for his mother to the walled city of Angkor Thom, and ends at a far frontier temple.

Start at stop 1: Jayavarman VIIFollow in the Explorer

Illustration, as an impression, of the Bayon at Angkor Thom.

1. 1

   Jayavarman VII

   He led an army against Champa's city of Vijaya, took the throne about 1181 and ordered 102 hospitals built across his lands.

2. 2

   Ta Prohm

   Founded in 1186 as a monastery for his mother; its stela counts 12,640 people inside, 615 of them dancers, and trees grow from its ruins.

3. 3

   Preah Khan (Angkor)

   Five years later, in 1191, the temple for his father; its stela lists 121 rest houses set up across the kingdom.

4. 4

   Neak Poan

   A small island temple in Preah Khan's reservoir, which the stela says washes away the sins of everyone who touches it.

5. 5

   Angkor Thom

   The walled royal city, about 3 kilometers on each side, the last of the enclosure walls he built.

6. 6

   Bayon

   His state temple at the city's center, from the end of the 12th or start of the 13th century, its towers carrying serene, smiling stone faces.

7. 7

   Banteay Chhmar

   Far to the northwest, one of the largest complexes built outside Angkor, with reliefs of his war with Champa.

End of the trail

Taken together, the seven stops show one king building for his parents, his capital and the sick, from a monastery for his mother at Angkor to a temple far out on the northwest frontier.

Follow in the ExplorerStart again at stop 1: Jayavarman VII

Other trails through these places

• Angkor visitor route Place trail · 10 stops · shares 4
• Beyond Angkor visitor route Place trail · 7 stops · shares 1
• Saturday dance class Living memory trail · 9 stops · shares 1