Located 1h30 from our house, the Beng Mealea Temple is a Cambodian temple that was built between 1112 and 1152. It is originally a Hindu temple but some motifs are Buddhist.



The gallery that forms the outer fence of the temple forms a quadrilateral of about 180 m by 150 m, the entire site is surrounded by moat (1025 m by 875 m) 45 m wide.

Its present state is dominated by the jungle: the trees have grown on the towers, the roots and lianas hug the columns. The lintels and other blocks of sandstone from the construction litter the ground in gigantic stacks and require visitors to climb them to approach the central tower, also completely collapsed.

Among this jumble, however, one can discover beautiful reliefs that evoke scenes of Ramayana; "Sita in the fire putting to the test her innocence" and the "churning of the sea of ​​milk".