Ta Som Temple

 

Another temple along the Grand Circuit road, Ta Som was built in the late 12 century. The interesting thing with Ta Som is that none of it has been restored. Also, there is a gate tower at the entrance with four faces of Buddha, very similar to the gates at the entrance/exit to Angkor Thom.

Through this entrance gate there are three walls to go through. One of the main attractions at Ta Som is the final gate at the east entrance. From the west it looks like an ordinary gate with the typical Buddha face on the tower but if you look closely at the top, there seems to be a large tree growing from the top with no roots. It is exactly over the door way. Walk through this gate and turn around to see the gate completely engulfed by the roots of a tree growing on top. Very impressive to see.