The Baphuon Temple in Cambodia

The Baphuon Templeis formed as a high, five tiered pyramid in sandstone which, in contrast to those of the 9th and 10th centuries, is rectangular in plan rather than square - with the superimposed upper tiers not decreasing but practically constant in height, almost certainly so that the view of the top was not obscured by the galleries. These galleries surround the first, third and the fifth tiers. The top terrace is about twenty metres above ground level. The base walls, though powerfully moulded, are not sculpted. Most people like it in Cambodia tour.

The outer gallery of the third enclosure has almost entirely disappeared, its materials having been used relatively recently to construct the outline of an enormous and almost shapeless reclining Buddha, on the western face of the upper levels, from a pile of blocks. Fortunately the gopura with bas-reliefs situated at mid height has simply been incorporated into this masonry without being demolished. The corner towers have been rased, as have almost all of the north and west gopuras.
Entering the monument by the eastern gopura, where three passageways are served by steep stairs, one can see, over the connecting door between the central section and the north wing, evidence of a practice peculiar to this period of Khmer art and which often caused structural failure; - that of cutting a channel in the sandstone lintel in order to set in a secondary wooden beam, whose time-worn remainsare still visible.