The Pagodas of Siem Reap

An oft unexplored part of Siem Reap is the numerous Buddhist Wats, or Pagodas, many of which are quite interesting architecturally, and beautiful, and instil a real sense of peacefulness simply by wandering the grounds. The Khmer word Wat (often synonymous with Pagoda) is equal to the entire grounds including all buildings eg. temple (pagoda), dining hall, meditation hall, etc.. whilst pagoda refers to the temple or vihara featuring the Buddha image. Some villages will have a wat whilst others may have only established a pagoda.

Map of Siem Reap Pagodas – This map will update automatically as we visit more pagodas across Siem Reap Province. For the older version of the map see here 

Every village has a pagoda and they are a foundation of Cambodian society and lifestyle. Visitors are usually welcome with a few guidelines including wearing clothes covering below knees and elbows, not to disturb the monks during eating or spiritual practices, and not to take pictures of the monks without permission. It is free to enter all wats but it is commonplace to leave a donation be that 50 cents, a dollar, or more if you like which goes towards maintenance, which some desperately need, and for maintaining all the services they provide. That said, some have donation boxes while at some, they are hard to find.

Most wats are similar in their layout featuring numerous buildings including the main temple, meeting room, dining room, meditation hall, and living quarters for the monks and abbot. Some larger Wats will also include a library, statues, study halls, ponds, and gardens. Most will also feature an adjacent school.

Here I will try to list all the pagodas of Siem Reap and add them as I discover more. See towards the bottom of the page for terminology and names of some of the things you’ll likely come across at Khmer Wat.

There is also a map at the bottom of the page and for an even more comprehensive map including many more wats plus ancient temples, and attractions see the main Siem Reap Map.

The Most Revered and Most Beautiful Pagoda/Wat and Shrines

Other Worthwhile Wats to Visit

Monasteries inside Angkor Archeological Park

There are several monasteries inside the grounds of Angkor Archeological Park

• Angkor Wat North Monastery – the Vihear features murals depicting the Khmer Reamker and a depiction of Krishna.
• Angkor Wat South Monastery – the Vihear also features many murals
• Wat Preak Ang Kong Chum វត្តព្រះអង្គគងជុំ (ព្រះអង្គខ្មៅ) – located at Angkor Thom southern gate.
• Wat Preah Se Ar វត្ត ព្រះសិអារ្យមេត្រីយ៍ – Also located inside Angkor Thom
• Wat Tep Pranam – Also located inside Angkor Thom
• Wat Preah Kok Tlok – located near Bayon temple it features a large Buddha
• Wat Preah Ngok – located near Bayon, a long laterite terrace leads to a large Buddha statue
• Wat Preah Intep – featuring a small vihara with a large Buddha statue
• Wat Tang Kok – located on the road between Royal Square and Victory Gate
• Wat Prampil Loveng – located on the road between Royal Square and Victory Gate – features a sandstone image of Buddha seated on a Naga.
• Wat Bakong – located at the Angkorian-era temple of the same name near Rolous. An old temple that features many unique murals.

Buildings at Cambodian Pagodas

Wat/Pagoda វត = The entire grounds including all buildings. Not to be confused with its use in Angkor Wat which is a city in the form of a Wat.

Vihear = The main temple building of worshipping Buddha. From wat to wat they are all similar having a rectangular layout, with large columns internally and externally, and with an east-facing entry and with Buddha also facing east (as he did on enlightenment). Murals are commonplace depicting the life of Buddha, mostly on the internal walls and ceiling, and sometimes also externally. That said, every Vihear, or temple, is quite unique. Early Vihears are one story, low and squat while in modern times they are quite tall and many with two stories.

• Chedai = stupas. Mostly they contain the cremated remains of past important monks or those that have paid for the burial site. Some Chedai’s may contain relics and artifacts of significance such as Preah Prom Roth which has as Chedai containing an old picture of Buddha. You will also notice the half-moon knee-height concrete slabs with dirt mounds being the traditional style graves of Chinese.
• Salaa Chan = Dining hall
• Kot = monks quarters
• Bannalay = library
• Salaa Thommatsophie = meeting hall
• Pachaa = crematorium
• Srah = ‘pool’ or artificial pond.
• Seima/Sima = placed on the axes and corners of Buddhist terraces to define the sacred platform.
• Vihara = pagoda

Figures and features at Cambodian Pagodas

Preah Nireay = Vishnu (often depicted riding Garuda in the triangle cornice of temple roofs). Vishnu has four arms although there are eight armed versions. Vishnu is one of the gods of the Brahmanic trinity, ‘the protector’ and has many avatars, such as Krishna.

• Pray-ah put = Buddha, in reference to the enlightened one
• Ta Phrom = Brahma, four-headed god (worshipped at Preah Prom Rath)
• Preah An = Indra (often depicted riding a three-headed elephant) Worshipped at Preah An Kau Sauu and Preah An Kau Sai
• Reahu = is a bodyless lion-like monster that is named as the king of demons. Often depicted eating the moon or sun.
• Gajasimha = A mythical lion with the snout of an elephant.
• Hamsa – Sacred bird, the mount of Brahma.
• Reachesei – a lion like figure
• Nee-ik = Naga/Nagi, the serpent king. You’ll see this on the end of balustrades and in other artwork. It’s a large fan crested multi-headed serpent-like creature who comes from Hindu mythology. Most have seven or nine heads, with an odd number of heads depicting male energy (the Naga), infinity, timelessness, and immortality, while an even number of heads depicting female energy (Nagi), representing physicality, mortality, temporality, and the earth.
• Garuda = a divine bird with human body, often the mount of Vishnu.
• Seng – Lions are guardians, another figure from Hindu mythology.
• Nandin = sacred bull, mount of Shiva.
• Ganesh – the elephant god of wisdom from Hindu mythology, although rarely seen and Cambodian temples.

Paintings

A feature of Cambodian temples is the artwork often lining the outer and inner walls all telling a story of Buddha’s life, “Buddhist Hells”, and or the Reamker. The older temples contain some very unique interpretations whereas the later temples feature very similar works. The artworks are not only interesting for the story they depict but also for the different uses of perspective, color and vibrancy.

They are quite detailed encompassing stories of early life (can be 21 paintings), the middle years (can be 19 paintings), and end of life (usually 5 paintings). Other paintings show the various past incarnations of Buddha. The Khmer Reamker is depicted at some temples which are the local version of the Hindu epic, Ramayana, which portrays Rama’s struggle to find his consort Sita who is captured by the demon Ravana; thanks to the support of the monkey king Hanuman. The Jataka stories can also be seen depicted through the artwork of the previous ten incarnations of Buddha.

Common Chants you may hear at the Wat

Vessantara Jataka = The Vessantara Jataka tells the story of one of Gautama Buddha’s past lives, in particular, his life as the prince Vessantara who realized perfection in generosity, giving away everything he owns, including his fortune, children and wife.

*Page updated 13/12/2022 to add the new map and fix grammatical issues