Bakong Temple

The Bakong Temple was commissioned by King Indravarman I and officially consecrated in 881 CE. It was built to serve as the state temple of the Khmer capital, Hariharalaya. This makes it one of the earliest major temple mountains constructed in the Angkor region of Cambodia.

The temple was originally dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Specifically, the central sanctuary housed a Shivalinga, a phallic symbol representing the deity, which was named Sri Indreshvara by combining the king's name and the god's. The temple's tiered pyramid design was meant to represent Mount Meru, the cosmic home of the Hindu gods.

Bakong Temple is located within the Roluos group of temples, situated roughly 13 kilometers southeast of the main Angkor Wat complex. It was built when the Khmer capital was centered at Hariharalaya before it moved to its more famous northern locations. The site is part of the broader UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park.

The temple is designed as a stepped pyramid, representing a classic Khmer temple mountain design. It features five tiers rising from a square base, surrounded by a large moat that symbolizes the cosmic ocean. At the summit sits a central tower, though the current brick tower was actually rebuilt in later centuries.