This temple is considered the most beautiful by many visitors because of its extraordinary relationship with the surrounding jungle which is actually slowly destroying it. [P 059 / Ta Prohm] is a very large Buddhist temple built by Jayavarman VII and once tended by 18 high priests and more than 2,500 lesser priests. It housed more than 12,000 people within its enclosures.
Once it was abandoned, the jungle slowly overtook the buildings, cracking and squeezing walls and prising stones apart. The French restorers decided to leave Ta Prohm exactly as they found it, so today the slow encroachment of the jungle continues to take place. Great blocks that fell centuries ago lie on the jungle floor covered in ferns and bushes. The canopy of trees which overhang the whole site obstruct the sunlight, creating a strange green half-light. Everywhere there are insects, birds, bats, frogs and animals - all living in the ruins.
Ta Prohm is a strange harmony of stone and vegetation which will one day disappear forever into the soil of the jungle. Some [P 011 / carvings and statues] remain as sharply carved as they were nearly 800 years ago.
