Kravan Temple (Prasat Kravan)

Gain admission to Prasat Kravan with your Angkor Archaeological Park ticket, available in 1-day, 3-day, or 7-day durations. Despite its reasonably central location, Prasat Kravan is less commonly visited than big hitters such as Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat, and Angkor Thom, or even Grand Circuit sites such as Ta Som and Neak Pean. Ask a private guide or driver to take you here, join a comprehensive multi-day tour of the Angkor sites, or visit independently by bicycle or scooter.

• Prasat Kravan will be of interest to Angkor completists and fans of Khmer art.

• Prasat Kravan means “cardamom sanctuary,” but the cardamom tree that gave it its name is long gone.

• The temple stands on a raised platform, accessed by multiple steps. The carvings are not accessible to travelers who use wheelchairs.

Prasat Kravan is located within the Angkor Archaeological Park, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) east of Angkor Wat and about a mile (1.5 kilometers) south of Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang. It’s about a 6-mile (10-kilometer) drive from downtown Siem Reap, and there’s no public transport. Chartering vehicles or hiring drivers is generally easier than renting cars in Siem Reap.

Despite its central location, Prasat Kravan is rarely busy. It’s open from early in the morning until late afternoon. Plan the timing of your visit around the other, more-popular Angkor sites you’re hitting that day, not this one.

The special glue Khmer masons used to fit bricks close together helped make the highly unusual bas-relief carvings of Prasat Kravan possible, but don’t miss later stone carvings. At Angkor Wat, highlights include the vast Churning of the Ocean of Milk carving; standouts at Angkor Thom, besides the faces at the temple of Bayon, include the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.