All alone at Banteay Thom

Two of the central towers at Banteay Thom. The northern tower is obscured by the tree

The final temple on my Hidden Secrets of Jayavarman VII tour was the remote Banteay Thom. This is a few kilometres off the normal tourist route and requires a 10-minute walk if going by car. We were on a moto so we bounced our way through the ricefields to the site, one which I first visited in 1999 and again in 2005. Another J-VII temple, it was built early in the 13th century and in its heyday would've been an absolute gem of a temple. Today many of its carvings have been altered, both in the late 13th century and more recently, by temple thieves. However, it still has much to see in its intricate designs on the walls and in niches on the surrounding galleries and three tall central towers. Only rediscovered in 1997, it is well worth the effort and again, like the other temples on the Hidden Secrets tour, you will be alone in this quiet and contemplative spot. The ever-present devatas are here in large numbers, together with male dvarapala guardian figures and a whole host of pediments and lintels, as well as two ruined libraries. On the way back to the road we stopped at a clump of trees and uncovered the site of a five tower temple, known as Prasat Kron Nup, but as Nat explained, the temple thieves levelled the towers, leaving behind large holes in the ground, in the early 90s whilst searching for gold and other treasures. A common story throughout Cambodia.

A devata and dvarapala stand close together at the eastern entrance of Banteay Thom

Inside the northern tower robbers have dug a hole in search for treasure

Some of the intricate wall designs to be found at Banteay Thom, including Vishnu on Garuda & below, Aniruddha imprisoned by ropes

A tall banyan tree sprouts high from the surrounding enclosure wall at Banteay Thom