The Most Photogenic Corners of Siem Reap, Ranked

Angkor is a photographer's problem as much as a gift: too much of it, all at once, in punishing light. This ranking is about corners rather than monuments, ordered by how reliably they deliver an image. All the temple sites below sit inside the Angkor Archaeological Park and require the official Angkor Pass, sold in one, three and seven-day versions.

Key facts

• Best light: the first and last ninety minutes of the day. Midday is flat and brutally hot.
• Best months: the dry months bring haze-free skies; the wet season fills the moats and reflecting pools.
• Dress code: shoulders and knees covered, enforced at Angkor Wat's upper level.
• Transport: a tuk-tuk for the day is the standard way to work the circuits.

1. Angkor Wat's northern reflecting pool at sunrise

The single most photographed composition in Southeast Asia, and still worth it: five towers doubled in still water as the sky goes pink behind them. Arrive well before first light, and accept that several hundred people will be doing the same.

2. The faces of the Bayon

At the centre of Angkor Thom, more than fifty towers carry serene stone faces looking out in four directions. The upper terrace lets you frame face against face. Late afternoon side-light picks out the smiles.

3. Ta Prohm's strangler figs

The temple famously left partly in the grip of the forest, with pale roots pouring over doorways and galleries. It is busiest mid-morning; go first or last and use the quieter side courtyards.

4. The south gate of Angkor Thom

A causeway lined with rows of gods and demons hauling a giant serpent, leading to a gate tower crowned with faces. Best shot from the bridge itself, early, before the tour buses queue at the arch.

5. Banteay Srei

Further out, small, and built from pink sandstone that glows at either end of the day. The carving here is the finest at Angkor, deep and crisp enough to read as sculpture rather than decoration.

6. Preah Khan's collapsed corridors

A long, low, unrestored maze of doorways receding into darkness, with a curious round-columned building near the eastern entrance. Ideal for anyone who prefers texture and depth to postcard symmetry.

7. The stilted villages of Tonle Sap

South of town on the great lake, communities such as Kampong Phluk stand on tall wooden stilts, dramatic in the dry season and half-submerged in the wet. Go late for warm light on the water, and choose a responsible operator.

8. Srah Srang at first light

The royal bathing baray, with a stone landing platform facing east across open water. A calm, near-empty alternative when the Angkor Wat pool feels like a stadium.

Tip: Buy a three-day pass and split it: sunrise sessions at two different temples, then afternoons for the outlying sites. Trying to shoot Angkor in one day guarantees you will be at the wrong place in the best light.