Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei, the “citadel of women”, lies about 45 minutes to an hour by road north-east of the main Angkor temples. Consecrated in the tenth century and dedicated to Shiva, it was built not by a king but by a Brahmin courtier, and is far smaller than its famous neighbours.

What it lacks in size it makes up for in detail. Its pink sandstone is carved as finely as woodwork, with lintels and pediments showing Shiva and Parvati on Mount Kailash, Ravana shaking the mountain and other scenes from the Ramayana, alongside graceful guardian deities.

Go in the morning or late afternoon, when the sun warms the red stone. The drive passes rice fields and village stalls selling palm sugar, and for those with more time it can be combined with the riverbed carvings of Kbal Spean further north.