Banteay Chhmar is an iconic Angkorian temple located in northwest Cambodia, roughly 160 km from Siem Reap. For serious travel photographers, this site is an absolute dream. The complex boasts features incredibly similar to the main Angkor Archaeological Park—including galleries, intricate reliefs, expansive barays, and blooming lilies—but without the tourist crowds and stricter controls.
Why Banteay Chhmar is a Photographer’s Paradise
Unlike the heavily restored and highly trafficked temples near Siem Reap, Banteay Chhmar retains a wild, untouched atmosphere. A dedicated elevated walkway is constructed through the grounds, giving you the unique advantage of getting up close and personal with the giant stone faces nestled deep within the main structure.
Beyond the ancient architecture, the local community plays an active role in preservation. Visiting the small silk weaving enterprise located right within the Banteay Chhmar Community-Based Tourism (CBT) grounds offers a brilliant window into photographing local Khmer and daily village culture.
A candid moment frozen in time at the remote temple complex of Banteay Chhmar. This false-color infrared shot captures a local Buddhist monk arranging his robes beneath an iconic stone face tower. Our travel photography workshops now feature Infrared Photography Workshops.
Explore Banteay Chhmar on a Custom Photo Expedition
Want to walk through these ancient, uncrowded ruins with a professional photography tutor? Because of its unique, remote location, we feature Banteay Chhmar as an exclusive destination on our bespoke itineraries. Let’s design your perfect route: Book a Custom Multi-Day Cambodia Photography Workshop today.
Key Subjects to Capture: Face Towers and Avalokiteshvara
The crown jewel for photography here is found at the Western gallery: the stunning, multi-armed and multi-headed bas-reliefs of Avalokiteshvara. Additionally, the temple’s expansive baray features dramatic stone statues highly reminiscent of Srah Srang, creating opportunities for wide-angle landscape shots.
The Intricate Bas-Reliefs: A sacred local shrine rests beneath the unique multi-armed and multi-headed Avalokiteshvara stone reliefs along the western gallery walls of Banteay Chhmar
Lighting & Technical Tips for Jungle Ruins
Photographing Banteay Chhmar you’re having to deal with dappled light, similar to sone of the overgrown temples of Angkor.
To manage this, plan your shoot for the early morning or late afternoon when the light is soft. Bring a fast wide-angle lens (like a 24mm f/2.8) to capture the sprawling, collapsed corridors, and a medium telephoto lens to isolate the delicate textures of the stone carvings.
Essential Logistics & Travel Planning
At the time of writing, access roads leading into the temple from both Sisophon and Anlong Veng are in good condition. While some commercial operators offer this long journey from Siem Reap as a rushed day trip, it is highly recommended to stay overnight. Exploring these expansive ruins in the suffocating midday heat is exhausting and yields flat, unflattering photographic light.
Where to Stay & Food
The Banteay Chhmar CBT Homestay Program offers a fantastic range of local hospitality facilities, ranging from traditional, budget-friendly home stays to highly reasonable local guesthouses. They can also arrange authentic local meals, typically cooked fresh by community members.
The Collapsed Galleries & Corridors: Late afternoon light cutting through the canopy illuminates the beautifully chaotic, collapsed stone galleries and unrestored towers of Banteay Chhmar
A quiet profile view of a stone guardian figure overlooking the ancient baray reservoir at Banteay Chhmar during the peaceful morning hours.
Satellite temples
Each cardinal direction has satellite temples, often overlooked in favour of the main complex. These are unique in that they are unrestored, in varying state of repair. For the most the satellite temples are un guarded, they almost seem to be in some residence back yard. One time I turned up there was a resident having a bath in the barray. I certainly recommend anyone visiting Banteay Chhmar to plan a little time to explore these marvellous outer structures.
Framing the monumental stone face towers against the sprawling branches of mature jungle trees highlights the untamed, ancient atmosphere of Banteay Chhmar.
Silk weaving
In addition to the temples, theres a small silk weaving enterprise located in the Banteay Chhmar CBT grounds. The ladies work with fine silk for an NGO, and are always welcoming to us photographers.
Local weavers operating traditional wooden looms at the community silk workshop near Banteay Chhmar temple.
Utilizing a wide aperture allows you to isolate the rapid, delicate hand movements of the weavers against the graphic lines of the silk threads.
An Alternative to Angkor for sunrise
To the east of the main complex lies a baray with statues similar to that of Sra Srang. The difference here is there’s no light pollution and no tourists, an excellent place to start your day. The main plateau has recently been restored with some old and new sandstone structures. If your lucky, the water will be up giving a memorable reflective start to your day.
The Ancient Barays: Pink and orange light fills the sky at sunrise, silhouetting the ancient stone guardian lions that watch over the vast baray at Banteay Chhmar.
Surrounding Temples Worth Photographing
If you extend your trip to an overnight stay, you can easily access other highly dramatic, overlooked temples in the immediate region consider Banteay Toap.
Conclusion
If you enjoy solitude, this delightful temple setting is for you. Over night in one of the home stays adds to the experience and is recommended. You will not get western comforts as found in Siem Reap. Look upon this as a bonus and enjoy the experience. If you are up for photographic adventure, consider this as part of our multi day workshop while venturing through the Kingdom of wonder.
Advanced Tip:
Full-Spectrum & Infrared Temple Photography Because Banteay Chhmar is largely unrestored and wrapped in deep jungle foliage, it serves as an exceptional testing ground for full-spectrum or infrared landscape cameras. The contrast between the organic green leaves turning snowy white and the ancient grey sandstone ruins offers completely surreal compositions.