Angkor Thom Causeways and Entry Gates

Beyond the causeway, the towering city gates are flanked by gigantic, three-headed sandstone elephants. Above all else, at the top of the gates, peering outwards in the four cardinal directions, are the massive smiling faces that have mystified centuries of visitors.

There are five causeways leading into the Angkor Thom complex: South (to/from Angkor Wat), North (to Preah Khan), West (to the West Baray), and East (the Gate of the Dead, now leading into the forest). All 5 lead directly to the Bayon temple in the center of Angkor Thom along the cardinal directions, except for the fifth gate (north of the East Gate). Known as the Victory Gate, the fifth gate connects the Elephant Terrace and Royal Palace enclosure with a highway that once led east for hundreds of miles.

The hundred meter long causeways across the moat are flanked by balustrades built of 54 stone Asuras (Demons) on the right and 54 Devas (Gods) on the left, both of which are holding the bodies of nine-headed Nagas (a mystical serpent), whose presence symbolizes the ‘rainbow bridge’ connecting the world of man and the world of the gods.

More than mere decoration, the causeways are also a symbolic representation of an important Hindu myth: the Churning of the Sea of Milk. From opposite sides of Angkor Thom, the Asuras and Devas are engaged in a tug-of-war, using the naga Vesuki to churn the sea of milk in order to extract Amrita, the elixir of immortality. Bayon temple, at the center, thus represents Mount Mandara, home of the gods, which was used as the pivot point in the churning. The 54 demons and 54 gods engaged in the Angkor Thom churning add up to 108, an important number in Hindu and Buddhist mythology representing four lunar cycles associated with the elements of earth, water, air, and fire.

At the end of each causeway is a gopura, or entranceway, that leads through the wall surrounding the city. Each gate is capped by four smiling faces similar to those that grace Bayon temple. According to 13th century Chinese emissary Zhao Daguan, the top of the gopuras were once also capped with a fifth face, which he described as “brilliant with gold”. The gates also feature the god Indra, King of the Gods and Lord of Heaven, sitting atop Arivata, the three headed elephant, one on either side of the passageway and pulling up lotus flowers with their trunks.

South Causeway

The South Causeway leads to the South Gopura, which once served as the public entrance to the city. Due to its location near Angkor Wat, this is the most frequently visited causeway; it is also the most well preserved/renovated, with the most intact/reconstructed causeway statuary.

Frequently bustling with tourist traffic, including elephants that ferry visitors from outside the gate to Bayon temple each morning, the South Causeway is the most popular for photos. That said, the other causeways, while in greater disrepair, are more likely to allow you to get photos without other visitors in your shot. Many visitors have their tuk-tuks drop them off at the beginning of the causeway so that they may pose for photos with the Asuras and Devas and then walk through the gate, contining on via tuk-tuk once inside the city. As you drive north from this gopura towards Bayon Temple, you may wish to stop to photograph the band of Macaque Monkeys that live in the forest flanking the road.

East Causeway (Gate of the Dead)

While the east causeway is one of four that lead directly to the Bayon through gopuras located at each of the cardinal directions, the East Causeway is rumored to have played a different function than the others. The Victory Gate and Victory Road, which lie just north of the East Causeway were believed to have been the path the army would follow as it set out for war. Some speculate that the East Gopura was reserved for defeated armies to return through, while others hold that the gate was used for funeral processions, a theory which lends itself to the nickname “the Gate of the Dead”.

Victory Gate Causeway

Just north of the East Causeway, the causeway leading through the Victory Gate leads directly to the main platform of the Elephant Terrace and entrance to the Royal Palace enclosure. It is believed the Victory Gate was the exit through which the armies of Angkor marched to war, returning back through the same gate if they were victorious and returning through the East Gate if they were defeated.

West Causeway

The western causeway is the least intact of the causeways: nearly all the Asuras and Devas have been broken, stolen, or relocated for preservation. The causeway isn’t even a proper road (for cars at least); the red dirt road leading from the West Baray to Angkor Thom ends at a wooden ‘bridge’ that allows motorbike and bicycle traffic to pass through the gopura. As tourists rarely visit the western causeway and gopura, the attraction is the natural environment within which it rests, particularly around sunset. Recently, a boat landing for Angkor Gondola has been built to the south of the causeway for boat trips on the Angkor Thom moat.

North Causeway

Like the other main entrances to Angkor Thom, this causeway is flanked by an impressive line of statues representing gods (Devas) on one side and demons (Asuras) on the other, engaging in a symbolic tug-of-war over the mythical serpent Vasuki. Though less frequented than the South Causeway, the North Causeway offers a quieter experience while still showcasing the artistry and symbolic depth that define the ancient Angkorian civilization and leads to Jayavarman VII’s other city-temples, Preah Khan, Ta Som, and the exquisite Neak Poan.