The Rolous Group is made up of three temples: preah-ko, lolei and bakong. The temples are roughly 15km east of Siem Reap, where the first Angkor-era capital city of Hariharalaya was once located.
Three of the oldest temples in the region, they feature beautiful atmosphere and some fine examples of early Angkor-era art and architecture.
Hariharalaya was established by Jayavarman II, first king of the Angkor era, who moved his devaraja to the area late in his 48 year reign, perhaps installing it in the temple Prasat Prei Monthi, whose overgrown ruins lie just south of Bakong. One of his successors, Indravarman II, subsequently built the ancestral temple of Lolei in the city and then built the Bakong as his own state temple residence for the Shiva-linga of his devaraja. He then set about excavating the artificial lake, the Indratataka baray.
Indravarman bolstered the association between royalty and the gods, honored the spirits of his ancestors in keeping with the traditional Khmer beliefs, and established a precedent for later kings: the construction of an ancestral temple and initiation of a public waterworks prior to the consecration of a state temple. Yasovarman I, who succeeded Indravarman, continued this tradition, building the ancestral temple Lolei within the Indratataka, before moving the capital city when he constructed his state temple, Bakheng, and the East Baray.
Need to Know
- What is it: The ruins of the first Angkor era capital of Hariharalaya
- When to visit: The temples in Angkor Archaelogical Park are best visited at the end of the rainy season, between November and January, when the moats are full and the surrounding vegetation is lush and green; temples are also best visited early in the morning when crowds are smaller and lighting is best for photographing eastern facing temples.
- Nearest Town: Siem Reap (15km)
- Don’t Miss: Some of the oldest temples of the Angkor era.
- King: Indravarman I and Yasovarman I
- Date: 877-900
- Religion: Hinduism
- Artistic Style: mostly Preah Ko