Built in the 12th Century Preah Khan was dedicated to the father of king Jayavarman VII so is sometimes known as Father Temple.

The temple was a city in its own right. It was a place of festivals with over 1000 Apsaras or celestial dancers performing 18 times per year.

After its decline and abandonment. Preah Khan was rediscovered and restored in the late 19th century.

During The Khmer Rouge era it was used as an army base. the more observant visitor will see the damage  done by armoured vehicles to the paving and walls at some of the entrances.

Footnote:

As with most temples in Angkor, there has been significant restoration work on this temple

A number of the more spectacular trees are no longer to be seen; due to age and/or storm damage.

2005 was a particularly bad year for trees; The tops of a number of trees were  removed for safety reasons leaving the spectacular roots which are so part of the structures that they could not easily be removed.

Most of these pictures were taken after a torrential downpour in June 2003 with later additions