West Entrance of the Temple

West Gopura of Third Enclosure, Angkor Wat

The cruciform terrace leads directly to the temple's west entrance (gopura). The gopura extends along the whole length of the photo; to its left and right, out of the photo, are the north and south wings of the West Gallery of bas-reliefs (next page). The arrangement is similar on all four sides (eastern entrance); the gates, galleries, and corner pavilions form a continuous square cloister that encloses the 1,200m perimeter of the temple (map).