Twice a year, during the months of March and September, Angkor Wat equinox is a spectacular event not to be missed when the sun rises directly from behind the main tower of the temple.
This is not a coincidence as ,Angkor Wat temple was built in the 12th century during the reign of Suryavarman II (Surya means sun). Angkor Wat was dedicated to Vishnu, also known as Suryanarayana, the Sun god and was built it facing the West which is very uncommon among the temples of Angkor.
This year, the autumn equinox was on the 22 of September which is also the official start of fall/autumn in the northern hemisphere.
An equinox is when the sun will be exactly above Earth’s equator and when Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres are receiving the same amount of light. The sun being directly above Earth’s equator, a day-to-night line (called the terminator) is vertical from pole to pole.
The alignment of the sun and Angkor Wat temple during equinoxes is not as famous as other archaeoastronomical sites such as Chicken-Itza temple in Mexico. Being almost an unknown event until 2012 for both locals and visitors, Angkor Wat equinox, got more coverage in the past few years in the social media and the event, announced few days before, draws thousands of people.
Angkor Wat temple is more connected to the stars and many more cardinal and sosticial alignments are taking in the archaeological park . This is a testimonial of the knowledge and skills of the builders and astronomers of the Khmer Empire. More in depth information about the topic of Angkor Wat links and astronomy and cosmology can be found by in the book Angkor Wat: Time, Space, And Kingship by Dr Eleanor Mannikka.
Angkor Wat Equinox | The experience and Highlights
Taking advantage of a better weather, I rode my bike starting from the empty streets of Siem Reap the went through the road bordered by the Angkorian jungle where you can immediately notice a drop of temperature. This morning luckily, looking up, many stars were visible in the sky.
As sunrise is getting later from June until December, we are slowly moving towards the best period for astrophotography in Angkor Wat without a shooting permit.
In this pandemic times, the hundred of tuk-tuks racing on the road to the main temple entrance were no where to be seen. Tourism, one of the main economic drive of Siem Reap came to an sudden halt in mid March 2020 when borders were closed. 7 months after country is open with some conditions but no tourist visas are not delivered.
Even activity is low in the temples check points are still there and it is not possible to enter Angkor Wat before 5 am.
However I was surprised to find before 5 am, dozens of motorbikes in the parking lot beside the main entrance of Angkor Wat.
I had to a walk fast to the location I had in mind to shoot the equinox, arriving there first by few seconds only before the best places were taking other by local photographers.
At 5.05 am (1h hour before sunrise) my camera was in place with tripod ready to do long exposure. few stars were visible with the planet Venus which dominates the morning sky rising 3 hours before the sun.
According to sky ephemerides, astronomical twilight ended at 5.03 am and sun rose at 5.53 am. Unfortunately clouds were still hovering above the horizon.
Except few flash lights the place was still quite dark at 5 am. Few potholes filled with water from the storm few days ago could be seem on the central walkway with was stretching in front of us leading to three of five visible towers.
At 5.15 am, stars already started fading leaving only Venus shining in the sky. At 5.30 a some beautiful beams of light came out streching out high in the sky just behind the temple. This is not very commun I only so it a couple of times.
Beautiful beams of light before sunrise
The sun, following its curved trajectory behind the temple finally emerged from the clouds but minutes too late to capture the most visual moments of this equinox.
By 6.30 am the central walkway was packed with late comers . Facing the sun, it is was possible to capture silhouettes with some haze hovering in front of the temple. This time coincides as well with the golden hour during which is sometime possible to capture beams of light with the morning haze.
It was then time to move away and taking advantage of the few minutes left to capture other kind of composition. Although they were only few of them, it was possible to take few reflection shots of the temple in water puddles
By 7 am it was not longer possible to frame and expose correctly the towers and the sun . By 8 am the sky was already covered with clouds and it was a wrap up for this special event. The next Angkor Wat Equinox is set to happen around the 21th of March 2021.
If you are a photography enthusiast and plan to visit Angkor Wat temple in the future, do not forget to read our Angkor Wat photography Tips.