Visitors can travel to Siem Reap either on regular
domestic flights, overland or by speedboat long
the magnificent Tonle Sap to explore new cultures,
meeting local fisherman in their floating villages
and tasting ethnic food fares. Angkor Temples are
spread throughout the forest. Heading north from
Siem Reap , you first came to Angkor Wat, then the
walled city of angkor Thom. Further east are temples
including Ta Prohm North of Angkor Thom is Preah
Kahn and way beyond in the north-east, Banteay Srei
and Phnom Kulen. To the east of Siem Reap is the
Rolous group of early Angkor temples.
Angkor Wat
The Angkor Wat Temple, the mysterious Hindu Temple
built by King Suryavarman II at the height of the
Khmer Empire in the 12th century is the world's
largest temple complex. onsists of many sandstone
temples, chapels, causeways, terraces and reservoirs,
it is believed that the gods assisted the architect
whose identity remains a mystery until today. The
walls of the temple are covered with thousands of
carving depicting scenes of confrontations between
the gods and the demons of classical Hindu mythology.
Yet on some are genial-dancing ladies known as "Apsara"
and on 
others
depicting royal processions with the king and other
royalties are riding on the elephant. Whatever it
is, the carvings are clearly masterpieces in the
true sense. There is much about Angkor Wat that
is unique among the temples of Angkor. The most
significant point is its westward orientation. West
is symbolically the direction of death, which once
led many scholars to conclude that Angkor Wat was
primary a tomb. This was supported by the fact that
the magnificent bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat were designed
to view in an anticlockwise direction, a practice,
which has antecedents in Hindu funerary rites. Vishnu,
however, is often associated with the west, and
it is commonly accepted nowadays that Angkor Wat
was probably both a temple and a mausoleum for Suryavarman
II. Back to top
Angkor
Thom
The
fortified city of Angkor Thom, some 10sq km in extent,
was built by Angkor's greatest King, JayavarmanVII
(ruled 1181-1201). Centered on Baphuon, Angkor Thom
is enclo sed by a square wall 8m high and 12km in
length and encircled by moat 100m wide, said to
have been inhabited by fiece crocodiles. The city
has five monumental gates, one each in the north,
west and south walls and two in the east wall. In
front of each gate stand giant statues of 54 gods
(to the left of the causeway) and 54 demons (to
the right of the causeway), a motif taken from the
story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk illustrated
in the famous bas-relief at Angkor Wat. In the center
of the walled enclosure are the city's most important
monuments, including the Bayon, the Baphuon, the
Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas and the Terrace of
Elephants.
Bayon
The
Bayon takes an easy second places after Angkor Wat
.The smile of the four-faced Bayon has become a
world-recognized symbol of Cambodia. The towering
faces, reaching up to four meters in height, adorn
the Bayon Temple at the exact center of Angkor Thom
in Siem Reap. As many as 216 faces on the 54 remaining
towers, each represented one province of Khmer empire
in the ancient time. The Bayon is now known to have
been built by Jayavarman VII . There is still much
mystery associated with the Bayon - its exact function
and symbolism - and this seems only appropriate
for a monument whose signature is an enigmatically
smiling face. Back to top
Baphoun
The
Baphuon, a pyramidal representation of mythical
Mt Meru, is 200m north - west of the Bayon. It was
constructed by Udayadityavarman II (reigned 1049-65)
and marked the center of the city that existed before
the construction of Angkor Thom. The Baphuon is
in pretty poor shape and at the time of writing
it was being restored by a French team, with much
of the temple marked off-limits. It is approached
by a 200m elevated walkway made of sandstone. The
central structure is 43m high, but unfor-tunately
its submit has collapsed (it may be restored). On
the west side of the temple, the remaining wall
of the second level was fashioned -apparently in
the 15th century into a reclining Buddha 40m in
length.
Banteay
Srei
Banteay
Srei was built in the late 10th century and is a
Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. The temple is square
with entrances at the east and west. Of chief inter-east
are the three central towers, which are decorated
with male and female divinities and beautiful filigree
relief work. Banteay Srei is 21km north-east of
the Bayon and 8km west of Phnom Kulen. You can combine
a visit here with a trip to the sacred mountain
of Phnom Kulen.
Ta Prohm
The temple of Ta Prohm rates with Angkor Wat and
the Bayon as one of the most popular attractions
of Angkor. Ta Prohm is a unique other world experience.
The temple is cloaked in dappled shadow, its crumbling
towers and walls locked in the slow muscular embrace
of 
vast
root systems. If Angkor Wat , the Bayon and other
temples are testimony to the genius of the Angkor-period
Khmers, Ta Prohm reminds us equally of the awesome
fecundity and power of the jungle. Built in approximately
1186, Ta Prohm was a Buddhist temple dedicated to
the mother of jayavarman VII. Ta Prohm is a temple
of towers, close courtyards and narrow corridors.
Many of the corridors are impassable, clogged with
jumbled piles of delicately carved stone blocks
dislodged by the roots of long-decayed trees. Bas-reliefs
on building walls are carpeted by lichens; moss,
creeping plants and shrubs sprout from the roofs
of monumental porches. Trees, hundreds of years
old - some supported by flying buttresses - tower
overhead, their leaves filtering the sunlight and
casting a greenish pall over the whole scene.
Preah Khan
The temple of Preah Khan (Sacred Sword) is a good
counterpoint to Ta Prohm, though it 
gets
far fewer visitors. Preah Khan was built by Jayavarman
VII(it may have served as his temporary residence
while Angkor Thom was being built), and like Ta
Prohm it is a place of towered enclosures and shoulder-hugging
corridors. The central sanctuary of the temple was
dedicated in 1191, Preah Khan's role as a center
for worship and learning. Preah Khan covered a very
large area, but the temple itself is within a rectangular
enclosing wall of around 700m by 800m. Four processional
walkways approach the gates of the temple. These
gates are flanked, gods carrying a serpent, as in
the approach to Angkor Thom. From the central sanctuary,
four long vaulted galleries extend in the cardinal
directions. Many of the interior walls of Preah
Khan were once coated with plaster held in place
by holes in the stone. Back to top
Phnom Bakheng
Around 400m south of Angkor Thom, the main attraction
of Phnom Bakheng is the sunset 
view
of Angkor Wat. Still, the sunset over the Tonle
Sap lake is very impressive from the hill. It is
also now possible to arrange an elephant ride up
the hill and the location certainly makes
for one of the more memorable journeys you will
make. Phnom Bakheng is also home to the first of
the temple mountain built in the near vicinity of
Angkor. Yasovarman I (rule 889 - 910) chose Phnom
Bakheng over the Rolous area, where previous temples
have been built. Phnom Bakheng is a five-tiered
temple mountain with seven levels. All of these
numbers are of symbolic significance. The seven
levels, for example, represent the seven Hindu heavens,
while the total number of towers, excluding the
Central Sanctuary, is 108, a particularly auspicious
number and which co-relates to the lunar calendar.
Phnom Kolen
Angkor Wat does not mark the start of the Angkorean
Empire begun by Jayavarman II in the 
9th
century. At just about 42km north of Siem Reap Town,
many visitors combine a visit to Phnom Kulen with
a trip to the pink sandstone temple of Banteay Srei.
But Phnom Kulen is also a change of scenery for
those who have spent days looking at the impressive
lowland temples and wish to see a different, rural
Cambodia, waterfalls and forest. In 802 AD, the
mysterious King Jayavarman II proclaimed this place
and its surroundings as his empire and declared
it free of the rule of Java, and Phnom Kulen was
born as the new dynasty's first capital. The peak
of Phnom Kulen opens out to a large flat plain.
On either side, tall waterfalls crash down the mountain;
clean, clear and cool water provide a wonderful
place for tourists. Carvings of Brahmin yonis and
lingas can be seen etched into the riverbed. A mountain
peak temple houses a huge reclining Buddha, gazing
serenely out from his peaceful mountain home. This
is the largest reclining Buddha in the Kingdom.
It is an unforgettable memory of this stunning and
exotic Kingdom. Back to top
Floating
Village at Tonle Sap
This has become a popular excursion for visitors
wanting a break from the temples and is easy enough
to arrange yourself, get a preview as the floating
village is near Phnom Krom where the boat docks.
It is very scenic in the warm light of early morning
or late afternoon.
On the Tonle Sap lake, there are 3 biospheres and
an establishment of the bird sanctuary there makes
it the most worthwhile and straight forward location
to visit. If you are able to visit during the dry
season (December to May), the concentration of birds
is like something out of a Hitchcock film as water
starts to dry up elsewhere.
Ta Som
Ta Som (the ancestor Som)
Date: Late 12th century
King: Jayavarman VII
Cult: Buddhist
Located
east of Neak Pean, built by Jayavarman VII dedicated
to Buddha and his father. Ta Som is a single tower
monument on one level surrounded by three encl-
osing walls with entry small room on each sid connecting
to laterite wall, is yet another of the late XIIth
century Buddhist temples of Jayavarman VII. Much
of Ta Som is in a ruined state.
Banteay
Kdei
Banteay Kdei (the citadel of chambers or the cells
citadel)
Date: second half of the 12th to the beginning of
the 13th century (1181)
King: Jayavarman VII
Cult: Buddhist
Banteay Kdei or Parvatathagata, royal monastery
and also Jayavarman VII’s monument, was built
in 1181, under the reign of the king Jayavarman
VII and dedicated to the Buddhist cult. The externallaterite
enclosure wall (fourth enclosure), 500m by 700m
has four gopuras which are exactly t
he
same as those at Ta Prohm – an upper tower
with the four faces of Lokeshvara and corner motifs
with Garudas. They are evidently of the Bayon Period,
like the narrow cruciform terrace which, on the
west side at 200m from the entrance crosses the
moat and is decorated with lions and naga balustrades
with straddling garudas. The gopura of the third
enclosure is cruciform in plan, has internal pillars
and is covered with a crossing of vaults. It appears
to be older and has three passageways those at either
extremity are independent and adjoin the 300m by
320 laterite wall. Their wall are sculpted quite
crudely with foliated scrolls enlivened with small
figures and large devatas standing in niches. In
the internal courtyard is a frieze of Buddhas which
have been defaced by the iconoclasts.
Srah Srang
Srah Srang (the royal bathing pool)
Date: (embarkation terrace) Late 12th century
King: Jayavarman VII
Across
the road from the east entrance of Banteay Kdei,
Srah Srang was built by Jayavarman VII at the end
of 12th century and dedicated to Buddhism. It is
a large lake measuring 700m by 300m with an elegant
landing terrace of superb proportion and scale.
A majestic platform with stairs leads to the pond.
It is built of laterite with sandstone molding.
The platform is in the shape of a cross with serpent
balustrades flanked two lions. At the front there
is enormous Garudas riding a three headed serpents.
At the back there is mythical creature comprising
a three headed serpent, the lower portion of a Garuda
and stylized tail decorated with small serpent head.
The body of the serpent rests on a dais supported
by mythical monsters. Srah Srang always has water
and surrounded by greenery. According to one French
archaeologist, it offers at the last rays of the
day one of the most beautiful poit vie the park
od Angkor. Back to top
Eastern
Mebon
Date: 952
King: Rajendravarman II
Cult: Bramanic (Shiva)
Located 500m north of Pre Rup. The monument was
built in the middle o the artificial lake of the
king Yashovarman I. It was an Island temple as Lokei.
Eastern Barrya which was excavated by Yashovarman
I (ruled 889-910), who marked its four corners with
steles. The Eastern Baray which was a large body
of lake(2km by 7km ) fed by the Siem Reap River
and was the most important of the public works of
Yasodharapura, Yasovarman I’s capital. The
East Mebon is a temple with five towers arranged
like the numbers on a die atop a base with three
tiers. The whole is surrounded by three enclosures.
The towers represent the five peaks of the mythical
Mount Meru. This Hindu temple is very similar in
design though smallest in size to the Pre Rup temple,
which was built 15 to 20 years later and lies immediately
to the south.
Terrace
of Elephants
Date: late 12th century
King: Jayavarman VII
Cult: Buddhist
Clearing
by de Mecquenem in 1911 and H.Marchal in 1916 The
terrace of the Elephants in its present form extends
in length for over 300m – from the Baphoun
to the terrace of the Leper King – thought
the two extremities remain imprecise in their layout
and the
terrace itself shows evidence of additions and alterations.
The terrace faces on the Royal Square of the city
of Angkor Thom. This area was the Royal Palace but
the actual buildings were built of wood and havenot
survived. The 350m long terrace which extend from
Baphoun to the Terrace of Leper King, the Elephants
Terrace was used as a giant reviewing stand for
public ceremonies and served as a base for the king’s
grand audience hall. As you stand here, try to imagin
the pomp and grandeur of the Khmer empire at its
height with infantry, cavalry, horse-drawn chariots
and elephants parading across the Central Square
in a colorful procession, pennants and standards
aloft. Looking on is the god-king, crowned with
a gold diadem, shaded by multiplied parasols and
attended by mandarins and handmaidens bearing gold
and silver utensils.
Terrace
of Leper King
Date: late 12th century
King: Jayavarman VII
Cult: Buddhist
The terrace of the leper king lies just to the
north of the Terrace of Elephants, aligned with
it but standing separate. A mound of masonry about
25m across by 6 high, it is formed as a bastion
with side that are lined in sandstone and entirely
sculpted with figures in a high relief, juxtaposed
and separated in seven registers – the uppermost
of which has almost entirely disappeared. Although
now standing isolated – joined only at its
north and south by the start of some returning walls
– it is probable that this motif was previously
but one element in a vast composition, perhaps complemented
with pools, that has evidently undergone alteration.
The Terrace of the Leper King is a platform 7m high.
On top of the platform stand a nude, though sexless
statue. Legend has it that at least two of the Angkor
kings had leprosy, and the statue may represent
one of them. A more likely explanation is that the
statue is of Yam, the god of death, and that the
Terrace of the Leper King housed the royal crematorium.
Back to top
Takeo
Date: till 1000
King: Jayavarman V and Suryavarman I
Cult: Brahmanic (Shiva)
Located east of Thammanon and Chau Say Tevoda,
the absence of the decoration of the 
monument
shows us the very unfinished temple of Takeo, according
to the inscription, there was a lightning that hit
on it – it was a bad omen and the monument
was abandoned. It is an imposing sight, scaling
22m to the sky, and give an impression of power.
Takeo was the first Angkorian monument built entirely
in sandstone and such serves as a milestone. Enormous
blocks of stone were cut to a regular size and place
in position. the absence of decoration at Takeo
gives its simplicity of design that separates from
the other monuments. The summit of the central tower,
which is surrounded by four lower towers, is 10m
high. This quincunx arrangement with four towers
at the corners of a square and a fifth tower in
the center is typical of many Angkor temple mountains.
Chau Say
Tevoda
Date: late of 11th century to first half of 12th
century
King: Suryavarman II
Cult: Brahmanic
Chau Say Tevoda and Thommanon are two small monuments
close together(located on the lest and right sides
of the road) and similar in plan and style. Although
the precise dates of these monuments are unknown,
they belong to the best period of “classic
art” stylistically and represent two variations
of a single theme of composition. Built by King
Suryavarman II from the end of the 11th to the first
half of the 12th century and dedicated to Brahmanism.
Walking toward the temple you can see traces of
a moat and vestiges of rectangular laterite base
of an enclosing wall. Currently is under restoration.
Thommanon
Located east of the Gate of Victory of Angkor Thom,
across the road (north) from Chau 
Say
Tevoda, Thommanon is rectangular in plan with a
sanctuary opening the east, a moat and an enclosing
wall with two entry towers, one on the east and
another on the west, and one library near the southeast
side of the wall. Only trace of laterite base of
the wall remains. Thommanon is a gem an should not
be missed. It is similar in plan and style to Chau
Sya Tevoda, which is close by. Built by King Suryavarman
II from the end of the 11the to the first half of
the 12the century and dedicated to Brahmanism. Back
to top
Neak Pean
Date: second half of the 12th century
King: Jayavarman VII
Cult: Buddhist
Located
east of Preah Khan; 300m from the road, Neak Pean
is a large square man made pond 70m each side bordered
by steps and surrounded by four smaller square ponds.
A small circular island with a stepped base of seven
laterite tiers is in the center of the large square
pond. Small elephants sculpted in the round originally
stood on the four corners. Although Neak Pean is
small and a collection of five ponds, it is worth
a visit for its unique features. Most photogenic
in the wet season when the pools are full.
Beng Mealea
Beng Mealea is one of the most interesting of Angkor's
many temples, but was also one of the hardes
t
to reach. Since the road has improved recently makes
this site becoming very popular. This 12th century
temple is enclosed by a moat measuring 1200m by
900m. It is nearly the size of Angkor Wat, but utterly
subsumed by jungle. Many of the carvings have recently
been plundered due to the temple's isolation, but
that doesn't detract from the atmosphere. Back
to top
