Voted the number 1 travel sight in the world on the Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist 2015, the temples of Angkor offer a breath-taking and adventure-filled experience that few places on the planet can equal. The Angkor Archaeological Park covers an area of 400 square kilometres and is home to hundreds and hundreds of temples, shrines and structures built by the Khmer Empire between the 9th and 15th centuries. When you put it that way it all sounds a bit intimidating, especially if you fancy escaping the prescribed trail that hordes of tourist follow every day. And that is why we are providing you with this little guide, to help you get to grips with this magnificent complex.
Sunset at Phnom Bakheng
Sunrise and sunset
Unfortunately sunrise at Angkor Wat is the must do Angkor experience, which means you end up sharing the moment with a lot of other people. Having said that, it is wholly spectacular but if you are looking for a slightly more intimate experience there are other options. Head into Angkor Thom to the Bayon to watch the sun’s rays creep across the temple’s many carved faces; take the steep but worthwhile climb to the summit of Pre Rup to see the sun come up from the midst of lush paddy fields; or stand on the shores of Srah Srang and enjoy the reds and oranges play across the waters of the reservoir.
For sunset, the place to be is the summit of Phnom Bakheng from where the sun dips into the jungle and you are able to just make out Angkor Wat in the distance. Again, the temple up here gets chock full for what is arguably not the greatest view (if you want to see temples anyway). Quieter places include Banteay Samre, Neak Pean or from the back of Angkor Wat, by its moat. For the ultimate sunset experience head up in a hot air balloon for 360 degree views for sunset or hop into a gondola for a quiet sunset cruise on the moat of Angkor Thom – that’s one to tell the neighbours!
East Mebon
Off-the-beaten track
Angkor is getting more and more popular and it is easy to see why – who wouldn’t want to explore these spectacular temples? And whilst the main sites can get very busy at certain times of day there are so many temples here that there will always be one or two that you can have almost to yourself. As a general rule, the further you move away from Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the quieter the temples will get, with the exception of Banteay Srei. The ‘Big Circuit’ is lined with temples on the edge of the main temple group, a 26 kilometre route that takes you past Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup – whilst you won’t have these temples entirely to yourself, they will be much, much quieter, as generally the tour groups don’t head out this far. To get really off the tourist trail head 13 kilometres east out from Siem Reap to the Roluos Temples, where you’ll find three of the earliest Khmer temples – you can add this on to a visit to a stilt village on Tonle Sap Lake.
Beng Mealea
Back to nature
In the mid-1800s a Frenchman by the name of Henri Mouhot visited Angkor – he didn’t discover the temples – the Khmer has always known they were there, and wasn’t even the first European to visit them but his detailed observations did bring the site to the attention of the West. From 1907 to the 1970s conservation work was carried out by the École française d’Extrême-Orient and whilst many temples were cleared of the encroaching jungle, others were left more or less reclaimed by nature. Ta Prohm is probably Angkor most atmospheric ruins, and one of the most popular, with jungle closing in on all sides, trees growing from the structures, their roots tangling with stone, delicately carved walls coated in mosses and creeping plants. Preah Khan is one of Angkor’s largest complexes and like Ta Prohm has been left mostly in ruins, with plenty of photogenic trees sprouting from its structures – this temple is great to visit early in the morning when it is even quieter. The most mysterious and thoroughly adventurous experience can be found at Beng Mealea, where nature has well and truly gone on the rampage – about 70 kilometres from Siem Reap, Beng Mealea is full of foliage, hanging vines and partial collapsed structures to explore.
Banteay Srei detail
It’s all in the detail
The temples of Angkor as a whole can boast some exquisite Khmer carvings, embellishments and bas reliefs. Angkor Wat itself has beautiful examples of apsaras and a huge bas relief depicting ‘the churning of the ocean of milk’ which is part of the Hindu creation myth. Whilst most temples boast carvings, sculptures and bas reliefs of some description – the Bayon, for example is adorned with over 200 stone faces, there is one that is particularly known for it. Banteay Srei’s elaborate decorative wall carvings are considered some of the most exquisite in the world, earning it the nickname the ‘jewel of Khmer art’. Every inch of this reddish pink sandstone temple is covered in decoration, from divinities to lotus flowers, and is wonderfully well preserved.
We’ve got plenty more information on Angkor here. If you feel that a you’d prefer to explore the Temples of Angkor on a guided tour, visit Wendy Wu Tours for a wealth of options.