Cambodia Guide
Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor
The world-renowned temples of Angkor, in northwest Cambodia, stand as an impressive monument to the greatest ancient civilization in Southeast Asia. Spiritually, politically and geographically, Angkor was at the heart of the great Khmer Empire. During the Angkorian period, the ruling god-kings built imposing temples as a way of asserting their divinity, leaving a legacy of more than one hundred temples built between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. The nearest town to the temples is Siem Reap, a once sleepy backwater now a tourist hot-spot. If you tire of temples, the floating villages of Tonle Sap, the massive freshwater lake that dominates central Cambodia, are worth exploring.
Highlights
1 Siem Reap One of Cambodia's most tourist-friendly towns, full of restful pavement cafés, elegant restaurants and buzzing bars.
2 Apsara dance Catch a performance of Cambodia's ancient dance form, once performed exclusively for the king.
3 Angkor Wat Cambodia's most iconic building, whose soaring towers stay etched in the memory long after you've departed.
4 Angkor Thom Expansive walled city enclosing two fabulous royal terraces and the sacred Bayon temple.
5 Ta Prohm Atmospheric temple that is gradually being swallowed up by the encroaching jungle.
6 Banteay Srei Rosy-red sandstone temple with beautiful carvings of female divinities.
7 Kbal Spean Crystal-clear water washes over sacred linga carved into the bedrock at this tranquil riverside spot.
8 Tonle Sap Get a glimpse of the distinctive way of life led in the floating villages on Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake.