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The Complete Cambodian Travel Guide
Angkor Wat
The most famous and iconic temple at the Angkor complex is Angkor Wat. The modern day translation of Angkor Wat is “City Temple”, and this is plain to realize when you first cast eyes on the temple.
This impressive building is surrounded by a 600 foot wide, rectangle moat (or barays) almost a mile long on its longest sides. The perimeter wall completely surrounds the 200 acres of land which make up the main temple area.
Once within these walls prepared to be visually stunned. The site is believed to represent the Hindu vision of the universe. The five lotus-like towers embody the five peaks of Mount Meru, home of Vishnu. Whilst the moats surrounding Angkor signify the waters at the base of Mount Meru.
The complex itself is almost perfectly symmetrical, and is believed to be an ancient kind of astronomy tool, not unlike Stonehenge. Even the number of windows, pillars, and steps in various parts of the complex may be have been used to signify the number of days in the solar and/or lunar calendars. Perhaps the most striking piece of symbolism is the fact that the whole complex faces west: in the direction of the afterlife in Hinduism.
Angkor is one of the most important religious archaeological sites in the world. The whole site stretches over somewhere in the region of 400 km2. This is an amazing place and HAS to be experienced during your time in Cambodia.
Explore the massive Angkor complex, visit the stunning temples of Ta Phrohm, The Bayon and the original Phnom Bakheng.
The Temples at Angkor
Phnom Bakheng
Dedicated to Shiva, Phnom Bakheng was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman (889-910). Located at the top of a hill, it is most popular for tourists to view sunset across the much bigger temple Angkor Wat, which is only about 1.5 km to the southeast.
Constructed more than two centuries before Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng was in its day the primary temple of the Angkor region.
Again, Phnom Bakheng is a symbolic representation of Mount Meru, home of the Hindu gods, a status highlighted by the temple’s location on the top of a steep hill. The temple faces east, and sits on a rectangular base and rises in five levels with five main towers at the peak. One hundred and four smaller towers are distributed over the lower four levels.
The towers are placed so accurately and symmetrically that only 33 can be seen from the center of any side. Thirty-three is also the number of gods who existed on Mount Meru. Phnom Bakheng's total number of towers is also noteworthy. The center one represents the axis of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the four lunar phases, each with 27 days. The seven levels of the temple correspond to the seven heavens and each level contains 12 towers which represent the 12-year cycle of Jupiter. Making Phnom Bakheng a huge stone astrological calendar.
Ta Prohm
After coming to the Khmer throne in 1181 AD, King Jayavaman VII started a massive construction program, Ta Prohm was one of the first of these, and is dated from 1186 AD. Ta Prohm is perhaps best known as the temple at Angkor that the jungle has claimed. Records state that this site was home to more than 12,500 people at its peak, with an additional 80,000 villagers locally providing supplies.
See the local trees intertwined with the ancient stonework and carvings to produce beautiful scenes such as used for films as Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider. It is well worth the time to visit this popular and enchanting place, a favorite with visitors due to the fantastic photo opportunities of the many trees growing from the ruins.
The Bayon
The Bayon was built by Jayavarman VII and stands in the center of Angkor Thom. It comprises of 54 towers with 216 faces of Avalokiteshvara, this temple looks best in the morning just after sunrise or at the end of the afternoon as the sun shines on the faces. It is still debatable as to who is being depicted in the faces. Some believe It could be Avalokiteshvara, Mahayana Buddhism's compassionate Bodhisattva, or perhaps a combination of King Jayavarman VII and Buddha. The Bayon has over 1,300 m of bas-relief carvings, which correspond to more than 11,000 figures. Most of them depict every day's life scene of the Cambodia in the XII century.
