Angkor Visit - 4 days

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm temple; it is a temple where tree roots have invaded the roofs and walls of the temple. Ta Prohm is one of the most atmospheric temples of Angkor. The Hollywood blockbuster 'Tomb Raider' (with Angelina Jolie) has made the temple famous. Once you have covered the site, you will be surprised by the unique atmosphere created by these temples half covered with trees and vegetation.

Bayon

Bayon temple which is located in the middle of the great ancient city of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. It is a city surrounded by an 8 meters high rampart with 3 km on each side, drawing a perfect square. Bayon, King Jayavarman VII’s State Temple dated 1181, is one of the most mysterious temples in the Angkor region. You will admire its beautifully carved central towers that cover 200 huge stone Buddha faces facing the four cardinal points. Leaving the Bayon, you will visit the terrace of the Elephants.

Baphuon

The Baphuon is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia. It is located in Angkor Thom, northwest of the Bayon. Built in the mid-11th century, it is a three-tiered temple mountain built as the state temple of Udayadityavarman II dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. It is the archetype of the Baphuon style. The temple adjoins the southern enclosure of the royal palace and measures 120 metres east-west by 100 metres north-south at its base and stands 34 meters tall without its tower.

Phimeanakas

The temple was the focal point of Suryavarman I's capital. The buildings there from his reign are enclosed by a wall 600 by 250 m, with five gopuram, and include the Southern and Northern Khleangs.
The tower must originally have been crowned with a golden pinnacle, as Zhou Daguan described it in his report. According to legend, the king spent the first watch of every night with a woman thought to represent a Nāga in the tower, during that time, not even the queen was permitted to intrude. Only in the second watch the king returned to his palace with the queen. If the naga who was the supreme land owner of Khmer land did not show up for a night, the king's day would be numbered, if the king did not show up, calamity would strike his land.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 sq meters). It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (Khmer: យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag

Koh Ker

Koh Ker is a remote archaeological site in northern Cambodia about 120 kilometres (75 mi) away from Siem Reap and the ancient site of Angkor. It is a very jungle filled region that is sparsely populated. More than 180 sanctuaries were found in a protected area of 81 square kilometres (31 sq mi). Only about two dozen monuments can be visited by tourists because most of the sanctuaries are hidden in the forest and the whole area is not fully demined.

Koh Ker is the modern name for an important city of the Khmer empire. In inscriptions the town is mentioned as Lingapura (city of lingams) or Chok Gargyar (sometimes translated as city of glance, sometimes as iron tree forest).

Beng Mealea

Beng Mealea or Bung Mealea (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបឹងមាលា, its name means "lotus pond") is a temple in the Angkor Wat period located 40 km east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Cambodia, on the ancient royal highway to Preah Khan Kompong Svay.

Phsar Leu

Phsar Leu (in full Phsar Leu Thom Thmey) is the biggest market in Siem Reap, and likely the most authentic. It is located on National Road 6, on the way to Phnom Penh, about 3km from the center. Usually crowded on the outside, it attracts mostly locals looking for the cheapest prices. Almost no English is spoken here.

Tonlé Sap

The lake is linked to the Mekong River by the Tonlé Sap River. From November until June the lake flows into the Mekong. However, each year during the rainy season (mid June-late October) the Mekong River is inundated with rain waters. Its lower delta becomes flooded and cannot flow into the sea quickly enough to eliminate all the excess water. This causes the Mekong River to raise enough to reverse the flow of the Tonlé Sap River causing it to flow back into the lake. The lake expands from 2500 km2 to more than 16,000 km2 creating an enormous wetland area. This wetland area supports a tremendous amount of biodiversity including plants, reptiles, mammals, birds and other animals. Many of these are known to be rare or endangered. These wetlands are also an important breeding area for fish from the lake and Mekong River. Both Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis) and saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) once occurred side-by-side in the lake, and there is thought to be inter-species breeding amongst the crocodiles found in the floating farms on the western part of the Lake in and around Prek Toal.

Lolei

Lolei is the northernmost temple of the Roluos group of three late 9th century Hindu temples at Angkor, Cambodia, the others members of which are Preah Ko and the Bakong. Lolei was the last of the three temples to be built as part of the city of Hariharalaya that once flourished at Roluos, and in 893 the Khmer king Yasovarman I dedicated it to Shiva and to members of the royal family. The name "Lolei" is thought to be a modern corruption of the ancient name "Hariharalaya," which means "the city of Harihara." Once an island temple, Lolei was located on an island slightly north of centre in the now dry Indratataka baray, construction of which had nearly been completed under Yasovarman's father and predecessor Indravarman I. Scholars believe that placing the temple on an island in the middle of a body of water served to identify it symbolically with Mount Meru, home of the gods, which in Hindu mythology is surrounded by the world oceans.

Bakong

Bakong is the first temple mountain of sandstone constructed by rulers of the Khmer empire at Angkor near modern Siem Reap in Cambodia. In the final decades of the 9th century AD, it served as the official state temple of King Indravarman I in the ancient city of Hariharalaya, located in an area that today is called Roluos.
The structure of Bakong took shape of stepped pyramid, popularly identified as temple mountain of early Khmer temple architecture. The striking similarity of the Bakong and Borobudur temple in Java, going into architectural details such as the gateways and stairs to the upper terraces, suggests strongly that Borobudur was served as the prototype of Bakong. There must have been exchanges of travelers, if not mission, between Khmer kingdom and the Sailendras in Java. Transmitting to Cambodia not only ideas, but also technical and architectural details of Borobudur, including arched gateways in corbelling method.

Preah Kô

Preah Ko was the first temple to be built in the ancient and now defunct city of Hariharalaya (in the area that today is called Roluos), some 15 kilometers south-east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Cambodia. The temple was built under the Khmer King Indravarman I in 879 to honor members of the king's family, whom it places in relation with the Hindu deity Shiva.

Pagode Bo

Wat Bo is one of the oldest pagodas in Siem Reap province. It was founded in the 18th century and to day it enjoys high regard among native Khmer population. The most significant part of Wat Bo are 19th century paintings depicting scenes from a Cambodian epic poem Reamker

Artisans d’Angkor

Artisans Angkor is a Cambodian social business creating job opportunities for young people in rural areas, while reviving traditional Khmer craftsmanship (stone and wood carving, painting on statues and on silk, lacquering, and silver plating).

Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei or Banteay Srey (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) is a 10th-century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Located in the area of Angkor in Cambodia. It lies near the hill of Phnom Dei, 25 km (16 mi) north-east of the main group of temples that once belonged to the medieval capitals of Yasodharapura and Angkor Thom. Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a "precious gem", or the "jewel of Khmer art.

Banteay Samré

Banteay Samré (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយសំរែ) is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, located 400 metres to the east of the East Baray. Built during the reign of Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.
Named after the Samré, an ancient people of Indochina, the temple uses the same materials as the Banteay Srei.
Banteay Samré was excellently restored by Maurice Glaize from 1936 until 1944. The design of its single ogival tower is immediately recognizable as Angkor Wat style along with other temples in the region such as Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda. Due to this temple looks familiar with a few monuments of north-east Thailand, it has very much appearance of a compacted Phimai. While there are no inscription describing about its foundation, it seems likely to be built by a high official of the court during the reign of King Suryavarman II.

Preah Khan

Preah Khan is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII to honor his father. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely un-restored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

Neak Pean

Neak Pean (or Neak Poan) (Khmer: ប្រាសាទនាគព័ន្ធ) ("The entwined serpents") at Angkor, Cambodia is an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on a circular island in Preah Khan Baray built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. It is the "Mebon" of the Preah Khan Baray (the "Jayatataka" of the inscription).

Ta Som

Ta Som is a small temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located north east of Angkor Thom and just east of Neak Pean. The King dedicated the temple to his father Dharanindravarman II (Paramanishkalapada) who was King of the Khmer Empire from 1150 to 1160. The temple consists of a single shrine located on one level and surrounded by enclosure laterite walls. Like the nearby Preah Khan and Ta Prohm the temple was left largely un-restored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins. In 1998, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) added the temple to their restoration program and began work to stabilise the structure to make it safer for visitors.

Pre Rup

Pre Rup is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built as the state temple of Khmer king Rajendravarman and dedicated in 961 or early 962. It is a temple mountain of combined brick, laterite and sandstone construction.
The temple’s name is a comparatively modern one meaning "turn the body". This reflects the common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the service progressed.