Angkor Temples travel guide

The Angkor Temple Complex

Angkor Wat Temples The amazing ceremonial temple complex at Angkor was discovered by French naturalist Henri Mouhot who, in 1860, came upon the ruins of Angkor Thom, the ancient Khmer capital situated near present day Siem Reap. The most famous and best-preserved structure is Angkor Wat, a series of temples built between 1112 and 1152. Its layout is breathtaking: a giant moat surrounds the main structure and a huge stone bridge traverses it. The moat, said to represent the oceans of the world is nearly 200m wide; the wall surrounding the enclosure measures 1,000 meters by 800 and the central tower rises 55 m from the ground. Once inside the outer walls you are dazzled by an array of beautiful bas-reliefs and ornate carvings, depicting various scenes from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharat.

The Khmer Empire spanned a period of approximately 600 years, its zenith being in the first half of the 12th century when Angkor Wat was constructed. The founding kings of the 9th century regarded themselves as God Kings, or Devaraja, with divine powers. This led to the creation of the temples, dedicated to the worship of the Khmer kings. One of the oldest is at Roulos, east of Siem Reap. Here King Indravarman created a reservoir or Baray and established Preah Ko, both of which survive to this day. His son chose to build on a nearby hill, today known as Phnom Bakheng. This five-tiered temple is now a very popular spot for tourists to come a watch the sun go down.

Angkor Thom's classical age began in the 11th century when the Khmers conquered much of present day Southern Laos and Thailand. Further conquests over the next century meant that the Khmer kings had the resources and manpower to embark on their most ambitious building program Angkor Wat. By the time it was completed, Angkor Wat had a population of 750,000. Ironically within 25 years of its completion the kingdom became overrun by the Chams of southern Vietnam. The Chams' victory was short-lived but its effects were profound. The king responsible for evicting the Cham, Jayavarman VII adopted Buddhism as the national religion and embarked on a bold series of building projects, including the walled city of Angkor Thom with the Bayon as its centerpiece.

The Bayon is characterized by its giant sculptured heads. Set in the heart of Angkor Thorn, it is a bizarre structure with a total of 54 towers elaborately decorated with over 200 enigmatic smiling faces. The fortified city of Angkor Thom covers an area in excess of 10 square kilometers with 12 km of wall, complete with a moat thought to have originally contained crocodiles. Not long after the death of Jayavarman VII the empire began to fall into terminal decline and within 200 years of Angkor Thorn's completion the entire city was abandoned to the jungle where it lay hidden until the young Frenchman's 'discovery'.

It is based on the amount of time the visitor has to spend at Angkor and take into consideration the roads, proximity of the temples, and favorable light conditions.

For some temples it is important to begin at the principal entrance to perceive the space and decoration as the builder intended, and entrances are indicated in the text. The monuments are oriented according to the four points of a compass which can be used as a point of reference. the temple of Angkor Wat is covered in detail in this book because of its importance, complexity and size.

Angkor provides wonderful photographic opportunities. the monuments and the surrounding jungle afford unlimited textural and lighting opportunities for composing a picture.

Clouds are common and tend to diffuse the light which is somewhat flat even though it is intense. As most of the temples face east the best lighting conditions are in the morning except for Angkor Wat where the best light is in the afternoon because it faces west. the temples surrounded by jungle such as Ta Prohm and Preah Khan can be photographed with good results when the sun is directly overhead and shining through the foliage. Just as one is never prepared for the enormous size and overwhelming beauty of Angkor, one is never ready to leave it. With photographs and visions etched in memory, one need never say good-by to Angkor, for its magic will go with you wherever fate and the gods may take you to colour your thoughts and dreams to life's very end. The name of the monuments at Angkor are often modern ones designated by Cambodians or early European travellers. In publications by the French the enclosures of a temple are numbered starting from the central sanctuary and progressing towards the enclosing walls. The system used in this book reverses the order for the convenience of the visitor. Thus the first enclosing wall the visitor encounters when entering a temple is number one. the numbers ascend from the exterior to the interior of the monument. In many distances, though, only traces of the enclosing walls, particularly the outer one, remain.

Angkor ancient history

More articles:

Angkor Temples Map

Bayon temple - Angkor complex

Angkor Wat

Angkor Thom

Ta Prohm - Jungle temple - Angkor complex

Phnom Kulen - the River of 1000 Lingas - Angkor Complex

Phimeanakas temple - Angkor complex

Kravan temple - Angkor complex

Elephant and Leper King Terraces - Angkor complex

Banteay Srey temple - Angkor complex

Phnom Krom temple - Angkor complex

Neak Pean temple - Angkor complex

Koh Ker temple - Angkor complex

Beng Melea temple - Angkor complex

Banteay Samre temple - Angkor complex

Phnom Bakheng hill temple - Angkor complex

Lolei temple - Angkor complex

Kbal Spean temple - Angkor complex

Baphoun temple - Angkor complex

Bakong temple - Angkor complex

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