Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom is undeniably an expression of the highest genius. It is, in three dimensions and on a scale worthy of an entire nation, the materialization of Buddhist cosmology, representing ideas that only great painters would dare to portray.

Angkor Thom South Gate

The south gate of Angkor Thom is most popular with visitors, as it has been fully restored and many of the heads remain in place. The gate is on the main road into Angkor Thom from Angkor Wat.

Bayon Temple

The Bayon temple was built nearly 100 years after Angkor Wat. The basic structure and earliest part of the temple ate not known. Since it was located at the Centre of a royal city it seems possible that the Bayon would have originally been a temple-mountain conforming to the symbolism of a microcosm of Mount Meru. The middle part of the temple was extended during the second phase of building. The Bayon of today belong to the third and last phase of the art style. The Smiling Face at Bayon, the architectural scale and composition of the Bayon exude grandness in every aspects. Its elements juxtapose each other to create balance and harmony and there are more then 200 large faces carved on the 54 tower give this temple its majestic character. The faces with slightly curving lips, eyes placed in shadow by the lowered lids utter not a word and yet force you to guess much, wrote P Jennerat de Beerski in the 1920s.

Baphoun is the temple stands on a rectangular sandstone base with five levels that are approximately the same size, rather than the more common form of successively smaller levels. The first, second and third levels are surrounded by sandstone galleries. Baphuon is the first structure in which stone galleries with a central tower appear. Two libraries in the shape of a cross with four porches stand in the courtyard. They were originally connected by an elevated walkway supported by columns.

Phimeanakas temple is situated near the center of the area enclosed by the walls of the Royal Palace. It must originally have been crowned with a golden pinnacle, as Zhou Daguan described it as the Tower of Gold The temple is built of roughly hewn sandstone blocks and has little decoration.

Terrace of the Elephants

The elephants are ridden by servants and princes, and tread as quietly as if they were on an excursive promenade. The steps of even length have no respect for any obstacle. The forest in which they travel in impenetrable to all but tiny creatures, able to squeeze their smallness between the fissures of the undergrowth and to the biggest animals, which crush chasms for their passage in the virgin vegetation.

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm is the undisputed capital of the kingdom of the Trees. It has been left untouched by archaeologists except for the clearing of a path for visitors and structural strengthening to stave of further deterioration. Because of its natural state, it is possible to experience at this temple the wonder of the early explorers when they came upon these monuments in the middle of the nineteenth century. Shrouded in dense jungle the temple of Ta Prohm is ethereal in aspect and conjures up a romantic aura. Fig, banyan and kapok trees spread their gigantic roots over stones, probing walls and terraces apart, as their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof over the structures. Trunks of trees twist amongst stone pillars. The strange, haunted charm of the place entwines itself about you as you go, as inescapably as the roots have wound themselves about the walls and towers.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat, the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief's and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world. It is generally accepted that Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and oriented to the west to conform to the symbolism between the setting sun and death. The bas-reliefs, designed for viewing from left to right in the order of Hindu funereal ritual, support this function.

Phnom Bakheng

Phnom Bakheng is a stunning temple in it's own right, but it's most famous for being the spot where you can see the sun go down over Angkor Wat temple.

Tonle Sap Lake

The Tonle Sap Lake is the largest fresh water in South East Asia. Its dimension changes depending on the monsoon and dry season and five provinces circled the area of Tonle Sap Lake and there are more than three million of population inhabited around the bank of the Lake and 90% of them earn a living by catching fish and making agricultures. As you can see on the map of Cambodia It stretches across the northwest section of the country. The Lake is also an important commercial resource, providing more than half of the fish consumed in Cambodia. In harmony with the specialized ecosystems, the human occupations at the edges of the lake is similarly distinctive floating villages, towering stilted houses, huge fish traps, and an economy and way of life deeply intertwined with the lake, the fish, the wildlife and the cycles of rising and falling waters.

Kampong Phluk Floating Village

Kampong Pluk is about 30 Km locates on the Southeast of Siem Reap Town and there are more then 3000 inhabitants are real Khmers, their households made of wood and bamboo built on stilts of about 6m to 7m high. During dry season when the lake is low and lack of water those buildings look like the skyscrapers. At this time of the year many of villagers move out onto the lake and build a provisional stilted houses. In wet season while the water level rises up again, the dwellers move back to their permanent houses on the flood plain, the stilts now hidden under the water. People made a living by catching fishes produce as well as smelly fish paste, fermented fish, smoked fish, dried fish, dried prawn etc.

Wat Preah Prom Rath

Wat Preah Prom Rath is one of the oldest pagodas in Siem Reap, Cambodia and has a number of well-preserved wall paintings from the 17th century. Although it is a Buddhist temple some of the wall paintings describe the famous ancient love story of Rama and Shita, the strongest man and the most beautiful women of all times. Still today the royal families of the Southeast Asian countries claim to be descendants of Rama. Anyhow, these wall paintings describe a Hindu story that is most remarkable in a Buddhist temple. Wat Preah Prom Rath temple also contains a large collection of Buddha statues that you will find behind the main Buddha.

Artisans Angkor

Artisans Angkor is a Cambodian social business creating job opportunities for young people in rural areas, while reviving traditional Khmer craftsmanship. The organisation, founded in 1992, is located on Stung Thmey Street, 2 minutes walk from the Old Market in Siem Reap Centre, Cambodia

West Baray

The West Baray is a vast man-made lake, surrounded by an earthen levee which forms a dyke. According to legend, the young daughter of a ruler of Angkor was grabbled by an enormous crocodile, which made a large opening in the south dyke of the West Baray that can still be seen today. The crocodile was capture and killed. The princess, still living in its stomach, was rescued.

The Svay Romiet Pagoda is located directly on the banks of the West Baray.