Temple complex angkor cambodia on the map. Angkor is a huge temple complex in Cambodia.

It is a constitutional monarchy with the head of the king. The legislative body is the Parliament, which consists of two chambers. Its capital is Phnom Penh, and its main attraction is Angkor Wat (Cambodia). The photo below shows it at sunset.

A little about the country and its people

A small state is lost in the green jungle. It arose in the 600s AD. Nature is still virginally beautiful and surprises the traveler with amazing plants of the wet savannah and unusual animals. In the center is A on three sides it is surrounded by mountains. And the fourth opens with a view of the Gulf of Thailand. The main artery of the country, and Tonle Sap, flow along the valley. This amazing stream periodically changes its direction. A river can flow into or out of a lake. The country's population is the Khmer people (approximately 14 million), who are 95% Buddhist. For them there are more than 4 thousand temples. The language that is used in everyday life is Khmer, the elderly speak French, the young learn English and Chinese. The climate is humid and hot. The best months to visit are from late October to April, when there is a dry winter with temperatures ranging from +22°C to +26°C. But humidity stays at 93% all year round.

Landmarks of the country

The tourism business in the country is still poorly developed. The city of Siem Reap is known for its pagodas, temples and wats: wat Bo (wall paintings), Preah Angcherk and Preah Angchorm pagoda (very revered by the locals. There are two Buddha statues here), Yatep - local spirits live here that protect the city. The city of Sihanoukville is distinguished by beautiful beaches and diving centers. But still, the main thing that Cambodia is proud of is temple complex Angkor. Everything fades before him, like the stars and the moon before the light of the sun. It is located near the city of Siemrap. In all its grandeur, the sights of Angkor are located in the center of the state of Cambodia.

The temple complex can almost be considered a city. This iconic building is the largest in the world. Before you is a panorama of Angkor (Cambodia, photo below), now cleared of the jungle.

In addition, there is a temple in this historical reserve. This is also a visited and very interesting temple. It opens from above great view to Angkor. The jungle dominates Ta Prohm and is not going to leave it yet. There are more modest, but no less remarkable temples: Baksey Chhamkorg, Thama Bai Kaek and Prasat Bay.

World heritage under the supervision of UNESCO

Giant, largest - it's all about Angkor. Cambodia a thousand years ago very quickly, in just 30-40 years, erected and also decorated a temple for Hindus, worshipers of the god Vishnu. This was done at the behest of King Suryavarman II. He was a warrior who spent his time not in fun, but in worries about strengthening and centralizing the state. But he remained in history as the creator of the Angkor temple. Cambodia has attracted all its forces for its design and construction.

Design

By the time Angkor was created, Indian culture had existed for at least 4-4.5 millennia. The knowledge of Indian astronomers was extremely high. It can be assumed that they were involved in the creation of the layout of Angkor. Cambodia would hardly have been able to do this on its own. Moreover, the temple was dedicated to the deity Vishnu - the guardian of the universe, the protector from evil, the link between people and the universe.

At the end of the 20th century, the British historian D. Grisby concluded that the main structures in Angkor were a projection onto the ground. He was prompted to look for such a relationship by an inscription on an excavated stele of the 12th century, which reported that their country was similar to the sky. Such a connection is indicated by another inscription of an earlier time, which says that the stones of Angkor are associated with the movement of the stars in the sky. This has given rise to numerous modern studies and discussions in the world of historians and archaeologists. They don't stop today.

Construction

At that time, there was a lot of sandstone in the kingdom of Cambodia. The temple complex of Angkor was built from it. The construction took about five million tons of material. It was rafted down the Siemrap River. All stones are very smooth, as if they were polished. No mortar was used to fasten them, and they are held only by their own weight. They match one another so perfectly that the blade of a thin knife cannot pass between them. It is believed that elephants were used in the construction. Absolutely all surfaces are covered with kilometers of carving. These are scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata, unicorns and dragons, warriors, griffins, charming dedavasis (dancers). From all of the above, it follows that there were very skilled craftsmen who built Angkor. Cambodia, by all assumptions, had centuries of experience in such construction.

Architecture

This was a period of maturity in the development of sophisticated architecture with complete harmony of all its parts. As in many ancient civilizations, the sanctuary was the home of the gods. Only the priestly class and kings gathered in it, and it was also intended for the burial of rulers. Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Cambodia, is a rectangle with dimensions of 1.5 x 1.3 thousand meters and an area of two km². The area of the Vatican is almost three times smaller. Along the entire perimeter there is a moat filled with water, 190 m wide. A platform is installed in the center of the courtyard, which is enclosed by a wall. A temple was built on it. Nowhere has a capsule been found that bears its original name or date of commencement of construction. The temple of Angkor Wat (Cambodia) consists of three buildings with a common center. It has five lotus-shaped towers. The tallest central tower rises 65 m from the ground. The main entrance to it leads from the west. The road to it, made of sandstone blocks, is surrounded by low parapets, on which there are sculptures of snakes with seven heads.

Today, the entrance to the gopuram (the gate tower above the entrance) is through a sacred place under the south tower. It has a huge figure of Vishnu with 8 arms. It fills all space.

The sculptural decoration is organically connected with the whole composition of the temple. On the first tier, the most remarkable are eight huge images, the area of which is 1.2 thousand square meters. m. The walls of the 2nd tier are decorated with bas-reliefs of apsaras (celestial maidens). There are two thousand of them. From the second level you can see the entire courtyard. Stone steps lead to the third level, to huge conical towers. The highest is the center of the universe. All the towers represent, as the ancient Khmers understood it, the abode of the gods. In the highest one, the recumbent figure of Buddha is still preserved, although the temple was originally dedicated to Vishnu.

historical reserve

The temples of Angkor in Cambodia are not limited to the colossal and mysterious Angor Wat. The city of Angkor itself was a "Capital City" with a population of over 1,000,000 people who lived in wooden houses that rotted in the high humidity. Its ruins are located about five kilometers from the Angkor Wat complex. Temples built of sandstone and tuff have been preserved there: elephant terrace, Ta-Prokhm, Angor-Thom (included in the UNESCO heritage list), Preah-Kan (translated as “sacred sword”), Ta-Prum and Bayon Temple. It has 54 towers pointing to the sky, and all of them are decorated with images of the Buddha.

Angor Thom ("Great Capital") and Bayon Temple

It was the capital under the ruler Jayavarman VII. He adopted the philosophy of Buddha and built a square city in honor of him with a fantastic area of 900 hectares. It is divided by roads into 4 equal parts. The remains of stone buildings sprouted by the jungle. In the center stands the Bayon Temple.

Its size is smaller than other sights of Cambodia, but if you get closer to it, it strikes with grandeur. Bayon has three levels. The first one depicts scenes from peaceful life and battles. On the second, which is much better preserved, the tourist finds himself in a labyrinth of galleries with low ceilings. Faces are carved on each of the fifty towers, which, depending on the lighting, can look either good or evil. These ruins look majestic, especially when viewed from the third level.

Ta-Prohm

This is a temple-monastery, which was called Rajahavir ("royal monastery") with a complex layout. Its territory is heavily overgrown with trees with powerful trunks and branches. Its clearing began in 1920. But the jungle does not want to part with him. This Buddhist temple is very romantic, as some of the ruins and tropical trees are deliberately left in it. It makes an indelible impression on tourists. On the territory of the monastery, large silk trees and strangler trees grow among the ring structures.

If the seed remains in the gap of the masonry, then it gradually grows and breaks the wall with its roots and heavy trunk. Initially, they become the frame of the building, but when they die, they destroy it. The temple itself consists of three galleries with one center. It is surrounded by a moat. Entrances through gopuras (entrance towers) are located on the four cardinal points. The stele in the monastery describes its wealth (tons of gold dishes, silk beds), and also attributes to the king the creation of hundreds of statues of gods, decorative towers, almost half a thousand stone dwellings, as well as the presence of hospitals in the kingdom. All remaining walls are, of course, covered with exquisite carvings. The place where the episode of the film "Lara Croft - Tomb Raider" with Angelina Jolie was filmed is very popular with tourists. On one of the pillars, red paint has been preserved. As the guides say, human blood was added to it. In fact, iron oxides were added to it, which are very resistant to fading. The stegosaurus that is carved on one of the medallions is something inexplicable in Ta Prohma.

How to Get to Angkor, Cambodia

By air

There are no direct flights from Russia to Cambodia. There is an international airport near the city of Siem Reap. Liners arrive in it through China (eastern and southern airlines), Korea (Seoul), Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand (Bangkok, Pattaya). The most expensive, but also the most popular flight is Bangkok-Siem Reap. It's easier to fly to Bangkok and then fly via Kuala Lumpur or Phnom Penh. From the capital of Cambodia, you can then go by taxi or by bus. The airport is 7 km from Siem Reap, and the hotel can be reached without complications. And if a room is booked, then the tourist will be met for free and taken to the hotel.

Waterway

Siem Reap can be reached by speedboat from Phnom Penh if time and money permit. Tickets are sold at the hotel reception or in travel agencies. Traveling along the lake and the river in six hours will allow you to get acquainted with the life of the local population.

Bus

From neighboring Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam), as well as from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, you can take a bus. There are a lot of flights on offer. The cheapest are Cambodian. Bus during the day - quite safe transport. Night trips are not recommended.

Tours «Angkor Cambodia»

Tour operators offer a trip to exotic Cambodia. For example, Moscow companies Level.travel, VAND, Coral Travel, as well as TEZ-tour. Tours are designed for three days and two nights.

Once upon a time I read in a beautiful picture book about ancient temple in the middle of the jungle. And I had a dream to see Angkor - an amazing temple complex built in the period from the 9th to the 13th centuries by the ancient Khmers. This ancient architectural structure is both the main attraction of Cambodia and its pride. located a few kilometers from the city of Siem Reap. They are popular among tourists from all over the world and each of them wants to visit Angkor Wat - the largest Hindu temple in the world and a real treasure of the Khmer Empire. To look at them, I came to Cambodia three times in different times, and each time I discovered something new for myself.

What is Angkor?

Angkor- This is an area in Cambodia, in which numerous ruins of the temples of the ancient Khmer Empire are concentrated, which flourished at the beginning of the last millennium. It contains entire constellations of ancient Khmer cities, which combine a variety of architectural styles. Each of the temple cities is connected to the other, and at the same time they are independent and are different stages in the development of the empire. Some temples (for example) were forgotten immediately after the overthrow of the king who built them, others ceased to have value after another form of construction was found, like the unfinished Ta Keo. But each of them is unique.

The central part of the territory of Angkor is city of angkor thom, surrounded by a deep moat with water and walls 8 meters high and 3 kilometers long. There was a huge palace built under Jayavarman VII, in which the king and people close to him lived, as well as temples and important government institutions. The most famous of them are the Bayon Temple, the terraces of the elephants and the leper king, as well as the Royal Palace and the temple-mountain Bapuon located next to it.

Basic information:

Name	Angkor
What is	An area in Cambodia containing the ruins of temples of the ancient Khmer Empire. Also, the word Angkor means a lot of Hindu temples built by the Khmers from the 9th to the 16th century and are distinguished by a unique architectural style.
Where is	In the Kingdom of Cambodia, on the Indochina peninsula in South-East Asia
Cultural and historical affiliation	Khmer Empire, Khmer Civilization
How to get there	Fly by plane to the city of Siem Reap in Cambodia or arrive there by bus or car. After that, rent a transport with a driver-guide or rent a bicycle / motorbike / electric bike and go to the Angor temple complex, located a few kilometers north of Siem Reap.
Main Attractions	1) Angor Wat Temple, 2) Angor Thom Temple City, 3) Bayon Temple Mount, 4) Koh Ker Pyramid, 5) Ta Prohm Monastery Temple and Beng Melia, a miniature pink temple of Banteay Srei.
Ticket price	For 1 day - $37, for 3 days - $62, for 7 days - $72. Entrance to some temples of Angora is paid extra (from 5 to 15 dollars).
Angor in films	1) Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 2) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Where is Angkor and how to get there

Angkor is located in Cambodia, north of the lake near the city of Siem Reap. It is located on a flat area, like the ancient city, among fields and forests south of the Kulen plateau. GPS coordinates of Angkor: 13° 26′ 0″ N, 103° 50′ 0″ E. The dimensions of Angkor are amazing, its length is 24 kilometers from west to east and 8 kilometers from north to south.

Get to Angkor can be done in several ways:

Angkor Wat on the map of Southeast Asia

What is the Angkor Temple Complex?

Angkor temple complex is an architecturally unique collection of temples made of stone (mainly sandstone and laterite), differing in shape: temple-mountain, temple at ground level, Angkor Wat (a unique combination of temple-mountain and temple at ground level), temple-monasteries , as well as the huge cities of Angkor Thom and Koh Ker. The complex of temples was built by the Khmer civilization in the period from the 9th to the 12th century on the territory of modern Cambodia. The main attraction of the temple complex is the temple of Angkor Wat, covering an area of 2.5 km2. And Banteay Srei, built in 967, is considered the most beautiful temple of Angkor, according to many travelers, and this is especially noticeable in the morning rays of the rising sun.

Pink sunrise and Angkor Wat temple silhouette

- these are amazing Khmer ceremonial structures that are not similar to each other. They are combined into a grandiose temple complex in terms of scope and historical significance, built during the reign of the Khmer Empire (IX-XVI centuries).

It will take several days to see all the temples of Angkor, as archaeological park occupies an area of about 200 km2. The most famous of the temples is Angkor Wat, and the neighboring Angkor Thom and Bayon are known as the most prominent architectural monuments Khmer Empire, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Basic information about the temples of Angkor:

Name	Temples of Angkor
Where are	On the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. The main temples of Angkor are concentrated north of the city of Siem Reap in Cambodia, but there are many separately standing temples in other provinces of the Kingdom of Cambodia, as well as in Thailand and Laos.
What are	Religious and religious Hindu buildings built by representatives of the Khmer Empire in the period from the 9th to the 16th century, the main distinguishing feature of which is the unique architecture.
The main temples of Angkor	Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, Koh Ker, Beng Melia, Kbal Spean, Preah Khan, Phnom Bakeng
	1) Temple Mount; 2) Temple at ground level; 3) Temple-monastery; 4) City-temple.
Division by geographic location	1) Nearby temples of Angkor (next to Angkor Wat); 2) Far Temples of Angokra
How to watch	The best way to see the temples of Angkor is an independent trip to Cambodia (Siem Reap city).
Number of Angora temples	Over 1000
main building material	Sandstone, laterite

temple mountain- This is a ceremonial structure on the territory of modern Cambodia in the form of a stepped pyramid, personifying Mount Meru and fully embodying the cosmogony of Hinduism. It was dedicated to the god Shiva, was the center of religious life among the ancient Khmers and the repository of the royal linga. This form of the temples of Angkor was characteristic of the beginning of the heyday of the Khmer civilization (from the 9th to the 10th century). The ditch around represents the ocean in which the earth is located, the walls of the temple are mountain ranges, and the second ditch is considered the sea. Examples of a temple-mountain are Bakong, Phnom Bakheng, and the Ta Keo temple, also part of the Angkor temple complex, was never completed.

Temple at ground level- Khmer type of temples dedicated to the ancestors, a characteristic feature of which are massive platforms at the base, as well as rich sculptural decoration of stairs, facades and passages and skillfully carved stone pediments. A real masterpiece of such carving was the design of the temple of Banteay Srei. This form of temple construction was also characteristic of the first half of the existence of the Khmer empire. Preah Koh is said to be the first ground level temple, followed by Prasat Kravan and Lo Lei.

During the construction of Angkor Wat in the 12th century, Khmer engineering tried to embody both of these temple forms in one structure, and the result was temple-mountain at ground level. This time is considered the golden age of Khmer architecture. There were other attempts to build a similar engineering and architectural masterpiece, as a result of which Beng Melia and Banteay Samre appeared in the temple complex of Angkor.

Temples-monasteries- These are huge ceremonial structures that occupy a vast territory as part of the Angkor temple complex in Cambodia. They were mostly built under King Jayavarman VII (a supporter of Mahayana Buddhism) and were surrounded by numerous buildings richly decorated with bas-reliefs and sculptures. The most famous temple-monasteries are Ta Prohm and Preah Khan.

angkor wat in cambodia

Angkor Wat is the main temple huge complex Angkor. It was built in the XII century and became the pearl of the Khmer architectural style - a balance was finally found between cosmology, between politics, architecture and people's capabilities. And now Angkor Wat still amazes people with its sophistication and it is its five lotus towers that adorn the coat of arms of Cambodia.

Angkor Wat is located next to Siem Reap, and all the routes that tuk-tuk drivers offer tourists pass through it. So, when you come to Siem Reap, you will definitely see it!

Angkor Wat on the map

Basic information about Angkor Wat in Cambodia:

Name	Angkor Wat
Where is	6 km from the city of Siem Reap in Cambodia on the territory of the Angkor temple complex
GPS coordinates	13° 24′ 45″ N, 103° 52′ 0″ E 13.4125, 103.866667
What is	Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, built during the heyday of the Khmer empire. Is the largest in the world religious building, protected by UNESCO
How to get there	Arrive in the city of Siem Reap in Cambodia, and then go on an excursion to Angkor on your own or by hiring transport with a personal driver in the city. You can also buy a seat in organized tour Angkor Wat with a tour guide
Working hours	From 5:00 to 18:00
Cost of visiting	Ticket price for 1 day - $ 37 per person. A ticket for three days costs 62 USD, and for a week - 72 dollars.
When and by whom it was built	XII century. The construction of Angkor Wat was started by Suryavarman II and completed by Jayavarman VII.
Architectural style	Khmer
Square	200 ha
Height of central prasat	65 meters
Wall dimensions	1.5 x 1.3 km (rectangular)
The width of the moat around	190 meters
Best time to visit	November to February (during the dry season)
Attendance (number of tourists)	Over 2.5 million people per year
Page on the UNESCO website	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668

Routes around Angkor

A visit to Angkor should be carefully prepared, because there are many temples, and all of them are interesting in their own way. First of all, it is necessary to draw up a route, deciding which of the temples of the huge temple complex will be included in it and which will not. Fortunately, travelers and tukers in Siem Reap have long since solved this problem.

What is the big and small circle of Angkor

is an inspection of the main attractions of the temple complex, built during the power of the Khmer Empire. During organized excursion tourists who come to the city of Siem Reap, which is located near Angkor Wat, are accommodated in hotels, and during the day they visit ancient temples. Self-guided tour in Angkor is more popular among travelers. There is nothing complicated about how to organize it. To do this, you need to hire a transport with a driver in Siem Reap, who will take you from one inspection site to another, or you can rent a bicycle or motorbike in the city and ride yourself.

It is possible to come to Angkor from neighboring countries. A very popular tour from Pattaya to Cambodia, during which an organized group with a Russian-speaking guide is brought by bus to Siem Reap for 1-2 days to show the main attraction - Angkor Wat. There are also excursions from Ho Chi Minh City and Sihanoukville.

The most interesting thing that awaits you during an excursion to Angkor:

Go watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat
Admire the many-faced Bayon temple, whose faces, in different lighting conditions, are either smiling or sad
Visit the ruins of Ta Prohm from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie
Rise above Angkor hot-air balloon
You can ride an elephant to Mount Bakeng and watch the sunset there
Buy souvenirs, knitwear and black pepper at the market
Go to the evening Apsara dance show

Hotels in Siem Reap

Upon arrival, first of all, you need to stay in a pre-booked hotel or find it with the help of a tuker, who will certainly offer his help in exchange for a promise to take you to the sights of Angkor. There are a lot of hotels in Siem Reap - for every taste and budget: cheap guesthouses for $10 and expensive villas for $100 or more.

Important: all the details about the city of Siem Reap and what hotels there are,

You can compare prices for hotels in Siem Reap and choose the most suitable one right here:

How to watch Angkor - all options

Apart from an organized bus ride to Angkor or hiring a tuk tuk with driver in Siem Reap, there are several other options. Starting in 2016, it became possible to view the temple complex on a rented motorbike or electric bike. This is the most important innovation and it concerns mainly independent travelers.

The first thing that catches your eye when walking around Siem Reap is the rows of new motorbikes. Now they are rented out to everyone! So there was an opportunity independently explore the temples of Angkor on a motorbike. Previously, the tuk-tuk guild was against tourists moving around the temple complex on their own (unless no one touched the cyclists, they just waved their hand at them!). But now tukers have lost some of their audience. You can rent a motorbike on any street - prices are from 12 to 20 dollars. From an enterprising Chinese, the owner of a souvenir shop, we took a motorbike, which is convenient to ride together. Initially, he rented for $15 (in other offices he went for $20), but we bargained for $13. And the bike was good, Japanese, new and powerful. And the number on this bike was capital. Motobike is, of course, real freedom for independent travelers who have either already been to Siem Reap and roughly represent the territory of the archaeological park, or for independent and courageous people who need only a map or navigator for adventures.
Bicycles are also rented out - the price is from a dollar to two a day, depending on the place. We rented from our hotel and paid $1.50 for one day, and if we rode two days or more, the price would drop to a dollar a day. In addition, cycling tours of the temples of Angkor with a guide are now in vogue. Indeed, in Europe it is customary to ride bicycles, why deny yourself this on vacation? And the whole company, 5-10 people each, hires a guide, sits down on bicycles and rides together between the temples. How much they pay the guide for his torment, I can’t even imagine.
There is also a new option - electric bikes. But, they say, they are still low-power, slow and they have weak batteries. That is, they will fit to ride around the city of Siem Reap. But it’s better not to ride them to temples, otherwise who knows who else will carry whom ... The price of electric bikes is $10. On the roads, we even sometimes saw green signs where you can charge your electric bike for free. How it works in reality is not tested on myself. We rode an electric bike around Bagan at the time, and decided that, subject to certain rules, an electric bike is quite useful when visiting the countless pagodas of Bagan. About our e-bike rental experience in Bagan.
Tuk Tukers there are still a lot and they are happy to offer their services and take you around the temples of Angkor. Read about how important it is to choose a good tuker. By the way, as we found out, tuk-tuk is the name for tourists. But the Cambodians themselves call their carts with a motorcycle - remork.
angkor wat hot air balloon. There is also the opportunity to view the main temple of Angkor from a bird's eye view. You can go up in a hot air balloon for $20.

Nice bikes for rent

Motobikes are also now available for rent

Tuk-tuk prices in Siem Rim

Here are approximately these prices you can navigate in 2016-2017 on excursions to Angkor Wat

Tickets to Angkor

The cost of tickets for visiting the temples of Angkor has not changed for many years.

1 day - $37
3 days - $62 (ticket valid for 10 days)
7 days - $72 (valid for a month)

Tickets - nominal, more precisely "facial". They have your instant photo taken by the cashier at the sale, they cannot be shared with other people.

The availability of tickets is now checked at every temple, and they look not only for their validity period, but also often compare your appearance with the photo on the ticket. The caretakers at the entrance put a mark every day that you have already visited the park today, so that you can’t cheat and walk on a three-day ticket for more days.

You can skip days and visit the temples of Angkor at a convenient time. During the day, you can enter and leave the park as many times as you like. At the first visit, the workers of the archaeological park will still note that you have already been there that day.

What else you need to know about Angkor

Rules for visiting Angkor:

Working hours. All temples open at 7:30 am and close at 5:30 pm. Before and after tourists are not allowed into the territory of the temples. The exceptions are Angkor Wat, which opens at 5 am so that travelers have the opportunity to meet the dawn here, and Pre Rup and Phnom Bakeng are open from 5.00 to 19.00. Here you can watch both sunrise and sunset. But in fact, almost everyone goes to meet the dawn in Angkor Wat, and at sunset they gather on Bakeng Hill. It is worth adding that guards are on duty near each of the temples, so it is unlikely that it will be possible to easily enter at the wrong time.
Dress code. The temples of Angkor are not active, so you can walk around the territory in shoes that should be comfortable, because in the heat the stones become very hot. However, in flip-flops walking up the stairs will be extremely inconvenient. It is better to choose clothes that are light and comfortable, but not overly open.
Be careful on stairs. Some temples, especially Ta Keo, with its steep and high stairs, are worth visiting with caution. Keep your hands free when you're on ladders so you can always grab on. Be as vigilant as possible and look under your feet!
Mines in Cambodia. Do not forget that Cambodia experienced a terrible civil war just a few decades ago, and not all of its lands are freed from mines. Areas near Phnom Kulen Mountain, the Kbal Spean River and the Koh Ker Pyramid are still mined. Don't stray off the hiking trails and don't ignore the "Danger! Mines!" This is not a joke or a prank.
Drink water. Always take enough drinking water with you!

Angkor Wat is a unique temple in Cambodia, built in honor of the god Vishnu. Although the history of this Hindu temple has not left much information, modern research by historians, archaeologists and astrologers successfully reveals new facts about the existence of Angkor Wat and the powerful Khmer Empire.

The eighth wonder of the world, Angkor Wat, in 1925 was proclaimed the first reserve in all of Asia, and since 1932 it has been protected by UNESCO.

Angkor Wat, the eighth wonder of the world, is located in the northwest of Siem Reap Province, Tonle Sap Lake. The temple is located deep in the jungle, 6 km from the provincial town of Siem Reap and 240 km from the modern capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.

The construction of the temple of Angkor Wat, in the imperial capital of Angkor, fell on the heyday and majesty of the Khmer Empire - in the XII century. Today, apart from the remains of temple complexes and fortress walls, nothing remains of the huge city of Angkor, so the city itself began to be called the city-temple.

Its dimensions are relatively small - 24 km by 8 km. According to recent archaeological research, Angkor was a numerous capital of the pre-industrial era, in which about 500 yews lived. Human.

The temple of Angkor Wat was built almost 40 years, during the reign of Emperor Suryavarman II. Scientists believe that the construction of such a majestic temple was precisely his initiative, since after the death of the Emperor in 1150, construction work ceased, and in some places the decoration of the facades of the architectural complex remained unfinished.

The temple complexes in the city of Angkor are very important. Most of the historical facts that are known to mankind today about the Khmer Empire and culture are obtained as a result of deciphering the inscriptions and drawings on the walls of these temples. Surprisingly, the Khmer folk oral tradition has not preserved the expected myths and legends about the city's most temples and sacred sites.

So, for example, it has not yet been possible to establish the purpose for which this monumental structure was built. There are 2 hypotheses - this is a tomb or an ordinary temple to the deity Vishnu.

The problem is that both hypotheses are confirmed in the technical description of Angkor Wat. This temple looks like both a tomb and a temple at the same time, which has never been combined in ordinary Khmer architecture before.

Construction technologies used in the construction of the eighth wonder of the world

Angkor Wat, the eighth wonder of the world, is considered a classic example of Khmer culture, with the first examples of architecture dating back to the 6th century BC. This style contains elements of Hindu, Buddhist and Chinese architecture.

The total area of the temple is 2.5 square meters. km, the height of the central tower is 65 m. The total area of the temple is 400 sq. m. m. This is a fairly massive building, which was built with the help of manual labor and elephants.

The original name of the temple remains unknown - usually in the temples you can find a capsule containing information about the mission of the sacred structure. According to the latest scientific and epistemological research, the temple was probably called the "Place of Saint Vishnu".

Angkor Wat was built during 1113-1150. and has the shape of Hindu temples, the shape of which is called "temple-mountain". Such architectural structures had a sacred connotation - human creation should be similar to the creation of nature, imitating Mount Meru - a symbol of peace in Hinduism. The building has smooth lines and consists of 3 main tiers, 5 towers and 200 monuments.

According to modern estimates of scientists, the construction should have involved a huge number of workers, because to build such a temple in less than 40 years in the XII century. - marvelous. According to the descriptions of the traveler Antonio de Madalena, the towers of the temple and other structures became the best example of human architecture.

The entire temple is built of sandstone. The technique of building walls is considered unique - the Khmers did not use any binding materials, such as clay or cement. But the design itself has a very powerful fixation due to the use of the technique of laying stones according to the principle of the castle.

Good fixation of the walls is due not only to the skillful technique of folding stones, but also to their polishing - sometimes the gaps between the stones are almost imperceptible. For more fixation of more complex structures, deep spikes were made in the stones. Until now, archaeologists cannot explain the need for the occurring holes on many stones.

Such construction of temples in Angkor makes it possible to successfully restore sacred structures - they are dismantled and put together like puzzles.

The territory of Angkor Wat has the shape of a square island, enclosed by a 190 m moat, the perimeter of which is 1300 m by 1500 m. You can get into the temple only from the east and west sides, where 2 sandstone bridges are specially built. Moreover, it is believed that the main entrance is western, as evidenced by the remains of 3 destroyed towers.

There is evidence that the temple was not used for its intended purpose already in the 15th century.

Angkor temple complex

The ancient capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor, was the center of political and economic life during the IX-XIV centuries. According to scientists, Angkor, or the temple city, has a total area of 9 square meters. km. As the architecture testifies, each emperor during his reign built a temple or tomb.

Since the empire did not have a single religion, each new building corresponded to either the Hindu or Buddhist canon - the religion that the emperor himself supported.

Therefore, 72 temples were built in the city during this period, which form the canon of Khmer culture and architecture. The peculiarity of the Khmer temples is that they were built as a home for the gods. Hindu and Buddhist practices do not provide for believers to visit these places, because these places are hiding places for saints.

Geographically, the temple of Angkor Wat was built to the south of the historical center of the city, so the landscape of the capital is divided into 2 sections - directly the temple of the god Vishnu and Angkor Thom - the historical center of the city. From an architectural point of view, all the buildings of the Khmer capital - temples, squares, ritual places - are divided into 2 large groups: Small and Large circle:

Temples of Angkor, included in the Small Circle:
angkor wat	Dravidian architecture, a classic example of Khmer architecture
banteay kday	Buddhist architectural style
Ta Prom	An example of Buddhist architecture
Preah Khan	Buddhist temple complex
bayon	Combination of cultural elements of Buddhism and Hinduism
Phnom Bakheng	Hindu temple in honor of god Shiva
Elephant Terrace	Royal Square, built in the style of Hinduism
Terrace of the Leper King	Place for Buddhist funeral rites
Great Circle Temples:
Pre Rup	Temple of god Shiva, Hindu style
East Mebon	Refers to the Brahmin culture of Hinduism
Ta Som	Buddhist temple
Neak Pean	Buddhist temple
Sra Srang	Ritual bath of Buddhist kings,

Angkor Wat, the eighth wonder of the world, is the most majestic temple in the city, the case of its construction is special. Historians and archaeologists still cannot determine the purpose of the construction of such a majestic structure - it must be the temple of Vishnu, the burial place of the king, or both.

After him, architects note the originality of the Bayon and Ta Prohm temples - as the largest in Angkor Thom. Also, Angkor had a good defensive structure, and it was possible to get into the city only with the help of 5 bridges.

TaProhm

Ta-Prom (or Ta-Prum, from Khmer - "the ancestor of Brahma") - a temple complex built by Emperor Jayavarman II in 1186 in honor of his mother, is located in Angkor Thom.

The temple covers an area of 180 acres. In addition to the central statue of Prajnaparamita, the goddess of wisdom, from which the mother of the emperor was identified, there are 260 more sculptures of deities in the temple.

After the construction was completed, more than 12 thousand people lived and worked here in honor of the mother of the emperor. Human.

Ta Keo

Ta Keo is another Hindu temple in the center of the capital Angkor, the construction of which was started by Jayavarman V in 975. On its territory, the central entrance alley is skillfully made, decorated with columns on the sides.

According to archaeological research, it was found that this is the first temple-mountain, which was completely built of sandstone. The temple itself has the shape of a rectangular pyramid. A characteristic feature of Khmer architecture is the presence of a central tower. The temple of Ta Keo itself has 4 tiers, and its height is 45 m.

Bayon

Bayon is considered the central temple in Angkor Thom, also built of sandstone. The bayon was built at the beginning of the 13th century. in memory of the first Buddhist emperor Jayavarman VII, during whose reign the population of the Khmer Empire massively changed the cult of Shaivism to Buddhism.

The design of the temple has 3 levels, with an area of 140 by 160 m, on which there are 54 towers of different heights. Initially, it was believed that this was a depiction of the Buddha, but in 1933, after an examination, it was established that the face of the Buddha has many similarities with the images of Jayavarman VII himself.

The decor of the Bayon temple is a stone carving that depicts everyday scenes from the life of the Khmers. Obviously, the central plot is the one that depicts the victory of Jayavarman VII over the troops of the Chamams in the battle of Tonle Sap Lake, after which the wars ceased for a long time.

angkor wat

Angkor Wat, the eighth wonder of the world, is an example of national architecture, art, culture and religion. Being both the tomb of Suryavarman II and the sacred temple of Vishnu, Angkor Wat combined the symbols of the Khmer religious and secular culture. Today this temple is a symbol of the state of Cambodia.

The central building of the temple is multi-level, with numerous passages. The temple consists of the central high tower(65 m) and smaller towers. Together, these towers symbolize the 5 peaks of the sacred Mount Meru.

The total area of the building is 81 hectares. The temple is surrounded by a moat, the width of which is 190 m, and the total length is 5.5 km. According to Buddhist tradition, the infidel moat symbolizes the oceans of the world. By the standards modern architecture, the temple of Angkor Wat is the most large building in the world.

The etymology of the name of the temple of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the modern name given to the eighth wonder of the world after the fall of the Khmer Empire. The original name is not known, but scientists suggest that the temple was named after the deity Vishnu.

Parts of the temple name "Angkor" and "Wat" have their own epistemological translation from the Khmer language. The meaning of the word "Angkor" has Sanskrit roots and means "city". Modified slightly, this term in Khmer has a broader meaning - "empire", "state" and "country-state".

According to research, only in the XIV-XV centuries. this name, "Angkor" came to be used as a proper name. But then "Angkor" was used for this part of the empire, which was the most developed. Today it is used only to designate the ancient city.

The immediate name of the temple must also include "Wat". Usage "Wat" comes from the Pali language and means "the place on which the temple is built". This term is used to refer to any sacred place, on which a Buddhist monastery is built in the countries of Cambodia, Laos and Taiwan. In the Khmer language "Wat" means "reverence" and "admiration".

Today, in Khmer, the name of the temple sounds like "Ongkovoat" and in most translations and explanations means "temple city" or "capital city".

Why did people leave the largest temple in the world?

Residents of the capital massively began to leave its walls in the second half of the XV century.

One of the reasons why the Khmer Empire fell was the constant wars from the beginning of the 13th century.

Despite all the majesty of the capital of the Khmer Empire, in 1431, the troops of neighboring Siam defeated the imperial army and captured Angkor, which was the center of political life for 5 centuries.

Historians called this period Angkorian, which was characterized by the dawn of the economic and political stability of the empire, the construction of cult temples of Khmer architecture.

The imperial capital was plundered and heavily destroyed by the Siamese (Thai) troops, then an epidemic broke out, and the population fled to the southern regions, where the new modern Khmer capital, Phnom Penh, was later located.

Thus, when the territory of Cambodia (Kampuchea) was swallowed up by wars between its inhabitants, the majestic capital was swallowed up by nature - the jungle covered the entire city, which was rediscovered by French naturalists in the 19th century.

angkor wat temple architecture

Angkor Wat is an architectural complex of a temple-mountain, a characteristic type of temple construction according to Buddhist canons. It has clear rectangular walls, which are decorated with carvings.

In addition to the necessary 5 towers, the temple has many sculptures and also landscape planning - a moat around the temple is filled with water, and later 2 reservoirs of an even square shape were created.

What is inside the temple

In addition to numerous statues of deities, carvings are the main decoration inside the temple. Angkor Wat is decorated with many kilometers of carvings on all 3 tiers. Also inside the temple for the most part is decorated with a bas-relief.

The walls of the temple still fit perfectly, and nowhere is the image of the transmitted plots disturbed - everyday and festive life of the Khmers, scenes from the life of the emperor, and even magical drawings of dragons and dinosaurs.

Today, inexplicable holes remain on the walls of the temple - archaeologists admit that this was a mount for bronze decorations that were looted after the fall of the empire.

Three-level device of the temple of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is a complex architectural structure, the creation of which took place without any mechanical devices. But despite this, Khmer architects managed to build an amazingly complex complex of temple galleries and numerical passages of several floors.

First tier

Central here are 3 galleries of ideal rectangular shape. The third gallery is the most famous, it is skillfully decorated with magnificent two-meter-wide bas-reliefs, the length of which is more than 700 m.

On the first tier there are patios and 2 libraries. The pavilions of this tier are connected by galleries, which are decorated with the longest bas-reliefs in the world, and also with an ornament on the cornice.

In the temple on the first tier, 1800 Apsara dancers meet at once. The composition of the bas-reliefs on the 1st tier are images of the Hindu epic, military scenes of thousands of figures, including Emperor Suryavarman II.

Second tier

You can go to the 2nd tier through specially constructed galleries and through bridges-transitions. The galleries here are decorated with numerous relief scenes, and the bridges are placed on small columns. In addition to the towers, this level also has 2 libraries.

Third tier

The third building is considered the heart of Angkor Wat - here the architectural ensemble of the temple most of all symbolically resembles Mount Meru, which, according to legend, has 5 heavenly peaks. The central tower served as an altar - the main place of worship of Vishnu, whose statue stood here. This tier depicts the most complex bas-reliefs in terms of technique.

The whole composition of the temple-mountain is made in absolutely exact proportions.

The mysterious connection of Angkor with the spiral of the constellation Draco

The ancient capital of Angkor remains not fully understood by historians and archaeologists. In 1992, the research of the British historian, John Grigsby, began actively, who found a connection between city planning and the starry sky.

He put forward the theory that the temples in the ancient capital reflect the projection of the Milky Way, namely, they model the wavy part of the stellar spiral of the Dragon and part of the neighboring star ensembles - the Northern Crown, Daneb, Cygnus, Ursa Minor and Ursa Major.

In addition to the very location of the temples in this order, it is this part of the northern constellation of the Dragon that is displayed on the walls in the temple of Bayon and Phnom Bakeng.

Comparisons between the planning of urban temples and parts of the Milky Way are obvious, though not exact. Thus, the proportions between the temples resemble the proportions between the stars, but the territory of the temples themselves violates the geometric pattern in the sky.

This inaccuracy was debunked by the following study - using computer design, it was confirmed that the central temples are indeed a mirror image of the heavens, but they only repeat the starry sky of the spring equinox of 10,500 BC.

Such research suspended beliefs about the active development of the imperial capital of Angkor in the 9th - 13th centuries, but the main hypothesis, which still remains subverted, is that the temples of the Khmer culture were built on the foundations of earlier cultures.

Stegosaurus at Angkor Wat. Could Khmers see dinosaurs?

Since the early 1990s there are active discussions about the earlier construction of the capital of the Khmer Empire, but even they cannot explain how the Khmers managed to depict a dinosaur on the walls of their temple.

Dinosaur on the wall of Angkor Wat

In Hindu temples, scenery from the mythological period is often found, which depicts the entire animal world. But the presence on one of the reliefs of the temple of Angkor Wat remains unique. an image of a herbivorous dinosaur, Stegosautra, whose remains date back to 140 million years ago.

Sacred Numerology of Angkor

The ancient capital of Angkor attracts the attention of not only historians and archaeologists, but also astronomers and mathematicians. Many consider this place sacred, due to the constant symbolic repetition of the numbers 72, 54 and 108 in the landscape, decoration and planning of the city.

These numbers are sacred in Buddhist and Hindu cosmology, so they, or the sum of these numbers, can be found throughout the city:

The city itself is located 72 degrees east of Egyptian pyramid Giza.
During the empire's power, 72 temples were built in the city.
Along the perimeter of Angkor Thom, the historical center of the city, there are huge sculptures - 54 Devas and 54 Asuras.
Bayon Temple has 54 towers.
There is an image in Angkor Wat temple as 108 nagas.
There are 108 small towers around the central sanctuary of Phnom Bakheng.

Legends and myths about the temple

The ancient city of Angkor attracts a huge amount of interest. And since there is very little information about this period, myths and legends about the reality of this place begin to arise.

In addition to a significant number of skeptics who do not believe in the authenticity of the architecture of the ancient city, questions are often raised about the real "concealment" of Angkor in the 19th century. French naturalists. The main question that raises doubts is what the travelers themselves came up with, because the 19th century. not very popular scientific approach.

It is obvious that Henri Muo unintentionally, but mythologized this city, giving it a special piquancy. Today, for example, it is difficult to verify whether there really was a dormant jungle that swallowed up the city.

The last thing that remains in question is the antiquity of the bas-reliefs themselves. The technique by which the stories are made is very skillful, and not everyone believes that the ancient Khmers could so accurately convey the features of the heroes on the walls.

Angkor has a majestic history, so some scholars are trying to find links between the Khmer culture and the previous, more mysterious culture of the lost Atlantis.

It is believed that Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book after visiting this place. Angkor Wat has only one folklore story. The local population believed that at night the Snake Goddess descended into the same tower, which turned into a beauty and seduced the king.

She was considered the mascot of the city. And when misfortunes began to pour on the city, it was believed that the Snake Goddess stopped coming. This explains why the temple, the eighth wonder of the world, has many depicted snakes on its facades.

Article formatting: Mila Fridan

Video about Angkor Wat

Video about the temple of Angkor Wat:

Mysterious Cambodia is lost among the jungles of Southeast Asia, striking with contrasts between untouched nature and noisy cities with bright colors. The country is proud of its ancient temples, one of which is Angkor Wat. A huge sacred building keeps the secrets and legends of the city of the gods and the capital of the ancient Khmer Empire.

The height of the three-level complex, built of several million tons of sandstone, reaches 65 m. On an area larger than the territory of the Vatican, there are entire galleries and terraces, magnificent towers, the facades of which began to be built and hand-painted under one emperor, and ended under another ruler. The work continued for 30 years.

The history of the creation of the temple of Angkor Wat

The capital of the Khmer Empire was built over 4 centuries. Archaeologists believe that the area of the city was 200 square meters. km. Over four centuries, many temples appeared, some of them can be seen today. Angkor Wat was built in the era when Suryavarman II ruled the ancient state. The king died in 1150, and the complex built in honor of God Vishnu, after the death of the emperor, took him to the tomb.

In the 15th century, Angkor was captured by the Thais, and locals, which, according to historians, there were about a million, left the city for the south of the state and founded a new capital. One of the legends tells that the emperor ordered the priest's son to be drowned in the lake. God was angry and sent a flood to the prosperous Angkor.

Scientists still do not understand why the conquerors did not settle in a rich city if the locals left it. Another legend tells that the mythical goddess, who turned into a beauty and descended from heaven to the king, suddenly fell out of love and stopped coming to the emperor. In the days when she did not appear, Angkor suffered from misfortune.

Description of the building

The giant temple complex impresses with its harmony and smoothness of lines. It was built on a sand hill from top to bottom, from the center to the periphery. The outer courtyard of Angkor Wat is surrounded by a wide moat filled with water. The rectangular structure measuring 1300 by 1500 m consists of three tiers, denoting the natural elements - earth, air, water. On the main platform there are 5 majestic towers, each symbolizing one of the peaks of the mythical Mount Meru, the highest one rises in the center. It was built as the abode of God.

The stone walls of the complex are decorated with carvings. On the first tier there are galleries where bas-reliefs in the form of ancient Khmer characters rise, on the second there are figures of celestial dancers. The sculptures are amazingly combined with the architecture of the temple, in the appearance of which one can feel the influence of two cultures - Indian and Chinese.

All buildings are located symmetrically. Despite the fact that Angkor Wat is surrounded by water bodies, the area never gets flooded even during the rainy season. A road leads to the main entrance to the complex, located in the western part, on both sides of which there are sculptures of snakes with seven heads. Each gate tower corresponds to a certain part of the world. Under the southern gopura is a statue of Vishnu.

All the buildings of the temple complex are made of very smooth, as if polished stones, tightly fitted to each other. And although the Khmer solution was not used, no cracks or seams are visible. From which side a person would not approach the temple, admire its beauty and grandeur, he will never see all 5 towers, but only three of them. Such Interesting Facts they say that the complex, built in the XII century, is an architectural masterpiece.

The columns, the roof of the temple are decorated with carvings, and the walls are decorated with bas-relief. Each tower is shaped like a beautiful lotus bud, the height of the main one reaches 65 m. All these structures are connected by corridors, and from the galleries of one level you can get to the second, and then to the third.

At the entrance to the first tier there are 3 towers. It has preserved panels with pictures from the ancient epic, the total length of which is close to a kilometer. To admire the bas-reliefs, you need to pass through a series of majestic columns. The ceiling of the tier impresses with carvings made in the form of a lotus.

The towers of the second level are connected by corridors with those located on the first tier. The patios of the space were once filled with rainwater and served as pools. The central staircase leads to the third tier, divided into 4 squares and located at a height of 25 meters.

The complex was not built for ordinary believers, but was intended for the religious elite. Kings were buried there. The origin of the temple is interestingly told in the legend. The Khmer prince managed to visit Indra. The beauty of his heavenly palace with graceful towers struck the young man. And God decided to give Preah Ket the same, but on earth.

Opening to world culture

After the inhabitants left Angkor, Buddhist monks settled in the temple. And although in the 16th century a Portuguese missionary visited him, Henri Muo told the world about the miracle of the world. Seeing the towers among the jungle, a traveler from France was so amazed by the magnificence of the complex that he described the beauty of Angkor Wat in his report. In the 19th century, tourists went to Cambodia.

In difficult times, when the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot ruled the country, the temples became inaccessible to scientists, archaeologists, and travelers. And only since 1992 the situation has changed. Money for restoration comes from different countries, but it will take more than one decade to restore the complex.

In the late nineties, an English historian suggested that the sacred temple is a projection of part of the Milky Way on earth. The placement of structures resembles the spiral of the constellation Draco. As a result of a computer study, it was found that the temples of the ancient city really reflect the location of the Dragon stars, which was observed more than 10 thousand years ago during the equinox, although it is known exactly when Angkor Wat was built - in the 12th century.

Scientists have put forward a hypothesis that the main complexes of the capital of the Khmer Empire were already built on pre-existing structures. Modern technologies unable to recreate the grandeur of the temples, which are supported by their weight, not fastened with anything and fitted perfectly.

How to get to the Angkor Wat temple complex

Where the city of Sien Reap is located can be found on the map. It is from him that the journey to the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire begins, the distance is no more than 6 km. How to get to the temple, each tourist chooses on his own - by taxi or tuk-tuk. The first option will cost $5, the second $2.

You can get to Sien Reap:

by air;
by land;
on water.

Planes from Vietnam, Korea, and Thailand arrive at the city's airport. Buses run from Bangkok and the capital of Cambodia. A small boat departs from Phnom Penh on Tonle Sap Lake in summer.

The cost of visiting the complex depends on what the tourist wants to see. The price of a ticket to Angkor starts at $37 per day, and the route is 20 sq. km. km. For a week of walking ancient city and acquaintance with almost 3 dozen temples you need to pay $ 72.

There are always a lot of travelers on the territory of Angkor Wat. To take a quality photo, it is better to go to the backyard and try to stay there until sunset. You can wander through the majestic towers and galleries, painted with battle scenes, on your own or as part of an excursion.

A moat with water surrounding the perimeter of the complex forms an island with an area of 200 hectares. To get to it, you need to go through the stone bridges leading to 2 opposite sides of the step pyramid of the temple. To the western entrance, near which 3 towers flaunt, a pavement of large blocks has been laid. To the right of the shrine stands a huge statue of the god Vishnu. On both sides of the road there are libraries with exits to the west, north, east and south. Artificial reservoirs were placed near the temple.

Before the eyes of tourists who have climbed to the second tier, a bewitching picture of the main towers will appear. Each of them can be approached by stone narrow bridges. The grandeur of the third level of the complex indicates the perfection and harmony of Khmer architecture.

Research carried out by scientists and archaeologists on the territory ancient capital prosperous empire, will reveal new secrets of the mysterious and majestic temple of Angkor Wat. The history of the Khmer era is being restored through inscriptions on sculptures and architectural masterpieces. Many facts indicate that people lived here for a very long time, and the city of the gods was founded by the descendants of an ancient civilization.

A breathtaking spectacle will open up to travelers who decide to fly over the temple complex in a helicopter or hot air balloon. travel companies ready to provide this service.

Temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, is the largest temple complex on our planet dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located on the territory of the historical complex of Angkor, which is included in the UNESCO heritage. Such a legacy left us from distant ancestors: the Khmer tribes, because this building was rebuilt around 1113-1250 AD during the reign of King Suryavarman II. The construction of the temple lasted for almost 30 years, and the entire complex was rebuilt for almost 400 years.

Tourists from all over the world rush to this building, unique in its beauty and grandeur, every day not only to learn the basics of Hinduism, to bow to the gods, but also to see the history of Cambodia and the Khmer peoples with their own eyes.

How to get there?

Before you get to Angkor Wat, you will have to fly to Cambodia. There are no direct flights from Russian cities to Cambodia, so you can only get here with transfers.

In the city of Siem Reap, in the immediate vicinity of which the ruined city of Angkor is located, there is an international airport that receives flights from China, Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and some other Asian countries. The most popular flight is Siem Reap - Bangkok, but this flight will cost a fairly large amount, so it is much cheaper to get with two or three transfers through Vietnam or China, or fly to the capital of Cambodia, and then move on a public bus or taxi.

If you plan to fly to the city of Siem Reap, and then stay in a hotel in the city for a few days, then book a room in advance. Thus, you will ensure yourself a free transfer from the airport to the hotel and back.

From the capital - the city of Phnom Penh - can be reached by water. Such a trip is also a good excursion that allows you to get acquainted with the local way of life and way of life. Tickets to water transport are purchased at hotels at the reception or in travel agencies. Estimated travel time is about 6 hours.

The city of Siem Reap can be reached by bus. Moreover, communication is well organized here both within the country and with neighboring states (Thailand, Vietnam). The cheapest tickets for Cambodian flights.

If you do not want to think about how to get to the sights of Cambodia, then many travel agencies in our country have exotic excursions both to the main historical sites of Cambodia and separately to the ancient city of Angkor. You can take a two-three day tour and not worry about anything else, enjoying a trip to a distant and mysterious Asian country.

temple complex

Angkor temple complex- the main attraction of Cambodia - is not limited to Angkor Wat temple alone. On the gigantic area that it occupies, 208 hectares, there are still a large number of interesting historical buildings, because the ancient city of Angkor was a rather large settlement, in which more than 100,000 people lived. True, residential buildings have not survived to this day, because they were built of wood. The ruined city is located about 5 kilometers from the main temple of Angkor Wat. Smaller temples, which were built from tuff and sandstone, have also been preserved there: Ta Phrom, Angkor Thom, Ta Prum, Bayon, the terrace of elephants and Preah Kan.

The territory of the complex is fenced around the perimeter with a laterite wall, on the outside of which a ditch 250 meters wide was dug, which can be crossed along a special sandstone paved path 250 meters long and 12 meters wide.

Excursion program options

Those who build the itinerary for an excursion around Angkor are sure to be interested in the Big and Small excursion circle. Each circle begins with an inspection of the most important temple of Angkor Wat.

The small circle is the most common, popular, considered classic route for visiting the Angkor temple complex, which is chosen by those who have only one day to see the world landmark. If you look at the tour map of Angkor Wat, then this route is marked in green.

In the case when you move around the Small Circle, you can see the following temples:

Angkor Thom (a complex of more than a dozen of the largest temples in the central part);

Phnom Bakeng;

Baxey Chamkrong.

The length of the Small Circle is about 17 kilometers.

The Big Circle is a 25-kilometer excursion program (the path is marked in red), which usually takes place on the second day. In this case, you will also start moving from Angkor Wat and completely repeat the route of the Small Circle to the Bayon Temple, and then head north to inspect the following buildings:

Pre Rup;

Neak Pean;

Preah Kan;

Eastern Mebon.

After visiting them, according to guidebooks and reviews, you will again move to the Small Circle and return to the main temple of Angkor. Moving in a big circle, you will be moving between attractions more than moving on foot.

On the third day, the most distant temples of Angkor usually remain, which are sometimes quite problematic to get to, especially if you have not rented a transport, because many of them are located at a distance of about 50-70 kilometers from the main complex. If you have three days, then it will be most convenient to move along the routes already established by tourists.

In the event that you have more time, you can independently develop daily excursion routes, change temple visits and generally do everything the way you like.

What to look out for

No matter how much you want, it is impossible not to see the main attraction of the complex - Angkor Wat. This temple-mountain rises above the rest of the buildings in the very center of the complex. You can recognize it by its five knobby towers. It is believed that all five peaks are always visible from any point. This is the most visited temple of Angkor. Tourists always crowd here in search of beautiful and unusual views for photos.

The second most popular building is the local Library. In front of the library there is a small pond where you can relax during the tour.

Ta-Pkhrom is another visited and favorite place at tourists. This is a temple-monastery, which has a rather strange layout. At present, the territory of this building is heavily overgrown, and not just with grass, but with centuries-old trees with powerful branched trunks. Ta-Pkhrom has been trying to clear the vegetation and make it more accessible for tourists for almost a hundred years, but the jungle does not want to leave this place. Everyone who has visited Ta-Phrom leaves rave reviews about this romantic and seemingly abandoned temple.

Bas-relief galleries are considered another popular object that collects laudatory reviews. There are eight of them in the area around Angkor Wat (two on each side) and the Hall of a Thousand Buddhas that stands out separately. Each gallery is distinguished from the others by impressive floor-to-ceiling bas-reliefs that are never repeated. In the Hall of the Thousand Buddhas, as it is already becoming clear, there are bas-reliefs, statues and images of the Buddha in various versions and all kinds of sizes.

The most interesting bas-reliefs, attracting the attention of thousands of tourists and constantly gathering crowds of people around them, refer to the mystical and mysterious themes of hell and paradise on earth: Churning of the Milky Ocean, Gallery of Hell and Paradise, Battle of the Gods, etc.

What is the price?

Since visiting the complex of temples is most often planned for several days, then entry tickets There are several types here. So, you can buy a ticket for a day trip for $20.

Those wishing to stay longer on the territory of Angkor purchase a ticket for a three-day tour for $40. The ticket is valid for a week, so you can enter the territory of the temple complex not for three days in a row, but to split the visit according to a convenient schedule.

You can also buy a weekly visit to the complex for $70 (ticket is valid for a month).

Schedule

Angkor is open to visitors daily from 05.00 to 18.00. If you want to see the sunrise, you must be inside before 05.30 hours, if the sunset - before 17.30 hours. Tickets stop selling one hour before the official closing time. If you enter the territory of the complex, then no one will kick you out and you can walk here longer. True, too long a stay on the territory of the complex may result in a remark from the police or even a fine for violating the order.

If you have such an opportunity, then visit Angkor Wat twice: once at dawn and the other at sunset. It is in the dawn and sunset rays that you will receive the greatest aesthetic satisfaction from what you see. Of course, you can come here at any time, but this way you cannot say that you have seen everything that Angkor Wat has to offer us.

The temple complex is very large, so when planning an excursion in this direction, set aside at least one day for it.

Since the temple complex is currently considered inactive, there are no strict rules regarding the dress code, but inappropriate clothing (short skirts / shorts, bare shoulders / knees) will still not let you into the main temple.

Many monkeys live on the territory of the complex, so you should be extremely careful, because primates steal everything that is bad, especially hats, food, cameras and mobile phones.
Going on a tour, be sure to take enough drinking water with you, as the weather in Cambodia is always hot, so everything around is hot and you are constantly thirsty, especially at noon. Also take something to eat if you don't want to spend time looking for a place to eat, which are not many here.

If time permits, then inspect Angkor out of order, but, starting with smaller temples, only at the very end get to the main temple of the complex - Angkor Wat.

Do not fall for the tricks of beggars at the entrance if you do not want to lose a lot of money. By submitting a dollar to one, you will activate a chain reaction and local children will come running to you from all over. It's better to say "no" right away. If you start serving, and then stop abruptly and someone is left deprived, this will cause aggression.

Try not to visit Angkor during festivals. If you believe the reviews, these days there are too many people here, including local Khmers, who come here absolutely free.