This Angkor Temple Guide will help you navigate your way around the marvellous Angkor Temples. There are more than fifty in the entire complex of religious wonder, situated to the north of Siem Reap in northern Cambodia. Without doubt this is one of the top places to visit anywhere in the world. It is inconceivable that anyone would want to travel to Cambodia and not include this destination.
Our Angkor Temple Guide gives you some must know tips and guidelines to help you get the most out of your visit. For a long time it was thought that these magnificent temples were simply independent religious sites all built in close proximity to each other. Then in 2014 a team of scientists led by Dr Damian Evans, from the University of Sydney mapped 370 sq km (143 square miles) around Angkor. Using an incredibly sophisticated remote sensing device called LIDAR, mounted underneath a helicopter. This enabled them to “see” through the dense jungle.Their findings would shake the world of archeology and change, forever the way that this amazing complex is viewed.
They now understand that the whole area was, at one time, the largest single conurbation on earth. At the height of its powers, in the late 12th Century, Angkor was a huge metropolis covering 1,000 sq km (386 square miles). To put that into perspective, It would be 700 years later before London, England, reached a similar size.
What is in the Inseasia Angkor Temple Guide?
We have tried to put together a guide that includes the best things to see in a complex that, quite frankly, defies normal convention. Without living in Cambodia and having the desire to spend weeks studying these temples, you are not going to even scratch the surface.
Most people who come to Angkor have a rough idea of which temples they want to see. Angkor Wat is easily the star of the show. But it can be frustrating to get home from a holiday thousands of miles away, only to read that you were a few hundred yards from something spectacular, and had no idea. This Angkor Temple Guide will prevent that from happening.
The great advantage of the temple complex is its proximity to Siem Reap. People can sleep in the hotels, drink in the bars and eat in the restaurants, then rise refreshed and still be only 8 km (5 miles) from all the action.
Top Tips
Something that the tour companies won’t tell you is that the crush for that early morning “money shot”, with the sun rising over Angkor Wat, is rarely worth it. Instead of waiting with 3000 others on the exterior wall, just walk in, have the entire temple to yourself and then buy a post card.
Angkor Wat is not just great in the morning, it is spectacular whenever you go. Get a tuk tuk driver to take you out to the ticket office before 5.00pm. Buy a ticket, go and see the temple in the evening, and your ticket lasts for the entirety of the next day. You can see the other temples at your leisure.
A tuk tuk from Siem Reap is easily the best way to go. Air conditioned minibus bus tours can never involve you in the experience the way that a tuk tuk can. These guys are really good. They know what people want to see, and will fit it all in. If after reading the Inseasia Angkor Temple Guide you have a specific request, they will fit that in as well.
