Siem Reap is a small colonial town just north of Southeast Asia’s largest lake, Tonle Sap. The town itself is charming and pleasant enough to roam around, with some fine examples of French colonial architecture though modern developments, mostly in the form of hotels, has been swift here in recent years since the slow demise of the Khmer Rouge. Now that the town is safe again, visitors have been flocking in, using it as a base for visits to nearby Angkor ruins.

A City Carved in Stone

From the 9th to the 14th centuries, (at a time when Europe was still struggling out of the Dark Ages), the Cambodian Empire of Angkor encompassed most of present-day Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

The heart of this empire during its peak in the 12th century was the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (near present day Siem Reap), the site of the world’s largest temple complexes that was only rediscovered in 1861, overgrown by jungle.

This spectacular city was built over 30 years under the reign of Suryavarman II (1113-1150). The whole area covers 400 sqare kilometers and is brimming with the finest examples of Khmer art and architecture.

Visitors are always amazed at the sheer scale of the place. Within the Angkor Wat compound alone, you will find more than 100 stone monuments and temple edifices, each of which contains countless statues, sculptures and bas reliefs that have weathered extremely well over the last 800 years. To see the whole thing can take several days, as you get delightfully lost in its labyrinthine corridors.

The most important temples to visit in the area are Angkor Wat – especially at sunrise and sunset; Angkor Thom, the remains of the capital; Ta Prohm, a palace overgrown by jungle; and Preah Khan, which is also overgrown and in the process of restoration.

For more detail information, please visit Local Adventures Cambodia.