| ANGKOR WAT |
Date: Early – Mid 12 th century (between 113 and 1150) with later additions.
Religion: Hinduism
Reign: Suryavarman II. Visit at anytime.
Angkor Wat is a massive three-tired pyramid crowned by five beehive-like towers rising 65 meters from ground level. Angkor Wat is the centerpiece of any visi to the temples of Angkor. At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in teh region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the firn if a massive temple mountain dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. |
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| It served as his state temple, though the temple’s uncommon westward orientation has led some to suggest that it was constructed as Suryavarman II’s funerary temple. |
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ANGKOR THOM
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Date: Late – Early 13 th century
Religion: Buddhism
Reign: Jayavarman VII
Angkor Thom (Big Angkor) is a 3km walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian empire. After Jayavarman VII recaptured the badly damaged Angkorian capital from Cham invaders in 1181, he began a massive building campaign across the empire, constructing Angkor Thom as his new capital city. He began with existing structures such as Baphuon and Phimenakas and build a |
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| grand enclosed city around them, adding the centere of the outer wall/moat and some of Angkor’s greatest temples including his state-temple, Bayon, set at the center of the city, there are five entrances (gates) to the city, one for each crowned with 4 giant faces. The south gate is often the first stop on a tour of the temples. |
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| PHNOM BAKHENG |
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Date: Late 9 th – Early 10 th century (about 907)
Religion: Hindu
Reign: Yasovarman I
Visit: Last afternoon and sunset for the views from the summit. The construction of this temple mountain on Phnom Bakheng (Bakheng Hill), the first mamor temple to be constructed in the Angkor area, marked the move of capital of the Khmer empire from Roluos to Angkor in the late 9 th century AD. |
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| It served as Yasovarman I’s state temple in the center of his new capital city Yasodharapura. The foundation of Bakheng is carved from the existing rock edifice rather than the late rite and earth fill of most other temple. Bakheng’s hilltop location make it the most popular sunset location the area, offering a view of the Tonle Sap lake and distant Angkor Wat in the jungle often overcrowded at sunset. Elephant rides up the hill are available. |
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| BAYON TEMLE |
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Date: Late 12 th Century
Religion: Buddhism
Reign: Jayavarman VII
If you see only two temples Angkor Wat and Bayon should be the ones. The giant stone faces of Baon have become one of the most recognizable images connected to classic Khmer art and architecture. There are 37 standing towers , most but not all sporting four carved faces oriented toward the cardinal points. |
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| Who the faces represent is a matter of debate but they may be Lokesvara, Mahayana Buddhism’s compassionate Bodhisattva, or perhaps a combination of Buddha and Jayavarman VII. Bayon was the Jayavarman VII’s state- temple and many ways represents the pinnacle of his massive strutted building campaign. It appears to be, and is to some degree, an architectural muddle, in part because it was constructed in a somewhat piecemeal fashion for over a century. |
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| SILVER PAGODA |
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It is located within the Royal Palace compound. Formerly a wooden building, was built by King Sihanouk in 1962. The pagoda’s steps are Italian marbles, and inside, its floor is comprised of more than 5000 silver blocks, which together weights nearly 6 tones. In the center of the pagoda is a magnificent 17 th Buddha statue make of Baccarat crystal. In front is a 90kg golden Buddha studded with 9584 diamonds, dating from 1906, It was made from the jewelry or King Norodom. It was preserved by Khmer Rouge in order to demonstrate to the outside world. It concerns for the conservation of Cambodia’s cultural riches. Although some 60% of the pagoda’s contents were destroyed under Pol Pot, what remains is spectacular. |
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| NATIONAL MUSEUM |
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| The National Museum of Cambodia is housed in a graceful terracotta structure of traditional design(built in 1917 – 1920). Some highlights include the eight – armed statue of Vishnu from teh 6 th or 7 th century, the statue of Shiva (circa 877-866) and the sublime statue of Jayavarman VII seated (circa 1181 – 1218), his head bowed slightly in a meditative pose. Elsewhere arount the museum are display of pottery and bronzes dating from the pre-Angkor periods of Funan and Chenla (4 th to 9 th Centuries), the Indravarman period (9 th and 10 th centuries), as well as more recent works. |
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| PHNOM KULEN |
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Date: 9 th century
Religion: Hindu
Reign: Yasovarman II
Visit: 1hr Best time: Late afternoon and sunset for the views from the summit
This is where the 500-year long age of Angkor began. The Kulen fall is where the Cambodian wish to have an opportunity to take a sacred water bath. This mountain is on which Yasovarman II initiated a Royal ’god of the king ‘ linga cult in 802AD, declaring a unified and independent Cambodia under a sin |
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| glen ruler. Soon after , moved his capital from Kulen to Roluos where it was to remain for almost a century before moging to the Angkor area. Several sites including hundreds of linga stands in the Siem Reap river, waterfalls and active pagoda. |
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| SIHANUK VILLE |
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| Sihanuk Ville is Cambodia’s only port. It is gradually redeveloped as a tourist attraction. In the southwest corner of Cambodia,232 km from Phnom Penh, it can be reached by national highway No4. This costal city is beautified by white sand beaches. The beaches are known for their quiet, cozy atmosphere and the large stretches of white sand and clear water and these make them popular spots for both domestic and international visitors. Although tourism has increased over the past few years, teh beaches of Sihanuk Ville |
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| are some of the most unspoiled in all of Southeast Asia. It is a perfect tropical gateway filled with lovely beaches and facilities for swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving or just sunbathing. These seaside paradises with refreshing collness of the fresh water streams can be enjoyed all year round. |
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