Angkor Wat and the 7 must see temples of Angkor.

The Angkor Archaeological Park, just outside Siem Reap in Cambodia, has the largest concentration of temples in the world. According to Google there are more than a thousand scattered across some 200 square kilometres. Even the most intrepid traveller can hope to visit only a fraction. Are you up for a thousand temples - no! I didn't think so - but don't panic! Luckily for you, David and I have done all the hard work and over a three day marathon of religious monument hopping visited most of them - well it felt like it!  Actually we saw thirteen but they were absolutely the best thirteen. Out of that thirteen I have picked seven which you simply must visit.

1. Angkor Wat

Let's start with the biggy! Angkor Wat is the largest religious building on the planet and the best known of all the Angkor temples. In fact until we started researching our visit I was under the mistaken impression it was the only Angkor temple. Was Angkor Wat my favourite - no, not by a long shot. In the words of my husband and ever faithful travelling companion, David, 

"I suppose you have to visit Angkor Wat, but at the end of the day you are glad its over!" 

The problem with Angkor Wat is size. It is just massive. The building is spread across more than 200 hectares. You can spend hours and hours there and still come away with the feeling you missed bits. There is also an issue with expectations - always a problem for me with well-known tourist sites. My expectations of Angkor Wat were so high there was no chance the real thing could live up to them. Mostly though I was disappointed that the temple seems to be a never-ending labyrinth of corridors and passageways. There aren't any of the great halls or courtyards I associate with other religious buildings around the world. Up close Angkor Wat felt like a medieval maze which I never really got the hang of.

Does this mean you should skip Angkor Wat. No, absolutely not! Imagine coming home from Egypt and announcing you didn't visit the pyramids. 'Too much effort,' you could explain to relatives and friends just before they had you committed to the local loony bin. Do not skip Angkor Wat! Try to see it as a necessary prelude to all the magical temples you'll discover once you've got this one over with.

My tips -

• Carry plenty of water. We visited in the 'cool' time of year and it was still almost unbearably hot and humid. You can purchase water at stalls across the road from the causeway entrance but it is a long walk back to them if you run out.

• Organise a guide to show you around. The sheer scale of Angkor Wat makes it difficult to explore on your own. The drivers are not permitted to act as guides. If you choose to visit the temple without a guide take careful note of where you will meet your driver when you leave. There will be tourists, drivers and guides everywhere and finding your guy will be a bit like chaos theory magnified a thousand fold.

• Angkor Wat is very popular at sunrise. However if you want a photo of the complex reflected in the moat go in the afternoon.

Angkor Wat - my best reflection photo!

Angkor Wat carvings. Our guide explained who the various figures were but it more or less went in one ear and out the other - ooopps!

2. Angkor Thom 

You may not have heard of Angkor Thom but like Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom is another not-to-be-missed attraction. Sadly, it suffers from much the same problem as Angkor Wat. Angkor Thom is on a massive scale and its sheer size makes it difficult to appreciate, let alone enjoy.

Angkor Thom was a city rather than a single temple. There are however several temples within the city walls the most significant of which, the Bayon, is right in the centre. If you think Angkor Wat is huge, wait until you see Angkor Thom. The city was spread over an area of 10 square kilometres with 8 metre high walls which are 3 kilometres long on each side - and before someone tells me that is only 9 square kilometres, there is also a moat 100 metres wide which no doubt makes up the extra area.

The city once housed a population of one million people. Now it is empty - just David, me and ten thousand other tourists!

My tips:

• The east entrance through which we drove in to Angkor Thom is lined by statutes of gods and demons - 108 of them. Gods on one side, demons on the other as if facing off  before a gigantic cosmic sporting match. Stop before the causeway and walk a few metres to the left for a great photo.

• This is another monument where, just because of its huge size, it helps to have a guide.

My photo taken from the east gate of Angkor Thom.

Faces are a theme at Angkor Thom.

3. Ta Prohm

Have you seen the movie Tomb Raider? I haven't but, unlike David who lives under a rock, I have heard of it. Parts of the movie were filmed at Ta Prohm temple and today it is often referred to as the 'Tomb Raider' temple.

Ta Prohm is billed as the temple left by archaeologists in its original state.  Except for a few visitor paths the jungle is slowly reclaiming its own. Sadly the temple's Tomb Raider fame eclipsed any chance of us glimpsing the famed surreal atmosphere. It is hard to find romance and mystery in something packed with other tourists.  There was one spot which had a long line of selfie-stick toting visitors each waiting patiently for a chance to photograph themselves in front of a wall covered in massive tree roots.

Don't think you can skip Ta Prohm either. This is another - 'What you couldn't be bothered seeing the pyramids?'  temple. Just keep your expectations under control and add it to your 'must-see' itinerary.

My tips:

• You don't need a guide for Ta Prohm unless you really want to go into detail. It is much smaller than Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.

• Look out for the small girl's face sneaking out of the tree roots just past where everyone lines up for the Tomb Raider selfies.

• Don't miss the carving which looks like a stegosaurus. Is it a stegosaurus, or just a rhinoceros with a funny looking back?

• For a largely unrestored temple without the crowds of Ta Prohm head to Ta Som or Preah Khan.

Ta Prohm

The 'Tomb Raider' photo op queue at Ta Prohm.

The lady and the stegosaurus!

4. Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei, or the 'Citadel of Women' is said to feature some of the finest carvings in the world. It has been beautifully restored. Being much further from Siem Reap (38 kms) it doesn't get the crowds which more easily accessible temples get. There were still quite a few people around when we were there but we didn't feel quite like sardines in a tin in the way we did in parts of Angkor Wat.

My tip:

• Combine your visit to Banteay Srei with Banteay Samre. They are both a bit out of the way but quite close to each other.

Some of the exquisite carvings of Banteay Sre.

Banteay Sre

5. Banteay Samre

Banteay Samre was one of my favourites. We had the temple almost to ourselves. Banteay Samre is one of the most completely restored temples. The restoration of the temples uses a method called anastylosis which involves taking the whole structure apart and rebuilding it - no easy task given that 'structure' is used in the loosest sense of the word. Try to imagine a giant jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces lying around jumbled or damaged on the ground and the other half missing altogether.  Many of the temples we saw had giant stone blocks scattered in unruly piles. They were numbered with white paint, waiting to be painstakingly re-assembled.

My tip:

• The drive to Banteay Samre leads through local villages which are fun to stop at and explore.

• Combine your visit to Banteay Srei with Banteay Samre. They are both a bit out of the way but quite close to each other.

Banteay Samre

Except for this little guy we had Banteay Samre to ourselves.

6. Ta Som

Ta Som is like a smaller version of Ta Prohm, the Tomb Raider temple, so if you want to see Ta Prohm without the crowds head to Ta Som instead. Take a couple of photos of the unrestored walls and tell your friends back home it was Ta Prohm - they will never know the difference.

My tip:

• Don't miss the east entrance. It is on the far side from the car park so you have to walk around to the back of the temple. There we saw a magnificent ficus tree growing around, above and through the entrance - very much in the vanguard of the jungle reclaiming its sovereignty. 

Ta Som

7. Neak Pean

More monument than temple, Neak Pean was one of my favourites even though it is much smaller than the other temples and you can't get right up to it.  It stands in the centre of a pond on an island surrounded by flooded forest.  To reach the island we crossed a long, hot causeway. I loved it and David declared it his least favourite.  I was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and David had nothing to shade his head from the afternoon sun which may have had something to do with our poles-apart views on the temple.

My tip:

• Bring a hat!

Neak Pean

Have you been to the temples of Angkor? Do you think I have picked out the best seven? Which are your favourites?


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