- Frank Vincent, 1872
Angkor Wat - Cambodia's wonder of the world.
Learn more about the monument, plan your trip to enjoy the temple at its best:
Angkor Wat's popularity means it is more important than ever to tour the temple with an experienced guide. Our Angkor Wat Tours page gives you the vital information to get an edge on your fellow visitors.
To visit Angkor Wat temple is around 6km north of Siem Reap, and travel takes about 10 minutes by car, or 20 mintues by tuk-tuk, following the main road north out of the town). An Angkor Wat temple plan is useful as this is a large temple. An expert local tour guide from Siem Reap will ensure you get the very best from your Angkor Wat tour, and enable you to see Angkor Wat without the crowds. As well as enabling you to see the best of the temple, your guide can explain the full Angkor Wat history, and discuss Angkor Wat restoration projects. Angkor Wat temple highlights include the bas-reliefs that surround the lower galleries, and the chance to capture the sun rising over this architectural wonder.
"Sunrises at Angkor Wat can be beautiful, but to avoid the crowds have an extra hour in bed and visit before 7am. The sunrise crowds will be ahead of you, yet the main rush will not be there until after 8am, so you can enjoy the temple at your leisure in the cool of the morning."
Angkor Wat, just outside Siem Reap in Cambodia, is the national symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its flag, and is the most significant of all the Angkor Temples.
Since the publicised Angkor Wat temple "discovery" in the mid 19th century, it has been described as the largest religious building in the world, and is rightly spoken of as one of the wonders of the ancient world, along with sites such as Macchu Picchu and the Taj Mahal. The temple is located just over 6km from Siem Reap, is the centrepiece of the Angkor Archaeological Park, and has been UNESCO listed as a world heritage site since 1992.
One of the largest Angkor temples, Angkor Wat was built under King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century. Originally built as a temple to Vishnu, it has been in continuous use as a Buddhist shrine since the adoption of Theravada Buddhism by the Khmer people, meaning it has remained in excellent condition over the centuries. Because of its symbolic representation of ancient Khmer nationhood, the temple survived the Khmer Rouge years relatively undamaged, and tourist numbers have increased steadily since the political situation stabilised.
Cambodia travel information and Angkor Wat tour specialists ABOUTAsia are based in Siem Reap just 4km from Angkor Wat. At the heart of the organisation is a guiding research centre providing Cambodia vacation advice and industry leading tours planning.
Peerless service standards and local positioning have made us the tour operator of choice by international luxury travel groups and discerning independent travellers to Angkor Wat, Cambodia and Southeast Asia.