The legendary ruins of Angkor, the center of the Khmer Empire, still attract millions of tourists. This temple complex is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Angkor is the most popular tourist attraction in Cambodia. This temple complex was the largest city in Indochina, a million-plus city, a concentration of religious buildings dedicated to Lord Shiva. Angkor is now the ruins of Hindu temples, none of which are alike. This open-air museum has a mountain temple, a temple level with the surface of the earth, monasteries and ceremonial buildings from the time of the ancient Khmers.
History of Angkor
According to historical data, this is the largest temple complex on the territory of modern Cambodia, and the whole world, was built in the 6th century. The initiator of the construction was Prince Suryavarman I. Its name literally translates as empire, city-state, kingdom. It included several temple structures at once, which are still on the map of Angkor:
- Wat,
- Tom,
- Srey,
- That Prom,
- Thommanon,
- Banteay Kdey,
- Sra Srang,
- Chau Sei Tevoda and others.
At the moment Angkor is not a resort place, there are no hotels and infrastructure facilities. Tourists come here specifically to inspect the ruins of temples, a special temple of Angkor Wat.
It is believed that it was the construction of Angkor that was the beginning of the development of the Jayavarman dynasty and the cult of Shiva, the symbol of which is the phallic lingam. Almost every one of the hundred temples of Angkor has such sacred symbols, moreover, they are used to designate the center of buildings.
Angkor address and list of excursion tours
The temple complex of Angkor is located in Cambodia, in the province of Siem Reap, 5 km from the city of the same name. Tourists who come to see its ruins stay at hotels in Siem Reap. The temple complex can be visited as part of an excursion group under the guidance of a professional guide or a "savage", getting to it by taxi, bicycle or local transport "tuk-tuk".
There are ticket offices at the entrance to Angkor, where you can buy a ticket for a one-day visit to the ruins or a subscription for 3, 7 days. The cost ranges from $ 20 to $ 60. Considering that the area of the complex is more than 500,000 sq. m, it is better to use the services of professional guides. They offer the following tours:
- in a small and large circle,
- comprehensive inspection of the entire territory,
- helicopter excursion.
You will have to pay more for the services of professionals - from $ 50 to $ 80, but the impressions will be completely different, more vivid than those who visit Angkor as a “savage”.
The Angkor temple complex is the most mysterious structure from the category of ruins to date. Even modern innovative technologies and devices do not make it possible to guess the way of their construction, to study in detail the composition of materials and mixtures that hold them together. This fact attracts not only ordinary tourists here, but also research groups from all over the world.
