THE PRIDE OF CAMBODIA

A visit to the largest religious monument in the world, Angkor Wat

WORDS BY LAURA COOP

For visitors to Cambodia, Angkor Wat sits atop their mustsee list and for good reason: a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site, it is one of the largest religious monuments ever built and a source of pride for the country, so much so that it is depicted on the national flag. Tourists and film producers alike fall in love with the 12th-century masterpiece after visiting.

Found deep within the jungle of the Siem Reap province and covering about 500 acres, Angkor Wat (which is housed within Angkor Archeological Park) is comparable in size to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Considered a prime example of classic Khmer art and architecture, it was built to represent Mount Meru as a spiritual home for the Hindu god, Vishnu. Its distinctive five towers symbolise the five peaks of the mountain, the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world, and the surrounding moat symbolises the ocean.

If Angkor Wat seems a familiar sight, it is. Appearing on the silver screen in many blockbuster films such as In the Mood for Love (2000), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and as far back as the 1936 horror flick, Revolt of the Zombies.

While Angkor Wat is as spectacular as you’d imagine, it’s far from the only temple worth a visit within the Park. The nearby jungle-covered temple of Ta Prohm is an incredible sight and was once the home to hundreds of monks. Enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers have since entwined themselves within the stone foundations of this masterful structure, giving the impression of being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature.