Are you going to travel to Cambodia and dream of visiting the famous Angkor Wat temple? In this guide, we will tell you the three main temples of Angkor to visit in one day and you shouldn’t miss them when you are in Cambodia.
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is one of the largest temples in the world and a masterpiece of Khmer art built in the 12th century.
It was built to be a Hindu temple, its five towers symbolize the Hindu universe and it is surrounded by walls and a moat.
Angkor Wat temple is the icon of Cambodia, so you have to take your time, it is a real wonder. We advise you to enjoy it at sunrise and sunset. Although at 5 am the temple is full of tourists waiting for the sunrise to take photos, you cannot miss it, it is a unique spectacle.
The sunset from the temple is not as spectacular as sunrise, but it is a good time to take pictures because there are far fewer tourists than at other times of the day.
Bayon Temple
This temple is in the center of Angkor Thom (The Great City), it was built by King Jayavarman VII during the 12th and 13th centuries.
In the center, there are 216 faces carved into the stones that make up the 54 towers of the Bayon Temple whose number represents the 54 provinces into which Cambodia was divided in those centuries.
The four faces of each tower are images of King Jayavarman VII to represent his omnipresence. Although some say that the faces represent the future Buddha.
Ta Prohm Temple
This temple has become very famous for being the setting for the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
Apart from cinematographic settings, the atmosphere of the temple is spectacular because it has been preserved exactly as it was discovered. The jungle trees invade the temple ruins, it’s super pretty.
It was built by King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and as a university, so its architecture is very different from other temples in Angkor.
