3 World Heritage Sites to visit in Cambodia
Discover the highlights of Vietnam Travel through country’s World Heritage Sites :
- Angkor, Siem Riep Province
- Preah Vihear Temple, Preah Vihear Province
- Sambor Prei Kuk, Kampong Thom Province
1. Angkor
Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. The name Angkor is derived from nokor, a Khmer word meaning “kingdom”.
Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century.
They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations .
The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble, scattered through rice fields to the Angkor Wat, said to be the world’s largest single religious monument .
The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland north of the Great Lake,Tonlé Sap, and south of the Kulen Hills, near Siem Reap city, in Siem Reap Province
2. Preah Vihear Temple
Preah Vihear Temple is an ancient Khmer temple built during the period of the Khmer Empire, that is situated on the top of a 525-metre cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province.
Situated on the edge of a plateau that dominates the plain of Cambodia, the Temple of Preah Vihear is dedicated to Shiva. The Temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries, linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800 metre long axis, and dates back to the first half of the 11th century AD.
Nevertheless, its complex history can be traced to the 9th century, when the hermitage was founded. This site is particularly well preserved, mainly due to its remote location.
The site is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation.
3. Sambor Prei Kuk
Sambor Prei Kuk is an archaeological site in Cambodia located in Kampong Thom Province. The archaeological site of Sambor Prei Kuk, “the temple in the richness of the forest” in the Khmer language, has been identified as Ishanapura, the capital of the Chenla Empire, that flourished in the late 6th and early 7th centuries AD.
The property comprises more than a hundred temples, ten of which are octagonal, unique specimens of their genre in South-East Asia.
Decorated sandstone elements in the site are characteristic of the pre-Angkor decorative idiom, known as the Sambor Prei Kuk Style. Some of these elements, including lintels, pediments and colonnades, are true masterpieces.
The art and architecture developed here became models for other parts of the region and lay the ground for the unique Khmer style of the Angkor period.
