Get up early on the morning to see sunrise and after sunrise explore Angkor wat and then come back to hotel for breakfast. Angkor Wat is the national emblem of Cambodia and the pride of the Khmer people. Its silhouette of five towers - or of only three from a frontal perspective - is as iconic as those of the pyramids of Gizeh or of the Taj Mahal. The Angkor Wat is the largest historical temple monument in the world. The central towers rises 65 metres from ground level. Originally, all nine - not only the central five - great pinnacles were plated with gold. The platform of the temple-pyramid measures 332 metres length and 258 metres width. Its enclosure has a 1025 metres long and 800 metres wide outer temple wall, surrounded by a moat measuring 1500 metres by 1300 metres. Angkor Wat is not only of enormous size, it is a masterpiece of architectural design, craftsmanship and sculptural decoration as well.

The South Gate is the most famous city gate and a kind of emblem of Angkor Thom. Every visitor of Angkor will see it, as the only road from the Angkor Wat to the second-most popular destination, the Bayon, crosses Angkor Thom's South Gate. All visitors will stop here in front of Angkor's most extensive collection of giant sculptures. Many tourists start an elephant ride here, either through the South Gate to the Bayon temple or to the top of the nearby hill Phnom Bakheng. The causeway of the South Gate is pretty crowded sometimes, particularly between 9.00 and 10.00 am. In the evening, an hour or two after sunset, the South Gate will be closed.

The Bayon, built in the centre of Angkor Thom about 1200 A.D., is the second most popular monument in Angkor, after Angkor Wat. It is the temple with those numerous enigmatic "stone faces" Angkor is famous for. As it is not clear who or what is symbolized by those gigantic Buddhas, the smiling faces of Angkor Thom became an emblem of the mysteries of Angkor. The original total number of face towers is still a matter of debate. However, originally there must have been about 50 towers and 200 colossal faces at the Bayon. Now, there are 37 standing towers, most of them with four Buddha faces oriented toward the cardinal points. Most of them are raised on the cruciform terrace surrounding the central tower, which is, rarely enough in Angkor, a circular structure. The central tower rises 43 metres above the ground. Apart from those face-towers, there is a second exciting attraction at the Bayon, the large-scale carvings at the gallery walls,

The Baphuon was completed about 1060 by King Udayadityavarman II, near the Royal Palace. It served as his state temple. Like all previous Khmer state temples it was dedicated to Shiva, with a Lingam venerated in the central shrine on top of the pyramid. Those days it the Baphuon was Asia's largest temple built from stone. (The even bigger Borobudur on Java is not a construction, but mounted on a natural hill.) The Baphuon's original height is not known, because the central tower collapsed totally after only a few centuries, in the 15th or 16th century its stones were reused to erect a 9 metre tall and 70 metre long colossal reclining Buddha at the west facade of the temple. But in the late 13th century the Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan (Chou Ta-Kuan) still saw the original state temple and called it "the Tower of Bronze". It was approximately 50 m tall. Now it is 34 m.

Phimeanakas was started by King Rajendravarman II (944-69), but subsequent kings made alterations to it, the long-reigning Suryavarman I (1006-1050) in particular. It is predominantly a laterite structure, with some sandstone elements. There are not many carvings at this monument. The axial stairways, on all four sides, are flanked by guardian lions. Elephants were on the corners of the tiers, but most of them are broken. The stairways are extremely steep, for visitors there is a wooden stairway added at the west side. At the top there are small sandstone galleries and remains of an elevated sanctuary, probably later additions. There is an inscription on a door jamb, reused from an older temple of a minister of Yashovarman I, the founder of Angkor.

The Elephant Terrace, also called Terrace of the Elephants, is an ancient wall and platform that forms most of the western edge of the Royal Square of Angkor Thom. This square only a few hundred metres north to the Bayon temple in the centre of Angkor Thom was the secular core of the city, serving for parades and festivals. The Elephant Terrace separates this square from the compound of the Royal Palace, being a kind of high entrance platform to it. The so-called Victory Avenue from the Victory Gate just ends in front of the Elephant Terrace. Thus, it most probably served as the Royal audience hall, from where the king and his family and court officials watched public events such as military parades and presented themselves to the people. The terrace carried pavilions of perishable materials. Remains of painted lead tiles of a former roof have been found nearby.

The Terrace of the Leper King is located immediately north of the Terrace of the Elephants, in the north-west corner of the Royal Square of Angkor Thom. The terrace is worth seeing and studying it, as the best example of an ornate open-air wall with an abundance in deeply carved reliefs. They depict gods and demons, Garuda halfbirds and multi-headed Naga serpents and other mythical beings, many of them female. The 6 m high and 25 m long terrace was named for the kneeling statue on the top. There are four more statues of guardians surrounding the central statue. They carry swords, their costumes are ornate, but they are headless. The larger central "Leper King" is naked, but without genitals, he has long hair and a moustache. He once carried a mace on his right shoulder. Its kneeling position with the right knee raised is uncommon in Khmer art,

Ta Prohm, located three kilometres north-west of the Angkor Wat, is famous as Angkor's "jungletemple". If you are in a hurry and have only a few hours to spend in Angkor, this large monument surmounted by many stone-strangling trees, indeed, is one of the three must-sees of Cambodia, apart from the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom's Buddhist face towers. The early French archaeologists intentionally left it partially unrestored. This is why until the present day enormous strangler figs (Ficus gibbosa) and even huger Thitpok trees (Tetrameles nudiflora) grow from the towers and halls, spreading their gigantic roots over intricately carved stone, thus making Ta Prohm an icon of excellent architecture reconquered by the force of nature. This massive combination of art and vegetation is unique in the world, and one of the impressions nobody will ever forget. In the early morning hours, before first bus groups arrive

Banteay Kdei is the first huge temple built by Jayavarman VII (1181-1218?), the Buddhist ruler of whom there are left nearly as many monuments as built by all his Hindu predecessors together. Most of Jayavarman's constructions are at ground level. They have no pyramids as bases and no upper levels. Contemporary flat temples are, besides Banteay Kdei, nearby "jungletemple" Ta Prohm, the huge Preah Khan, futhermore, Neak Pean, Krol Ko, Ta Som, Banteay Thom and countless smaller edifices, e.g. the Chapel of the Hospital. Jayavarman VII’s state temple Bayon in his new capital Angkor Wat is his only structure with tiers.

Ta Nei is a late 12th century stone temple in Angkor, Cambodia. Built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, it is near the northwest corner of the East Baray, a large holy reservoir. It was dedicated to the Buddha.

Most visitors asked which was the most beautiful temple they saw in Cambodia, will answer: Angkor Wat was great, but we love Banteay Srei most. And Cambodians will tell you: As long as you have not seen Banteay Srei you have not seen Cambodia. Indeed, Banteay Srei is a top candidate for a competition: Which is the nicest temple in the world? What is special about Banteay Srei, is its abundance in carvings and the perfect harmony of architectural and sculptural art. Actually, at Banteay Srei building and ornamentation is nearly undiscernable, as in the case of the best examples of fine arts in India. But in contrast to Indian masterpieces Banteay Srei is not over-ornate. It's design is discreet, more delightful than impressive. Its dimensions are modest. Most visitors are surprised, how small Banteay Srei is

Banteay Samré is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, located 400 metres to the east of the East Baray. Built during the reign of Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.

Brilliant local produce. Make sure you stop at burning stove to learn about the prices of making sugar in action.

In 1191 Preah Khan was dedicated to Jayavarman VII's father, the central statue was called "Jayavarmeshvara", meaning "Jayavarman, Lord of the world". Jayavarman's father was worshipped as a personification of the universal Bodhisattva of compassion and loving care, Avalokiteshvara, while the five years older temple Ta Prohm was dedicated to his mother as Prajnaparamita, female embodiment of perfect wisdom. Care and knowledge are the bipolar interpreted central terms in the salvation doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, which Jayavarman VII introduced as the new official cult of the Khmer empire, by the way, without suppressing the former Hindu believes: Temples for Vishnu to the west and for Shiva to the north, accompanying the central Avalokiteshvara shrine, are integral parts of Preah Khan's layout right from the beginning.

Neak Pean is really exceptional. Its layout differs from all the rest of Khmer architecture. It was a temple on an artificial island of 350 m diameter in the huge Baray. Unlike other Mebons, those well-known island temples in the centre of other reservoirs, Neak Pean has a round platform for the temple proper and, as its main feature, a series of ponds arranged in a concentric Mandala structure. The central circular temple platform of 14 m diametre, its form resembling a lotus bud, is an island within the island, it is surrounded by a square pond measuring 72 m. This larger pond sits at the axis of a cross of four more square ponds in the cardinal directions, each of them 24 m by 24 m. Originally the five ponds were surrounded by eight more square pools in a lotus pattern.

Pre Rup, founded in 961, is the most significant legacy of Rajendravarman II (941-968), who is one of the "big names" among Angkor kings. After empire-founder Jayavarman II, Roluos-founder Indravarman I and Angkor-founder Yashovarman I, King Rajandravarman II can be regarded as the "Angkor-restorer", as he was the one who decided that the capital was returned to Angkor, after a period of political turmoil and of dominance of Koh Ker, where Jayavarman IV had resided. Rajendravarman did not built his monuments in the area of the first Angkor capital, which was Yashodharapura founded by Yashovarman I, but further eastwards, in the vicinity of Angkor's water reservoir East Baray, which was built already by Angkor's founder Yashovarman, too. King Rajendravarman II erected the East Mebon on an island close to the centre of this huge man-made lake, which is dry now, and one decade later the similar, but much more massive Pre Rup, probably in the centre of his new capital.

The East Mebon is a 10th Century temple at Angkor, Cambodia. Built during the reign of King Rajendravarman, it stands on what was an artificial island at the center of the now dry East Baray reservoir.