Angkor Wat & The Royal Temples

Angkor Wat is the most well-known archaeological site in Angkor and covers 400 km2. Make sure you climb its pineapple towers, you'll reap the rewards once you reach the top. When building this State temple in the early 12th century, in the heart of the capital, King Suryavarman II did not imagine that one day a cosmopolitan crowd would be admiring his sculptures and recounting the history of the monarchy like a comic strip. Buried under dense vegetation, the site was rediscovered in 1860 by French explorer, Henri Mouhot. Angkor Wat offers an excellent introduction to Angkor, as long as you devote some time to it and avoid exploring the temples one after the other.