Monuments of Angkor

Monuments of Angkor (25 February, 2006)


Discovering the Monuments of Ancient Angkor is a comprehensive guide to the temples and other heritage remains of Angkor. This guide has over 70 pages, each describing a different ancient temple or structure, with photos and details, along with precise map and GPS coordinates, so that, should you plan to visit Angkor, you have all the information you would need for a fulfilling trip.

The Angkor World Heritage Site is located to the north of Siem Reap in Cambodia, is the main focus of visitors coming to view the ruins of Angkor.

The name Angkor អង្គរ conjures images of the exotic, a place distant from our everyday existence. Whether it's sunlight on Angkor Wat, or the parting of rain-drenched foliage to unveil the stone faces of Bayon, Angkor has enthrilled visitors over many generations. With calm finally settling on the troubled lands of the Khmers, a new wave of visitors can now come up close and admire the works of a mighty civilisation, lost, but now rediscovered and once again appreciated.

Map of Angkor

The Monuments of Angkor

This is one the most complete documentation of the temples of Angkor. I create it out of the many visits I have made to the ruins, as well as through the help of a few people who wrote to me after seeing this page. If you have explored Angkor, and would like to help me make the information richer, I look forward to hearing from you.

  Top 3 Monuments at Angkor
  Monument of Major Interest
  Monument of Significant Interest
  Monument of Minor Interest
  Obscure Monument of Limited Interest.

Other Angkor Monuments

The following are obscure Angkor monuments that I have since discovered.

My introduction to Angkor

I first learned about Angkor in my history book when I was eleven years old. I was mersmerized by the ancient ruins, and dreamed of one day having the chance to explore them in person. My first visitn was in 2002, and since then, I have visited Angkor three times - which is quite sufficient for me. I have covered the major as well as more obscure ruins. It has been my quest to describe each of them in detail, and now I am able to do it with Google Maps Street View, which helps me pinpoint their location with even greater detail. I hope you will enjoy my description and please feel free to add your own in the Big World Out There Facebook Group, and they will be listed below.

Tim and wife Chooi Yoke at Angkor Wat (24 February, 2006)

About Angkor

The word Angkor is a corruption of the Khmer word nokor or ongkor, which means "capital". It is derived from the Sanskrit nagara, the same word that yielded the Thai nakhorn and the Malay negara and negeri. As its name indicates, Angkor is a city, an ancient one of massive scale.

The Angkorian period in Cambodian history is generally considered to extend from AD 802 to 1431. These dates should be treated as open-ended, as there were Khmers in the Angkor region before it became a capital, and Angkor was not completely deserted when the capital was moved, first to Oudong then to Phnom Penh.

Here I view Angkor from a hot-air balloon (29 February, 2008)

Angkor Location

The temples of Angkor are located in the vicinity of the town of Siem Reap. The name Siem Reap means "The Siamese are defeated". It is the main town where all the hotels and creature comforts are available. Except for the Roluos Group of temples, which are 13kms east of Siem Reap, the majority of the important ruins are all located 7-25km north of Siem Reap, with the closest and biggest being Angkor Wat.

Tim at the Angkorian ruins of Phnom Krom (25 February, 2006)

Visiting Angkor

To visit the ruins of Angkor, particularly those within the archaeological park, you will need an Angkor Pass which is available for durations of one day (US$20), three days (US$40) and seven days (US$60). The pass is obtainable at the checkpoint enroute to Angkor Wat. For those getting multiple-day passes, a photograph of you will be shot at the checkpoint itself, and printed onto the pass, which acts as a souvenir of your visit to the Angkor Archaeological Park. At time of updating this page (June 2009), the authorities are in the process of modifying the rules so that in future (perhaps by the time you read this), visitors holding the 3-day pass can use it on any 3 days of a week, and those holding the 7-day pass can use it on any 7 days of a month. Visiting hours are from 5:00am until sunset. There's a US$30 to US$40 fine for not possessing a valid pass.

Children in Angkor (26 February, 2006)


Is Cambodia safe? While I would say it is, and is getting safer by the day, one should be cautious at all times, the same as one should be back home. I have walked the streets at night without fear of harm. Unless you take reckless risks, you should be assured of a safe and enjoyable trip. You will be surprised to see how crowded some of the more popular Angkor monuments can be, especially Angkor Wat.

Tourists watching sunrise at Angkor Wat (26 February, 2006)


'Angkor' literally means 'Capital City' or 'Holy City'. 'Khmer' refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. In its modern usage, the term 'Angkor' has come to refer to the capital city of the Khmer Empire that existed in the area of Cambodia between the 9th and 12th centuries AD, as well as to the empire itself.

The Monuments of Angkor stand as one of the greatest ruins of an ancient civilization. The ancient Khmers have been so prolific in temple building that even today, scientists are discovering and studying newly ruins that have previously been lost under rubble and the jungle.

Today the ruins of Angkor lend themselves to a new life, as a major tourist attraction and top income earner for the otherwise poverished nation of Cambodia. The majority of these ruins are located in the vicinity of the town of Siem Reap, especially the area to the north of the town, that today forms the Angkor Archaeological Park. But not all the ruins are confined within the archaeological park. Those of the Roluos Group are located to the east of Siem Reap, Banteay Srey and Kbal Spean are to the north while Phnom Krom is by the banks of the Tonle Sap.

It is not uncommon to see latter Buddha statues added to the Angkor ruins, as is here, in Pre Rup. (24 February, 2006)


The monuments of Angkor was the first property in Cambodia to be inscribed as a World Heritage Site. Since then, the World Heritage Committee has inscribed a second site, the Temple of Preah Vihear.

1 February 2010 Update: I have been assisted by an online friend, Nic Boulton, who has just explored some of the lesser-known ruins of Angkor. I am added to this list the sites which Nic has explored.

Angkor World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 13 26 E 103 50
Inscription Year: 1992
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: I, II, III, IV

Moving About Angkor

Angkor World Heritage Site is the star attraction of any visit to Siem Reap. Let me take you to explore the ruins of Angkor from the comfort of your desk.

Angkor tuk tuk (24 February, 2006)


It's too time consuming to walk from Siem Reap to the ruins. You are better off hiring either a bicycle or a motorcycle, or get a tuk tuk to drive you around. You can make the arrangements when you are in Siem Reap.

Food in Angkor

In front of many major ruins are stalls selling food and drinks. The biggest are located in front of Angkor Wat and across from the Terrace of the Elephants at Angkor Thom. These are usually local fare peppered with a generous supply of roadside dust. If you can't stomach that, then you should head back to your hotel in Siem Reap for lunch, and return for the afternoon sojourn.

The market in Siem Reap (23 February, 2006)

Elephant Rides in Angkor

You won't get far, but at least you travel in style, like the Khmer kings of old. Elephant bookings can be done at their stations at Bayon and at the foot of Phnom Bakheng.

Farm shed in rural Cambodia near the ruins of Angkor (23 February, 2006)
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Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

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