Pictures of Angkor Wat, Cambodia   Cambodia TEMPLES OF ANGKOR
Pictures of Angkor Wat and other ancient Khmer temples
Picture of Angkor Wat
EXPLORING THE RUINS
OF OLD ANGKOR

The old Kymer kingdom, one of the great powers of south-east Asia, established their capital cities at Angkor in present-day Cambodia.  Driven by spiritual devotion and architectural ambition, the skilled and war-like Kymer rulers built many temples here, some on a massive scale.  Their accomplishments reached a zenith with the construction of the great temple of Angkor Wat.  Nine centuries later, it remains the largest religious building in the world...

  CELESTIAL TEMPLES OF THE KYMER
Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Kymer kings built a succession of spectacular temples at Angkor.  The most magnificent, Angkor Wat, was built in the early 12th century by Saryavarman II.  This was the classical age of the Kymer civilization when temples were devoted to Hindu deities.  Later, there were more triumphs of Kymer architecture when Jayavarman VII built the atmospheric Buddhist temples of Ta Phrom and Bayon. 
Picture of Angkor, Cambodia Faces of the bodhisattva Lokeshvara tower over a gate into Angkor Thom, the walled city built by Jayavarman VII. Monks at Angkor Buddhist monks at Angkor.  Some of the ancient temples are still used as sacred religious centers.
Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the greatest of the Angkor temples.  Built during the reign of Suryavarman II in the 12th century, it was originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu with whom the king identified.  Later, it became a Buddhist monastery after the Kymer kingdom embraced Buddhism.

Photo of Angkor Wat
Devatas - guardian spirits or angels - carved in stone at Angkor Wat.
Picture of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat was built to portray Hindu cosmology and includes an immense temple-mountain.  The five central towers  represent the peaks of mythical Mount Meru - the home of Hindu gods.  The temple is reflected in pools that may have represented the primeval ocean.

Photo of Angkor Wat Nearly nine centuries after it was built, the monumental Angkor Wat remains one of the architectural wonders of the world.
Vishnu at Angkor Wat
A statue of the Hindu god Vishnu, with eight arms, at Angkor Wat.
Ta Prohm

The ruined temple of Ta Prohm, built by king Jayavarman VII, is one of the most atmospheric to be found in the hot and humid forests of Angkor.  Over the centuries, huge trees have invaded the temple and now their vast root systems embrace crumbling walls.

Ta Prohm temple
Picture of Ta Prohm temple
Photo of Ta Prohm temple
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Photo of Bayon temple
The Bayon

The Bayon is one of the strangest temples at Angkor.  The towers of this Buddhist sanctuary are studded with numerous smiling and enigmatic faces, each around 2 meters high.  They represent the bodhisattva Lokeshvara but carry the features of the temple's apparently egotistic builder, Jayavarman VII.

Masterpieces
of Kymer art

The Angkor temples have an imposing grandeur, but they also feature some intricate stone carvings.  The most extensive of these depict scenes from mythology and Kymer history, and stretch for several hundred meters round the Angkor Wat and Bayan temples.  Perhaps the most exquisite are at the small temple of Banteay Srei.
Temple stone carvings Temple stone carvings
Intricate bas-reliefs at the temple of Banteay Srei are a tribute to the skilled Angkor stonemasons.
OTHER DESTINATIONS
More pictures
Pictures from more of the world's stunning locations.
ZOOMS AND PANORAMAS
Includes a large image of Ta Prohm Temple at Angkor that you can zoom and pan.
ANGKOR: FROM WIKIPEDIA
Read more about the Angkor temples.  Includes links to articles about each of the major monuments.
ANGKOR WAT PANORAMA
A spectacular 360 degree panorama of Angkor Wat.
ANGKOR FROM SPACE
A large, high resolution satellite image of Angkor Wat from NASA (4 MB).
THE SPLENDOR OF ANGKOR'S EMPIRE
A guide to Angkor from the Great Outdoor Recreation Pages (GORP).
LONELY PLANET: CAMBODIA
A Lonely Planet travel guide to Cambodia.
RESEARCH SOURCES AND RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Angkor and the Khmer Civilization
by Michael D. Coe.
Angkor: Celestial Temples
by Jon Ortner.
Angkor Cities and Temples
by Claude Jacques.
The Civilization of Angkor
by Charles Higham.
The Treasures of Angkor
by Marilia Albanese.