Angkor Wat
Siem Reap, Cambodia
A twelfth-century Khmer state temple built for Vishnu and transformed from the late thirteenth century into a Theravada Buddhist monastery, still in active worship and commonly described as the largest religious complex in the world.
Angkor Wat was commissioned by King Suryavarman II in the early twelfth century as the state temple of the Khmer Empire, dedicated to Vishnu, and is generally understood as intended for his mausoleum. Its 162.6-hectare enclosure is surrounded by a broad moat, and unlike most Angkorian temples it faces west. The architecture stacks three galleries toward a central quincunx of towers, a layout widely read as a symbolic Mount Meru, the axis of the cosmos shared by Hindu and Buddhist thought. The bas-reliefs of the southern gallery, with the Churning of the Sea of Milk among them, are among the most extensive narrative carvings anywhere. From the late thirteenth century, as Khmer kings adopted Buddhism, the temple was adapted for Buddhist worship, and it has remained in continuous religious use ever since, a factor scholars credit for its survival.
That continuity matters for how the place is written about. Angkor Wat is not an abandoned ruin; it is a working monastery and a national symbol that appears on the Cambodian flag, and local worshippers are present daily. The wider Angkor area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, and restoration since 1993 has been coordinated through the ICC-Angkor committee under UNESCO, with contributions from France, Japan, India, the United States, China, and others. More than 2.5 million people visit each year, and the site functions simultaneously as heritage site, pilgrimage destination, and neighborhood temple.
Visiting
Angkor Enterprise, the ticketing body of the APSARA National Authority, sets the passes: 1-day $37, 3-day $62 (valid within 7 days), 7-day $72 (valid within 30 days); separate-site passes Beng Mealea $15, Kbal Spean $10. Entry window per the official listing: 6 am to 6:30 pm. Sunrise viewing at the reflecting pond is popular and crowded; arrive before 5:30 am in practice. Dress code for the upper central terraces: shoulders and knees covered; APSARA manages access controls on the Bakan.
Photo: [CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angkor_Wat_at_sunrise_3.jpg)
Associated traditions & practices
Visitor stories