Angkor Wat Tours – Discover the Temples of Cambodia

Cambodia is culturally one of the richest countries in Southeast Asia despite being one of the smallest and poorest. It is famous for two main reasons; firstly the magnificent temples of Angkor and secondly Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Now that the Khmer Rouge threat has been completely extinguished, revenue from touring the ancient ruins of Angkor is of paramount importance to the Cambodian government and people. With the large number of tour companies offering guided tours of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is important to choose the company that best suits your needs.

There are three different approaches to viewing the temple complexes.

1. To avoid the crowds
2. In the best possible photographic light
3. The chronological order of construction.

With the number of tourists flocking to Angkor growing by up to 30% annually, the main goal of most independent tourists is to try to avoid the crowds and see the temples with as few people as possible. Most of the crowds arrive on day trips from Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City and tend to see the temples in a rigid order. A good travel company will be aware of this and will be able to let the traveler know that with a little advance planning it is possible to avoid the big coach parties, even if it means a bit of going back in the day. For those who know Angkor well, this is often the way custom tailored tours are designed.

The Angkor complex is a photographer’s delight and if a visitor has a keen interest in photography, a good tour company will arrange the tour knowing where the sun will cast its most pleasing shadows throughout the day and arrange the itinerary to the measure.

For those with a keen interest in the historical importance of the area, a third option for organizing a tour is to visit the temples in the order they were built, this is a popular alternative with historians and scholars, but much less so with lay people as implied spend much more time traveling between major sites.

The Angkor Complex was built in the “golden age” of the Khmer civilization between the 9th and 13th centuries, under the leadership of Jayavaraman VII (circa 1181 – 1218). At its height, the Khmer Empire stretched from southern Vietnam to the central plains of Thailand.

Angkor Wat is the iconic focal point, but there is so much more to explore as well. Other popular attractions within the Angkor Complex include the seductive, smiling faces of Bayon Temple and the covered Ta Prohm temple of Tomb Raider fame. A good tour usually lasts three days and includes other activities such as exploring the Tonle Sap Lake, which is the largest body of fresh water in Asia and has a unique reversible flow, and the colorful local markets to avoid “temple fatigue”.

So, in summary, the best way to ensure you get the most out of your trip to Angkor Wat is to make sure the tour operator knows exactly what your interests and expectations are. The more specialized these parameters are, the more difficult it will be to find a professional travel planner who understands the destination.