Land of the Angkor Kings

For more than five hundred years, Angkor was the centre of one of the world's great civilizations. ‘Devaraja’ or God-kings ruled a vast area of Southeast Asia from their seat of power on the northern plains of Cambodia. They built immense and dazzling cities and temples to honor both their gods and themselves and decorated them with intricate stone carvings. At its height it is thought that up to one million people lived in and around the temples. But, as with all empires before and since the Khmers mighty civilization slowly crumbled. In 1351 the Thais sacked the city and again in 1431 when the entire population including the royal court moved to Phnom Penh.

Once abandoned the jungle quickly reclaimed the temples and they remained lost to the outside world until their rediscovery in 1860 by the French explorer Henri Mahout.

It has been said that the temples of Angkor represent the finest artistic achievement in human history. To get an idea of the grandeur and magnificence of the art there, imagine the Great Pyramids in Egypt and then imagine that every stone is carved with fantastic stories of myth and legend. To get an idea of the scale both St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London would fit inside the perimeter walls of Angkor Wat.

Cambodia remained hidden from the outside world for much of the last century. Now emerging from years of isolation, the country offers a true taste of Southeast Asia before the arrival of mass tourism and rampant modernization.

Cambodia has suffered beyond imagination in the last 50 years. War and genocide have left deep scars on the country and its people, but visitors are surprised and charmed by the optimism, warmth and generosity of the Cambodian people.