Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 1300 meters x 1500 meters. The temple itself is 1 km square and consists of three levels surmounted by a central tower.

A view from the exterior wall.

Reaching the inside walls.

 A distant view of the third level of Angkor Wat.

The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-relief and carvings depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology and historical wars of Cambodia’s king Suryavarman II.

Angkor Wat was initially constructed as a Hindu temple and later on served as a Buddhist temple when Buddhism became Cambodia’s dominant religion. The temple has always been used as a site of prayers and nothing else.

Of all the temples that we visited Angkor Wat was definitely the most majestic of them.