Angkor, The temples of Angkor in Cambodia

Cambodia, In Angkor, there are ruins of Khmer temples, built between the 9th and 15th century, lost in the heart of the wild forests north of the Tonle Sap. Visiting this ancient medieval city, half buried in the jungle, offered me a real journey back in time, in the heart of a vast and mysterious forest, in the depths of Cambodia.

Discover the temples of Angkor by bike

As soon as I entered the forest, I felt spellbound by the place. The jungle, lakes, stones and canals offer a unique and promising atmosphere.

We have in three days toured the temples. On foot, we have borrowed hundreds of galleries, moats, shrines, towers and terraces, cycling we have traveled little used paths, in an explosive nature.

Every time you passed a door, we arrived on a landscape out of the ordinary. We cross monkeys and elephants many times. I will not detail everything but here in a few words and photos the places that have marked me the most.

The Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm was for me the most magical discovery. Here, the trees have taken possession of the places, the rocks are colored by the wild nature, the roots tear the blocks of stone and devour the buildings ...

The tour offers a palette of reds, yellows and greens make this temple unique. I had the real feeling of walking in a supernatural setting, like in a fantasy movie, a comic or a video game ...

The Preah Khan

We reach with our bicycle the Preah Khan temples, its corridors, its columns and its leaning trees rooted on the walls. Everything is beautiful. We are amazed and sweaty because the sun is beating.

The Angkor Wat

Around 11 o'clock we visited Angkor Wat. A good hour after our arrival, sounded the lunch hour for the coaches of tourists who evacuated the place! We were really calm.

Angkor Wat is the largest temple but also the best preserved. It has large shady gardens and is surrounded by canals

We go from corridors to corridors, from classes to classes and we get lost in the labyrinths. The bas-reliefs are magnificent.

The Bayon

We then go to Bayon (or Bayuan), the temple of King Jayavarman VII to admire hundreds of carved faces. It was the capital and central temple of Khmer in the 13th century.

The Phimeanakas

After a lunch on the terrace of the elephants we drive to the Hindu temple Phimeanakas, there is no cat, nobody, we are alone at the top, a real pleasure! The view of the temples and the forest is beautiful.

Crédit Photos : Alexandre François, Globe-Trotting

The Baphuon

We finish in beauty with the small temple of Baphuon. We are the last, all alone again.

The guards come to ask us to leave because the park closes. We take our time to return to the exit, so we find ourselves locked. The wooden fence lifts manually, we return to Siem Reap

Practical information for 3 days in Angkor

The map of the Angkor site

Entrance ticket for Angkor

Attention tickets are not bought at the entrance of the forest but 4 km from it on the road to Sieam Reap. We had to ride a bike because a checkpoint officer told us the news!

We went to buy a 3 day Pass at $ 40 (which has gone up to $ 62 since it seems)

How to come to Seam Reap?

We joined Seam Reap from the 4,000 islands in Laos, with a 2-night stopover in Kratie, a city on the Mekong River that was on our bus route. We drove 8 hours by overnight bus from Kratie to Siem Reap.

For the return, we took a night bus to Phnom Penh, without any difficulty! 7 hours drive + breaks.

Where to sleep in Seam Reap?

We stayed at Chamraoen's Home. Home, rooms, terraces on top, I recommend.