Angkor Wat Siem Reap

The world's largest religious complex and now a monument to the rise and fall of empires, the temple complex of Angkor Wat is also a national symbol of Cambodia and the most stunning collection of Khmer art and architecture in the world. It's much more than just one building -- the name means temple city -- but rather a sprawling complex of wats, outbuildings, walls, statues, moats, and lakes, in the jungle just north of Siem Reap. If all sounds a bit Tomb Raider, it should: the 2001 Angelina Jolie flick filmed extensively here.

Built in the mid-12th century from sandstone and laterite, the materials of choice for ancient Khmer builders, Angkor Wat itself is the best-preserved structure here, covering nearly a third of a mile square and guarded by a moat. Most likely a funerary temple for king Suryavarman II, it also served as a monument to the Hindu god Vishnu, seen in 10-foot-high statue form at the entrance. The overall stepped, pyramidal structure of the wat makes it a metaphor for Mount Meru, the home of the gods of Hinduism. Inside, galleries are covered in fabulous bas relief artwork and covered by corbeled arches -- for all their design prowess, the Khmers never perfected true stone arches.

After Suryavarman II's death around 1150, Angkor was sacked by the Cham people. When Khmer king Jayavarman VII regained control in 1181, he promptly celebrated by commissioning a massive new temple city known as Angkor Thom. Covering more than three square miles, it's an impressive example of state-financed architecture in service of state-building: the wide moat, high wall and sheer scale of the fortified city are unmistakable signals that the Khmers were back on top after 30 years of strife. His building campaigned continued with the Bayon, an eerie temple of 54 towers and hundreds of carved stone faces, smiling unsettlingly down on visitors.

Getting there: Siem Reap International Airport has arrivals from gateways across Asia but no direct service from the United States. Thanks to Siem Reap's location near the shore of Tonle Sap, Cambodia's great lake, you can also reach the city by boat from Phnom Penh. Passes to the Angkor Wat complex are valid for one, three, or seven days and are sold at the main entrance to the site. -- Paul Brady