Set in northwest Cambodia, Siem Reap is best known for being the gateway to the Angkor ruins , a sprawling World Heritage-listed complex of more than 400 ancient temples with the magnificent Angkor Wat as its focal point. Described by Henri Mouhot, the Frenchman who awakened western awareness of the temples in 1860, as "a rival to that of Solomon and erected by some ancient Michelangelo... grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome", the Park temples are without a doubt one of the world's most awe-inspiring historical sites. But Siem Reap province is also home to an array of other sites, such as the adventuresome Beng Mealea, or the petite and pretty in pink Banteay Srei , or the sacred hills of Phnom Kulen , birthplace of the Khmer Empire that endured for more than 600 years and c

THE HIGHLIGHT OF CAMBODIA Cambodia's Angkor is, quite simply, one of the most splendid attractions in all of Southeast Asia. Long considered "lost", the ruins of Angkor were never really lost to the Khmers, who have used the monuments as religious sites throughout their history. The myth of the lost ruins of Angkor is more suited to an Angelina Jolie film than the history books. The story more or less begins with their being "rediscovered" by Western explorers in the 19th century, beginning with the French botanist Henri Mouhot who stumbled across Angkor Wat in 1860. Few remember though that Mouhot was led to the site by a Khmer guide and that when he arrived, he found a flourishing Buddhist monastery within the temple grounds. During the Khmer Rouge period, the ruins were largely left to

The Bayon was the state temple of Jayavarman VII and some of his successors, located at the centre of Angkor Thom and when it was first visited by Western explorers the site was totally overgrown, slowly but steadily being reclaimed by the jungle. Under the guidance of the first Angkor Conservator, Jean Commaille, the site was cleared between 1911 and 1913. At the time he lamented that "Every month, perhaps every day, some stones would fall. The complete ruin of the temple was only a matter of time, and it was necessary to consider how to halt it without further delay". While the restoration indeed saved the monument, some chose to not spare those behind it, labelling the ruins a "basket of bottles" once the clearing was complete. Commaille was murdered by armed robbers in 1916 and is buri

The low-lying sandstone plateau of Phnom Kulen is 40 kilometres away from Siem Reap and the main Angkor Archaeological Park, taking around two hours by car or van. If offers both popular and less-popular ruins, some waterfalls and some terrific viewpoints. Sprinkled with many hard to reach crumbling ruins, the intrepid traveller can reach the less visited sites by moto. However, the key attractions are all easily accessible by road, which winds its way up to the top with some impressive viewpoints on the way up worth pausing for. The main draws are the cooling cascades of the waterfall, the reclining Buddha--the largest in Cambodia--at Wat Preah Ang Thom pagoda and the 1,000 linga river carvings. Phnom Kulen attracts locals and tourists alike since this sacred mountain is the birthplace of

Ta Prohm , of Tomb Raider fame and often referred to as the "one with the trees", is a phenomenal example of the interplay between man and nature and should not be missed. The decision by the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient to leave Ta Prohm in its original state was inspired, as although in places the trees are slowly destroying the monument--with some having to be chopped down in 2014--in others they're holding it together. Although well-travelled wooden walkways meander through the monument, plenty of nooks and crannies, alleys and backways are around to explore. Built by Jayavarman VII for his mother, and consecrated in 1186, Ta Prohm was the centrepiece of a city of more than 10,000 people and was also an active Buddhist monastery. While some interesting lintels and pediments are dis

The temple of Banteay Srei or the Citadel of the Women, boasts superbly well-preserved and highly intricate stone carvings that adorn the pink-hued sandstone of the delightfully small and intimate site. Inside the volcanic laterite outer walls, virtually every available surface is covered in carvings with a predominance of apsaras --celestial nymphs in Hindu tradition--from which the temple takes its name. It has its own picturesque lotus bud towers too, but what makes Banteay Srei all the more remarkable is that it was completed some 150 years before Angkor Wat in the year 967. Banteay Srei, never a royal temple, is thought to have been built by a guru of the king and it is believed that this lack of a royal go-ahead is one of the reasons why it is so small. What Banteay Srei may lack in

At the physical heart of Cambodia, an immense body of water is the soul of the nation. The great Tonle Sap lake not only sustains Cambodian stomachs, with its harvest accounting for more than 50% of Cambodia's protein intake, it is also a source of immense national pride. Its uniqueness lies in events that take place far away in the Himalayan mountains. There, melting snows feed into the Mekong river and push down towards the South China sea off the Vietnamese coast. En route, monsoon rains further swell the great river before it meets the Tonle Bassac and the Tonle Sap rivers at a confluence in Phnom Penh . Here, the 'might' of the Mekong is sufficient to push the Tonle Sap back on itself, reversing its flow and flooding the basin area of the lake . In the process, the area of the lake in