Angkor Wat Tourism Introduction in Cambodia

Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest temple in the world and the best-preserved temple. Naturally, you can’t miss it when traveling here. Not only does it have history, culture and monuments, you can also see a lot of scenery here. Below is an introduction to Angkor Wat, you can take a look.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat (Angkor

Wat) is also known as Angkor Temple and Little Angkor. Its original name is VrahVishnulok, which means "near Angkor Temple". "Shinu's Temple", built in the 12th century, is the best-preserved temple among the Angkor monuments. Of all the Angkor temples, Angkor Wat is unique in that it is oriented towards the west. The West symbolizes death, so many experts believe that Angkor Wat originally existed as a tomb. Some scholars speculate that Angkor Wat is the royal tomb of Suryavarman II.

Moat

The moat is rectangular like a Chinese character, 1,500 meters long from east to west, 1,350 meters long from north to south, with a total length of 5,700 meters and a river width of 190 meters. The outer bank of the river is surrounded by a low sandstone fence, leaving a 30-meter-wide open space on the inner bank. There are two embankments on the moat due west and east leading to the west and east gates of Angkor Wat. The east embankment is an earth embankment, and the west embankment is 200 meters long and 12 meters wide. It is paved with sandstone slabs. In ancient times, the west embankment was covered with gold.

Pagoda Gate

The laterite stone rectangular wall surrounding Angkor Temple is 1025 meters long from east to west, 802 meters wide from north to south, and 4.5 meters high. The middle section of the front wall is a 230-meter-long colonnade with three tower doors in the middle. The central pagoda is the mountain gate of Angkor Wat. It is connected to the left and right pagodas with double eaves and double rows of stone pillar galleries.

Little Angkor

Angkor Wat can be divided into Big Angkor and Little Angkor. Big Angkor refers to the building complex with Bayon Temple as its core, while Little Angkor mainly refers to Angkor Temple is also the Angkor scenery that people have seen for the longest time.

Sutra-Tibetan Pavilion

There are two Sutra-Tibetan Pavilions and two pools on the north and south of the central axis of the Square Avenue, symmetrically distributed on both sides.

Architecture

Angkor Wat is the peak of Khmer classical architectural art, combining the two basic layouts of Khmer temple architecture: altar and cloister. The altar is composed of three rectangular floors with a cloister surrounding the Sumeru Platform. Each level is higher than the previous level, symbolizing Mount Sumeru, which is located in the center of the world in Indian mythology. On the top of the altar stand five pagodas arranged in a five-point plum blossom pattern, symbolizing the five peaks of Mount Xumi. A moat surrounds the temple, symbolizing the Aral Sea surrounding Mount Sumeru. Angkor Wat, together with the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India and the Altar of Thousand Buddhas in Indonesia, is known as the four wonders of the ancient East.

Cloister

The cloister is a prominent architectural feature of Angkor Wat. The cloister of Angkor Wat is composed of three elements: the inner wall and basilica, the outer row of columns and the double eaves of the corridor roof. In addition to their obvious practical functions, these three elements are indispensable in their contribution to aesthetics. The long gallery has dozens of columns lined up, adding a sense of horizontal space rhythm to the overall appearance of Angkor Wat. The double eaves of the gallery add a vertical rhythm to the appearance of Angkor Wat. Each of the three levels of the platform has a cloister, which is like the repetition of the melody of music, getting higher and stronger step by step, and finally boils down to the pagoda in the center of the main body.

Path base

The platform base, cloisters, steps and pagodas constitute the intricate architectural complex of Angkor Temple. Its layout is grand in scale, well-proportioned, simple and solemn in design, and the details are magnificent and exquisite. . The entire building is made of sand and stone. There is no mortar or other adhesive between the stones. They are held together by the regular shape of the surface of the stones and their own weight. The masonry at that time may not have mastered the arching technology, so Angkor Temple did not have a large hall, the doorways of the stone chambers were narrow and dark, and the artistic decoration was mainly concentrated on the exterior of the building.

Reliefs

The reliefs in Angkor Wat are extremely delicate and realistic. There are reliefs on the inner walls of the cloister and on the pillars, stone walls, cornerstones, window lintels and railings. The content is mainly about the legend of the Hindu god Vishnu, based on the Indian epics "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana" and the Hindu myth "Ocean of Milk". It also includes wars, royal travels, cooking, crafts, agricultural activities, etc. For secular scenes, the decorative patterns are based on flora and fauna. Among them, the corridor surrounding the first floor of the main hall is called the "Relief Corridor", which is 800 meters long, with a wall height of more than 2 meters, and the walls are covered with reliefs.

Angkor Wat Pagoda

There are five pagodas on the top of the third floor, arranged in a five-point plum blossom style. There is a tower gate in each corner, and a 42-meter-high main tower stands in the center. The top of the tower is 65 meters above the ground. The main tower is taller than the four corner towers. There is a shrine in each tower. The shrine of the main tower was originally connected to all four sides, with a Vishnu statue in the middle. After it was converted to Theravada Buddhism, a Buddha statue was placed in the middle, surrounded by Buddha statue walls on three sides. Between each tower gate and between the tower gate and the main tower are connected by Tianzi Gallery.