La Sartén Dorada

Angkor Wat (Angkor temple) is the central feature of this UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the magnificent remains of the Khmer civilization. Angkor Wat's rising series of five towers culminates in an impressive central tower that symbolizes mythical Mount Meru. Thousands of feet of wall space are covered with intricate carving depicting scenes from Hindu mythology.

Have just had the best tour of the Angkorean Sites at Siem Reap. The best time to visit Angkor Wat is at Sunrise. We left out Hotel at 5.30am and when we arrived to Angkor Wat it was still dark. By the time we walked from the carpark to the moat the sun was just coming up behing the Temple. Fantastic for photos. By 7.00am we had moved on to Angkor Thom and the other major temples in the area. Being there at this time was great as the crowds had not arrived and the heat was not unbearable. We returned to Angkor Wat after lunch to tour which took about 2 hours. All told we spent 10 hours covering the most important temples. Our guide, Kim San

It was probably built as a funerary temple for Suryavarman II (1112-52) to honour Vishnu, the Hindu deity with whom the king identified.There is much about Angkor Wat that is unique among the temples of Angkor

During my trip, I visited several other countries, Thailand and Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, but it was through my time in Cambodia that I fell in love with the temples there. I wished I could have stayed longer. I'm already planning to go back and will definitely be using Kim San as my tour guide. For more information, you can visit his website at: http: http://www.angkor-guides.com/ his email: sourtkimsan@yahoo.com.

i want to second erynella's recommendation - we went early, and though the sunrise we saw was not that spectacular itself, we did have whole sections of Angkor entirely to ourselves. when we realised the sunset wasn't going to be great, we went straight to the back of the complex, and then worked our way back against the traffic - it was a great way to see the temples without too much of a crowd.

I recently spent a month in Southeast Asia, a trip that grew from wanting to see Angkor Wat...to why not see Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and other parts of Cambodia as well!  Angkor Wat was near the end of my trip and it was well worth it.

I was lucky enough to experience a beautiful sunrise over the ancient temple...and I am NOT a morning person, but it was absolutely worth it!!!  I think the best spot to view the sunrise is from the wall of the moat that surrounds the main temple.  The sunrise gets reflected on the water for a wonderful treat for the eyes.

After the sunrise, it seems like there was a mass exodus away from the main temple, as a lot of people headed into town to grab some breakfast.  Instead, we had already had an early meal, and headed into the complex; we practically had the whole place to ourselves, which of course makes for some amazing photos as well.  

Make sure you have a lot of space on your memory card and that your batteries are fresh in your camera, because the whole Angkor Wat complex has a lot of amazing sights.  The 'jungle' temple is perfect for taking Lara Craft-ish/Inidiana Jones-ish type shots, and you can get some funny photos in the Bayon temple (the one with all the faces).  At Bayon I was lucky enough to find a friendly security guard who knew all the funny photos to take (eg. nose to nose with a giant stone face!).

I can't recommend Angkor Wat enough...it is like being transported back in time, and the sunrise is well worth the pre-dawn wake up call!