Kingdom of Cambodia

Day 01                     Arrival Siem Reap – Angkor Thom Tour

Arrival at Siem Reap International Airport. You will be welcomed by our Travel Expert. Board transfer (sic) for your journey to marvel at what remains of the famed Khmer Empire and bear witness to the stunning ruins of Angkor Wat on this private full-day tour from Siem Reap. Kick things off at the south gate of Angkor Thom City. Follow your guide through Bayon temple before venturing into the Phimeanakas and Royal Enclosure. Take in the beauty of the Terrace of Elephants and the Terrance of Leper Kings with an over view of Angkor Wat under sun setting from Bakheng Hills. 

• South Gate - Built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries by King Jayavarman VII, the walls are divided by two axes running north-south and east-west. A gateway lies at the end of each axis, four in total, facing the four cardinal directions. An additional gate, called the 'Gate of Victory', pierces the east wall just north of the 'Gate of the Dead', the east gate along the central axis. The significance of the additional gate is that it provided access to a terrace of the royal palace. As for the other gates, the two axes intersect at the center of the enclosed area where the Bayon temple sits.

• Bayon Temple - a Buddhist temple built around 1190 AD but it incorporates elements of Hindu cosmology. The Temple represents the intersection of heaven and earth. Bayon is known for its huge stone faces of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

• Phimeanakas & Royal Enclosure - a temple in the Khleang style, built at the end of the 10th century in the shape of a three tier pyramid as a Hindu temple. It also has two ponds at the back of the temple used for ritual washings. Phimeanakas stands close to the centre of a walled area that once housed the royal palace. There’s very little left of the palace today except for two sandstone pools near the northern wall. Phimeanakas means ‘Celestial Palace’.

• Terrace of Elephants - a ruined temple complex. The terrace was used by Angor's king as a platform to view his victorious returning army. Most of the original structure was made of organic material and has long since disappeared. Most of what remains are the foundation platforms of the complex. The 350m-long terrace was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king's grand audience hall.

• Terrace of Leper Kings - It was built in the Bayon style, though its modern name derives from a 15th-century sculpture discovered at the site. The statue depicts the Hindu god Yama, the god of Death. The statue was called the" Leper King" because discolouration and moss growing on it was reminiscent of a person with leprosy and also because it fit in with a Cambodian legend of an Angkorian king who had leprosy.