Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Cambodia → Angkor Thom

Location: Siem Reap Area, Cambodia

Time Required: 1 hour

Red Tape/Notes: An Angkor Pass is required to visit all sites within the Angkor Archaeological Park. Passes are sold in one-day ($37), three-day ($62) and seven-day ($72) blocks that must be used on consecutive days. Passes may be purchased at the main entrance on the road to Angkor Wat.

What’s Nearby?:  Prasat Bayon, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, Angkor Wat

Angkor Thom was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer Empire. It contains several important monuments and temples, including Prasat Bayon, which is discussed separately, but the walls, gates, and towers of the city entrances are worth their own visit. The city gates, which are 3.5 meters wide and 7 meters tall, are flanked by towers that are 23 meters tall with impressive carved faces. Outside the gates, a causeway spans the moat – these causeways have rows of gods on one side and demons on the other, each side holding a serpent in an apparent tug-of-war (this supposedly represents a Hindu myth about the Churning of the Sea of Milk). Each corner of the city (which is square, each wall 3 km long) has a shrine, which features a tower facing east.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Cambodia → Angkor Thom