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Angkor Wat
Cities of massive stone temples, wide majestic causeways, thrusting towers and imposing gates. The sheer size and magnificence of Angkor Wat is compelling.
Phnom Penh
Visit the beautiful botanical gardens in this attractive city.
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A glorious and ravaged history...
Cambodia has endured both a glorious and ravaged history of uncertainty and struggle, yet despite this has recently emerged as one of Asia's most enthralling and popular destinations.
Located at the confluence of three rivers - including the mighty Mekong - the capital Phnom Penh was originally founded as a place of religious significance. Phnom Penh is home to the magnificent Royal Palace and the famed Silver Pagoda.
An attractive city of about 80,000 inhabitants, Phnom Penh possesses a broad boulevard on the river front with an avenue of trees and the beautiful botanical gardens. The gardens surround a small hill - called the Phnom - which is crowned by a Buddhist monument with a conical spire. A steep flight of steps lead to its summit with twin images of Naga, the many headed serpent, carved in stone at the base of the balustrades.
It is, however, the astonishing Temples of Angkor complex near the small town of Siem Reap that make Cambodia so renowned. Built between the 9th and 13th centuries and forming the capital of the Khmer Empire, this once thriving civilisation spread to encompass much of modern South East Asia.
Covering an area of 400 sq. kms the temples were abandoned upon the eventual Khmer decline, and swallowed up by the jungle until they were rediscovered in the late 1860's. These remarkable monuments are Asia's greatest historical site.
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