Top 10 Ancient Ruins in The Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire, centred on Angkor in the Tonle Sap basin of what is now northwestern Cambodia, was the most powerful state in mainland Southeast Asia from roughly the 9th to the 15th centuries AD. At its height, under kings such as Jayavarman II, Suryavarman II, and Jayavarman VII, the empire controlled territory stretching from southern Vietnam into present-day Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. Angkor itself was, by some estimates derived from recent lidar survey, the largest pre-industrial urban complex in the world, covering a densely occupied and managed landscape of perhaps 1,000 square kilometres. The empire's architectural legacy is extraordinary: hundreds of stone temples built in compressed sandstone, their towers modelled on Mount Meru of Hindu-Buddhist cosmology, survive in varying states of preservation across Cambodia, southern Laos, and northeastern Thailand. The religious vocabulary shifted over the centuries from Shaivite Hinduism to Vaishnavism and eventually to Theravada Buddhism, and the temple architecture reflects that evolution with remarkable precision.
1. Angkor Wat, Siem Reap Province
Angkor Wat, built by Suryavarman II in the first half of the 12th century AD, is the largest religious monument ever constructed and the defining achievement of Khmer architecture. The temple mountain represents Mount Meru and is enclosed within a moat nearly 200 metres wide and 1.5 kilometres on a side. The five towers of the central sanctuary rise to around 65 metres; the outer galleries carry the longest continuous narrative bas-relief in the world, depicting scenes from the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata as well as the historical army of Suryavarman II. The temple's unusual west-facing orientation, its exquisite devata carvings, and its harmonic proportions continue to draw architectural analysis. Angkor Wat has been continuously occupied as a Buddhist monastery since the 14th century and is the only Angkor temple never to have been fully abandoned. UNESCO inscribed Angkor as a World Heritage Site in 1992.
2. Bayon, Angkor Thom
Bayon, at the centre of the late 12th- to early 13th-century royal city of Angkor Thom, is among the most visually distinctive temples in the world. Built by the Buddhist king Jayavarman VII, it is a multi-towered structure whose 54 towers each bear four enormous carved faces — serene, slightly smiling, oriented to the cardinal directions. The faces, probably representing the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara or possibly the king himself in divine form, number over 200 individual faces across the complex. The lower galleries carry bas-reliefs of particular historical value: they depict not only mythological scenes but realistic vignettes of Khmer and Cham soldiers, market scenes, fishing, cockfighting, and childbirth — an unparalleled record of 12th-century Southeast Asian daily life. Bayon is accessed via the South Gate of Angkor Thom, itself decorated with a long causeway of gods and demons churning the cosmic sea.
3. Banteay Srei, Siem Reap Province
Banteay Srei — 'Citadel of Women' or 'Citadel of Beauty' — is a small but supremely refined temple built around 967 AD, during the reign of Rajendravarman II and completed under Jayavarman V, dedicated to Shiva. The temple is constructed from pink sandstone and is celebrated for the extraordinary density and precision of its carved decoration: every surface is covered in floral scrollwork, figures of gods and demons, and narrative scenes from the Hindu epics executed with a finesse that has led many scholars to consider Banteay Srei's carving the highest achievement of Khmer decorative art. The central towers are relatively modest in height but perfect in proportion; the three shrines are surrounded by galleries, libraries, and moats. Banteay Srei was the site of a notorious robbery in 1923 by the young André Malraux, who removed carved pediments before being caught. The temple is about 25 kilometres north of Siem Reap.
4. Preah Vihear, Cambodian-Thai Border
Preah Vihear is a Shaivite Hindu temple built across a long ridge of the Dangrek escarpment on the border between Cambodia and Thailand, constructed primarily in the 11th and 12th centuries during the reigns of Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II. The temple extends for roughly 800 metres along the ridge and is approached by a sequence of processional causeways, staircases, and gopura (tower gates), each one commanding longer views across the plain below. The main sanctuary at the highest point commands a sheer cliff drop of several hundred metres into the Cambodian plain. Preah Vihear's ownership was disputed between Cambodia and Thailand for decades; the International Court of Justice awarded the main temple to Cambodia in 1962 and reaffirmed it in 2013. UNESCO inscribed Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site in 2008. Access is from the Cambodian side via a road from Sra Em.
5. Wat Phou, Champasak, Laos
Wat Phou, on the slopes of Phu Kao mountain in southern Laos, is one of the oldest and most significant temple complexes in mainland Southeast Asia, with occupation beginning in the 5th and 6th centuries AD — predating the Angkor period — and reaching its most ambitious architectural development under the Khmer kings of the 11th and 12th centuries. The site rises in terraces from a pair of large rectangular basins at the base of the mountain to a main sanctuary near the summit that incorporates a natural spring, giving the place its sacred character. Carved lintel reliefs of Shiva, Vishnu, and the local mountain deity survive in the sanctuary and the associated libraries. The Champasak plain below contains additional archaeological sites of the same cultural horizon. Wat Phou was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. Access is from Pakse in southern Laos.
6. Koh Ker, Preah Vihear Province
Koh Ker served as the capital of the Khmer Empire during a brief but intense period, roughly 921 to 944 AD, under King Jayavarman IV, who moved the capital here from Angkor. During those two decades the king built an ambitious complex of temples centred on the Prasat Thom — a seven-tiered sandstone pyramid rising to around 36 metres and one of the most dramatic architectural forms in Southeast Asia. The pyramid's uppermost platform originally held a large Shiva linga; the surrounding complex contains numerous temples densely packed in jungle. Koh Ker was isolated by landmines after the Khmer Rouge period and only fully reopened to visitors in the 2010s after mine clearance. Several large sculpted groups — a wrestling Yama, elephants, monkeys — were removed from Koh Ker to Western museums in the 1970s and are gradually being repatriated. The site is about three hours by road from Siem Reap.
7. Beng Mealea, Siem Reap Province
Beng Mealea, built in the early 12th century probably during the reign of Suryavarman II and approximately contemporary with Angkor Wat, is a vast temple complex that has been left largely unrestored, its towers and galleries collapsed into dramatic rubble heaps engulfed by the roots of silk cotton trees and strangler figs. The temple's plan mirrors that of Angkor Wat in scale and layout, suggesting a common master plan, but its state of natural ruin gives it an atmosphere utterly different from the carefully managed Angkor park. The scale of Beng Mealea is fully apparent only from the air or on foot exploring the collapsed galleries and moat terraces. Wooden boardwalks allow visitors to traverse the most dramatically collapsed areas. The site is about 40 kilometres east of the main Angkor park; it is usually visited as a day trip from Siem Reap.
8. Ta Prohm, Angkor
Ta Prohm, built by Jayavarman VII in the late 12th and early 13th centuries as a Buddhist monastery and university, is the most celebrated of the 'jungle temples' of Angkor, where the decision was made during conservation planning to leave the roots of the silk cotton and strangler fig trees in place rather than risk destroying the fabric they penetrate. The result is a temple where enormous tree roots arch over doorways and gallery walls, split towers, and drape across galleries in photogenic embrace. Ta Prohm's inscriptions document it as a working institution with over 12,000 persons in service. Despite its romantically ruinous appearance, the site is partially stabilised and its circulation routes are carefully managed. Ta Prohm is within the main Angkor park circuit and is included in standard Angkor pass tickets.
9. Banteay Chhmar, Banteay Meanchey Province
Banteay Chhmar, in northwestern Cambodia near the Thai border, is one of the most ambitious temple complexes built by Jayavarman VII, constructed in the late 12th to early 13th century and dedicated to his son Srindrakumara and four generals. The temple is the fourth largest at Angkor after Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and Preah Khan, and covers a substantial area enclosed by a moat. Its outer galleries carry long bas-relief panels including some of the most vivid narrative battle scenes in Khmer art. The site is remote and substantially unrestored; significant quantities of sculpture were removed by military and commercial looters in the 1990s. A community-based tourism initiative has developed accommodation and guided tours in the adjacent village. Banteay Chhmar is about four hours by road from Siem Reap.
10. Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk, Kampong Thom Province
Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk, near Kampong Thom in central Cambodia, is the capital of the pre-Angkorian kingdom of Chenla, which preceded the Khmer Empire. Dating primarily to the early 7th century AD under King Isanavarman I, the site consists of three main temple groups — the North Group, Central Group, and South Group — scattered through forest and containing round and octagonal towers of a style that precedes the characteristic Khmer mountain-temple form. The octagonal tower type of Sambor Prei Kuk is unique in Southeast Asian architecture. The site demonstrates the architectural and religious tradition that would develop, over the following two centuries, into the mature Khmer temple form of the Angkor period. UNESCO inscribed Sambor Prei Kuk in 2017. It is roughly two hours by road from Siem Reap.
Visiting the Khmer temples requires a pass for the main Angkor Archaeological Park, which covers Angkor Wat, Bayon, Banteay Srei, Ta Prohm, and dozens of other temples within the park boundary. One-day, three-day, and seven-day passes are available from the Angkor Enterprise ticket office near Angkor Wat. Remote sites such as Preah Vihear, Koh Ker, and Beng Mealea require separate entry fees and, for Preah Vihear, considerable travel time. The best visiting conditions are from November to March during the dry and cool season. Open the map to locate the full distribution of Khmer temple sites across Cambodia, Laos, and the wider empire's territory.