High medieval · Hindu · Cambodia

Angkor Wat

អង្គរវត្ត

Angkor, Siem Reap · 13.4125°, 103.8670°

Vishnu (later Theravada Buddhist)Khmer (Angkor)Khmer (temple-mountain + galleries)UNESCO World Heritage
Sacred since
1113 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
c. 1113–1150
patron: Suryavarman II

History & significance

The largest religious monument ever built — 162 hectares of moat, gallery and tower raised by Suryavarman II to Vishnu, its five peaks the mountain Meru, its bas-reliefs (including the 49 m Churning of the Ocean of Milk) the epics in stone. Uniquely west-facing; never wholly abandoned, it passed into Theravada worship and onto Cambodia's flag — the only building on any national flag. Angkor was UNESCO-listed in 1992 and is managed by the APSARA authority.

Sthala katha — the legend

Khmer legend makes Angkor Wat the work of the divine architect Preah Pisnukar, built in a single night for the god-king; the moat is the cosmic ocean, and walking the west causeway at equinox one sees the sun rise exactly over the central tower — the universe re-centred each year.

Reaching there

Siem Reap ~6 km; Angkor Pass tickets; sunrise at the north pond is the classic darshan.

Official site ↗Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map

Related sites

Brihadisvara Temple
Thanjavur · India
1003–1010 CE
Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Gangaikonda Cholapuram · India
c. 1035 CE
Airavatesvara Temple
Darasuram, Kumbakonam · India
mid-12th c. CE
Shore Temple
Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) · India
c. 700–728 CE
Virupaksha Temple, Hampi
Hampi · India
7th-c. origins; major Vijayanagara expansion
Vittala Temple, Hampi
Hampi · India
15th–16th c.

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Khmer (Angkor)