Over the past twenty-five years, The Traveling American has visited over three hundred cities, countries, and interesting sites around the world. This article focuses on the best sites we have visited which we call “epic destinations”. These destinations are not entire cities but are special places that are grand in scale and concept. They are distinctive and their histories often include an “epic” story. The task of naming the Top Ten epic destinations in the world was a difficult one. We evaluated an initial list of thirty notable destinations around the world excluding those in the United States and Canada. We then selected ten as the most important and memorable for travelers.

Here are our rankings:

Number 10 – The Old Medina of Marrakech - Morocco 

Marrakech has been an important city in Morocco for almost one thousand years. Caravans sometimes consisting of hundreds of camels brought valuable goods to the city across the Sahara Desert and over the Atlas Mountains from Timbuktu and other kingdoms. With water from the mountains and a pleasant climate, Marrakech also developed into an oasis for weary travelers. It  continues to be a top destination today for visitors from around the globe seeking an exotic location for rest and relaxation.

Many popular landmarks in Marrakech are located within the nine-mile-long walls of the old medina. Built with stone and red clay in the 12th century, the seven-foot think walls rise to a height of thirty-three feet and feature a series of eight arched and decorative gates. Some of the attractions which make the old medina an epic destination are:

• Koutoubia Mosque – This large mosque and the accompanying gardens, plaza, and walkways date back to 1147 AD. The mosque includes a large prayer hall that holds 25,000 worshipers and a 230-foot-high red sandstone minaret.

• Jemma el-Fna Square – This large square, originally used as a marketplace for caravans and traders, is now surrounded by restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues.  It has evolved into an open-air carnival that attracts musicians, snake charmers, and crowds of locals and tourists.

• La Bahia Palace – This beautiful 19th century palace exemplifies the majesty and lifestyle of Morocco’s imperial era. 

• Saadian Tombs – This ornate burial ground was built for members of the royal family in the late 1600s by the ruling Saadian dynasty. 

• Souks – The souks of the medina extend for blocks in every direction from the main square. While a confusing maze of alleys and lanes, the shops are organized into distinct sectors so that different products and services are grouped together. 

• Riads – Traditional Moroccan homes in the medina called riads are a popular feature of the destination. Many visitors stay in riads or in the two of the medina’s palatial luxury hotels, La Mamounia and the Royal Mansour, which host prominent guests from around the world. 

Number 9 – Old Town Hoi An – Vietnam

Hoi An is a village in Central Vietnam located on the north bank of the Thu Bon River near Danang. It served as an important center of trade and commerce for almost five hundred years but was most prominent as an open city for merchants from China, Japan, Portugal, and the Netherlands during the 1700s and 1800s. It is renowned today for its Old Town area which features classic buildings with architectural designs that reflect the diverse heritage of the village’s occupants. 

Several hundred historic buildings in this World Heritage Site managed to avoid the many wars and rebellions that took place and emerged intact. Today, they have been preserved as displays of their peoples’ cultural traditions or tastefully adapted to modern use as shops, restaurants, and museums. Visitors enter the ancient town by buying a ticket which entitles them to access the entire area plus visit five museums or special sites there.  Most of the old town is located on pedestrian only streets. Hoi An is widely known for its lanterns which are strung up everywhere as decorations. During the day, the artisans who build the lanterns from silk and bamboo open their workshops for guests, but the district really comes alive at night. Thousands of lanterns light up the streets and the waterfront. This lantern mania comes to a crescendo twice a month when there is Lantern Festival that draws large crowds.  

Another popular feature of Hoi An is the many assembly halls that were built by Chinese immigrants and merchants. These halls provided a place for residents to gather, pray, socialize, and maintain records. Perhaps the best recognized landmark in the old town is the Japanese covered bridge which dates to the 16th century and once connected the Japanese quarter with the Chinese quarter of the town and is regarded as a symbol of the city’s unity. It has some interesting carvings of mystical creatures and is surrounded by legends of spirits and dragons. 

The last notable feature of Hoi An is the food offerings. Hoi An is the place where Asian Fusion has real meaning. The restaurants there provide bountiful plates of modern Vietnamese cuisine ranging from pho to steamed dumplings to duck, but other dishes clearly reflect the influence of French, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. 

Number 8 – The Coliseum of Ancient Rome – Italy

The Roman Emperor Nero is generally considered to have been a tyrant by historians. His legacy included building a huge royal villa called the Golden House in the center of the city during the first century AD. Adjacent to the villa, Nero commissioned a bronze statue of himself which was reputed to be over one hundred feet tall. Nero’s extravagances were quite unpopular so one of his successors, the emperor Vespasian, built parks and public baths on top of  the palace and commissioned the construction of a huge stadium for the area where Nero’s “colossus” had been. 

The Coliseum was inaugurated by Emperor Titus in 80 AD and was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater. Titus held one hundred days of public games where wild animals were killed for sport and gladiatorial combat was presented. These games became popular with the Roman people for centuries thereafter. An estimated 55,000 spectators of all social position crammed into the Coliseum for events where soldiers, slaves, political and religious enemies, and prisoners of war fought or were executed. Despite its gruesome purpose, the four-story building was an architectural wonder. It rose over 165 feet with three different tiers of seating including a special box for the emperor. Built from travertine stone and concrete, the most interesting feature is the 240 exterior arches which circled the building. To enhance the comfort of spectators, the Coliseum installed a large awning at the top which sheltered the audience from the sun or rain. The floor of the amphitheater contained special devices to lift animals and combatants from the large underground chambers into the action. 

After a result of  the gradual disintegration of the western Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity, the Coliseum fell into disrepair and disuse after the fifth century. Thereafter, it served as everything from a fortress to a church and a storage depot. Restoration  of the building began in the 18th century and today visitors can view most of the original exterior of the building and access the internal corridors, seating areas, and arena floor. The Coliseum remains the ultimate symbol of the glory and decadence of the Roman empire. Moreover, the Coliseum was the forerunner of the grand sports and entertainment stadiums now located all around the world. 

Number 7. (Tie) – Santorini Volcano and Island – Greece & Vesuvius Volcano and Ruins of the Pompeii Area - Italy  

Throughout human history, volcanic eruptions have caused great destruction, impacted climate conditions, and affected the destiny of great empires. Three of the largest eruptions of the past five thousand years occurred at Mount Tambora in Indonesia, Lake Taupo in New Zealand, and Mount Krakatoa in Indonesia. However, the past eruptions and  surroundings of the volcanic island at Santorini in Greece and at Mt. Vesuvius in Italy seem to fascinate people in a special way. We picked both locations as our seventh best epic destination:

Santorini

Santorini is a popular stop for cruise ships touring the Mediterranean and Europeans seeking an exotic retreat for vacation. The island has a distinctive look because of its circular harbor that is seven miles across at points and the whitewashed villages that rest high on the cliffs that tower above the blue water. Despite the natural beauty, one wonders why so many people throughout the ages have settled on the slopes and rim of a such a large and famous volcano. The area experienced a major eruption and cultural disaster sometime between 1640 B.C. and 1500 B.C. which collapsed the volcano and left a 1200-foot-deep sea-filled caldera in the middle of the island. Today, the island population of 15,000 enjoy a casual lifestyle and an economy that thrives on tourism and agricultural products from the fertile volcanic soil, and cement exports. 

Santorini’s great eruption has been associated with many myths and legends. One theory is that Santorini was the mythical city of Atlantis destroyed by fire and submerged by water. A second theory is that the eruption of Santorini and the resulting tsunamis, clouds of ash, and climate change caused the decline of the powerful Minoan civilization based in nearby Crete. The likely date of the so-called Minoan eruption also coincides with the biblical plagues and other disasters described in the Book of Exodus. Considering the cataclysmic nature of the event, it is no surprise that major events and legends of ancient times are linked to this eruption.

Today, most people arrive by boat at the capital of Thera and reach the cafés and villas  up above by walking up hundreds of stairs, riding up in a caravan of donkeys, or taking a cable car. From the top, you can fully appreciate the scenery created by the many shops and houses clinging to the side of the cliff. Some people enjoy visiting   the ruins of the ancient Minoan city of Akrotiri buried under one hundred feet of volcanic ash. If outdoor activity is your preference, you can walk for miles along the top of the cliff from Thera to other villages. 

Vesuvius and the Pompeii Area Sites

Fifteen hundred years after the Minoan eruption, the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius was also a significant disaster. Although an earthquake had taken place in the region in 62 AD, no one expected Vesuvius to erupt in 79 AD, blanket the area with ash and rock, and kill over 3,000 people. Pompeii and other communities along the coast were wiped off the map and abandoned for centuries. But today 2.1 million people inhabit the metropolitan area of the Bay of Naples with the sometimes-active volcano towering over it. 

Visiting the volcano is an exciting experience. Hikers enjoy climbing the dusty trail that leads up to the top and looking down into the accessible parts of its huge cone. However, most visitors are content to stare up at the volcano from the main streets of the partially excavated Pompeii World Heritage Site which attracts 2.5 million people each year. The buildings and artifacts at Pompeii extend for miles. The restored areas include a coliseum, gymnasium, theaters, carefully engineered Roman roads, mansions, public baths, hundreds of shops and houses, and brothels. They provide a time capsule into Roman life during the height of the empire. 

Savvy travelers seeking additional insight into ancient Rome and the destruction caused by Vesuvius’ eruption also visit the nearby ruins at the former seaside village of Herculaneum or the excavated Villa of Poppaea Sabina at Oplontis. Herculaneum was a coastal community with docks, warehouses and boats that also served as a comfortable seaside retreat for wealthy Romans. Oplontis was mostly an agricultural community but also was a popular location for the aristocracy to build villas on the water. These locations suffered different but equally devastating fates from the eruption. Oplontis like Pompeii was hit directly by ejecta from the explosions which blew off the top of the mountain. The volcano rained down huge boulders and heavy ash on residents there which destroyed the roofs and walls of many structures. In contrast, Herculaneum, located west of the volcano, was struck by an explosive wave of superheated vapor and ash caused by the eruption. This pyroclastic flow came down the mountain and across the land covering Herculaneum with sixty-five feet of ash. It also skimmed across the water into the Bay of Naples destroying rescue vessels sent out from the nearby Cumae. Meanwhile, earthquakes from the eruption also likely caused tsunamis in the Bay of Naples.

NUMBER 6. (TIE) – PAMUKKALE THERMAL SPRINGS AND HIERAPOLIS – TURKEY & BLUE LAGOON – ICELAND

Pamukkale

Turkey contains not only the historic city of Istanbul, but also many well-preserved ruins and natural wonders. One place that combines both natural beauty and historic ruins is the Pamukkale Thermal Springs and the ruins of the ancient spa town of Hierapolis. Pamukkale is located on a mountainside north of the modern city of Denizli, several hours inland from popular tourist destinations and cruise ship stops. 

Viewed from a distance, Pamukkale looks like an out of place ski resort that stretches for miles on top of a small mountain range. Once you arrive at this World Heritage Site, you realize it is a limestone hot springs containing travertine terraces, small waterfalls, and heated spring water. It is reached by walking up a half mile limestone pathway to the visitors’ center or by taking a tram. Once there, you can wade in some of the pools and enjoy views of the beautiful mountain and the valley below.  It is one of Turkey’s most popular tourist attractions with more than 2 million visitors annually.

One benefit of visiting Pamukkale is that its thermal waters are infused with dissolved calcium and carbon dioxide which are considered to be beneficial for the skin, the eyes, and a variety of ailments. How accurate are those claims? It is worth considering that the springs are adjacent to the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis which include two large theaters, an agora, and commercial baths. This city was built by King Attalus of Pergamon around 200 BC who later gifted all his possessions and cities to Rome in his will. For generations thereafter its “healing waters” were popular with the nobility of the Roman empire and the later Byzantine empire. Eventually, two large earthquakes in the 7th and 14th centuries rocked the region, covered most parts of the city with soil and limestone deposits, and forced the inhabitants to desert the area. 

One of its most famous visitors to Pamukkale in antiquity was Cleopatra. Mark Anthony reportedly built a sculpted pool for her to enjoy the waters next to a Roman Temple dedicated to the God Apollo. Today, Cleopatra's pool is today a series of connected ponds in which guests can swim among massive columns from Apollo’s temple which lay strewn along the bottom. It is relaxing to wade in the pool for an hour or two after seeing the Pamukkale springs and trekking around the ruined city on the nearby hillside.  

Blue Lagoon 

Iceland is a small island nation with a resident population of approximately three hundred thousand that lies just below the Artic Circle. Iceland boasts breathtaking waterfalls, volcanic formations, geysers, unique beaches, and picturesque scenery. After boosting airline flights into the country from Europe and North America, tourism has boomed there. Over two million people flock to Iceland each year to explore the stark landscapes and natural beauty of the countryside. Most visitors enjoy road-tripping to these natural wonders or exploring the capital city of Reykjavik.

Icelanders are proud of their Celtic and Nordic traditions which include a variety of outdoor activities. There are few better ways to recharge your body and mind than in a geothermal spa. One unique and tranquil destination that attracts locals and most travelers is the Blue Lagoon located in a lava field near Grindavik in southwestern Iceland. Its azure waters possess remarkable healing qualities and became popular enough to inspire the construction of public swimming facilities in the 1980s. The water of the lagoon is rich in silica and sulfur, and silica mud is available for free withing the pool for guests to enjoy a face mask. Weather is one factor to consider when visiting the Blue Lagoon. Although winters are quite mild thanks to the Gulf Stream, the average temperature in January, the coldest month, is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. July is considered Iceland’s peak tourist season with  average temperatures of 54 degrees and a record high temperature of 78 degrees. The water in the Blue Lagoon provides a wonderful contrast to the air for bathers throughout the year since it averages between 98 and 102 degrees. Another atmospheric condition to consider is the amount of daylight. From May to August, daylight is plentiful, and darkness is scarce, but in mid-winter there are only four to five hours of daylight.

The Blue Lagoon offers day visits as well as a hotel, spa, and restaurants for overnight stays. Because of its popularity, reservations should be made months in advance. 

NUMBER 5 – THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES – FRANCE

During the first imperial age from 1400 to 1750 AD, leading European nations began to explore the world and establish trading ports in distant lands. At the same time, royal families in these nations began to build large and grand palaces to impress their subjects and the rulers of competing powers. But it was France’s Sun King, Louis XIV, who began construction in 1668 of the most extravagant royal residence in Europe by building a new palace in Versailles roughly fifteen miles outside of Paris in the French countryside. During the next 100 years, other opulent royal residences were built or greatly expanded including Catherine’s Place in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal, the Royal Place of Madrid in Spain, and the Hapsburg’s Imperial Palace in Vienna, Austria.

It is difficult to describe the layout of the Palace of Versailles since it has 2300 rooms scattered around the main chateau, the north and south wings of the complex, and the various outbuildings. One common theme in the main building is that there are many halls and rooms which are elaborately decorated with painted ceilings, artwork, and ornate furniture. The reception halls and facilities remain showplaces to this day. One  room called the Gallery of Great Battles contained huge paintings of various engagements of the French military over the years. Another large hall adjacent to the royal apartments is called The Coronation Room since was devoted to the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte and his later conquests. The most popular room in the chateau is the Hall of Mirrors. Great functions were held there in a long hall which is adorned with glistening chandeliers and 357 mirrors that reflect the light and the profiles of the palace’s courtiers and guests.  Finally, there are numerous bedrooms where the royal family and distinguished visitors slept and conducted their daily activities with the assistance of hundreds of servants.  

The grounds and gardens of the palace are also spectacular and require a separate admission ticket.  Water is a central theme of the outdoor areas. There is a grand canal over a mile in length where the king could hold boating parties and fifty fountains with 620 water jets scattered throughout the gardens. The Night Fountain Show and other water displays are a popular summer attraction for visitors. Another feature of the grounds are the small summer palace known as the Grand Trianon which Louis XIV built for himself and his mistress to escape the constant pressure of life at court, and the quaint Petit Trianon which Marie Antoinette frequented with her friends and visitors.

Despite its grandeur, the Palace contributed little to the glory of France. Even though King Louis XIV ruled for 54 years, his lavish spending on the palace and costly wars nearly bankrupt the country. By the time he died in 1715, the Palace of Versailles housed 20,000 people and had effectively become the administrative capital of the kingdom. Subsequent rulers continued to spend considerable time there entertaining guests and ruling France until the citizenry ousted them during the French Revolution in 1789. Eventually, King Louis Philippe who served as a constitutionally appointed monarch opened the palace as a museum in 1837. In addition, it has remained a symbol of French power and independence. The Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I was signed there in 1919.

NUMBER 4- THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA – CHINA

Ten million people visit the Great Wall every year and marvel at the 2,500-mile-long barrier that stretches from Manchuria on China’s eastern coast to Mongolia in the west. It embodies 23 centuries of Chinese history. Starting with the renowned Emperor Qin, different emperors built, connected, expanded, and repaired various walls to create the Great Wall for the purpose of protecting their territory against invasion by nomadic northern tribes and regulating trade. 

The primary places where tourists visit the wall today is at the restored Badaling and Mutianyu sections located about forty-five miles north of Beijing. At those areas, you can walk up the mountain or take a cable car to the top of the wall. On the way back, some people enjoy riding a go cart down to the parking lot. To capture the true majesty and spirit of the wall, however, it is worthwhile to hire a guide and drive an extra hour from Beijing early in the morning to the more remote sections such as Jinshanling located about eighty-five miles north of the city. The Jinshanling section is important since it was at this location that the Ming Dynasty defended its territory and kept Mongol invaders at bay in 1554. 

Jinshanling is widely regarded as one of the best places for hiking and taking pictures of the wall and the mountains during different seasons of the year. The main section of the Jinshanling wall is almost 5 miles long and generally takes about four hours to hike.  But first you must climb up the mountain along a series of steps and trails to get to the wall. Once there, however, you can walk for miles on an unrestored section of the wall across the tops of the nearby mountains and see for miles in all directions. Constructed of rectangular slabs of stone on top of compressed earth, the 33-foot-high and 25-foot-wide wall is topped by a brick-paved walkway.  In some places the brickwork is smooth like a paved road, while in others it is choppy or non-existent.  Every quarter mile or so, there are towers and guard posts which were used to store supplies and weapons, and to house soldiers. The Jinshanling section crosses five mountain passes and has 67 watchtowers and 2 beacon towers. Archers were regularly stationed on the wall to watch for intruders and signal other guard posts in the event of an attack. While the area is considered safe, some days there are only a smattering of hikers in the area and the experience is more complete if you can learn about your surroundings along the way, so using a guide is recommended. There are a couple places along the route where you may run into villagers selling food, drinks, and souvenirs, but it is best to bring along some snacks and water

Most of the Jinshanling wall is well preserved although there are some long staircases with broken bricks which are quite steep and do not have any railings. Those steep sections can be avoided in some places by briefly leaving the wall and walking around them on mountain trails.  Some visitors extend their treks to include portions of the challenging Simitaj section of the wall which continues for three miles to the east across the mountaintops and is sometimes restricted to hikers. Whether seeking a comfortable view of the surroundings or an adventurous outing, seeing the Great Wall is an unforgettable experience.

NUMBER 3 – THE PYRAMIDS AND SPHINX OF ANCIENT EGYPT – EGYPT

The history of Egypt is long with many dynasties and rulers. Few people realize that most of the monuments and legends that we associate with ancient Egypt arose during the Old Kingdom that began more than 5000 years ago and ended in 2184 BC. While there are many sites in Egypt which are staggering to behold such as the pharoahs’ tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the temples of Luxor, or the Egyptian Museum, the grandeur and engineering of Egypt’s pyramids and the Sphinx still astound visitors from throughout the world.   

To fully appreciate the Great Pyramids, it is useful to start by visiting the barren desert plateau of Saqqara located south of the city of Cairo. In Saqqara, there is a 19-mile-long necropolis that includes some of Egypt’s oldest pyramids, tombs of some of the first pharaohs, and temples to various Gods. What is interesting about these early pyramids is that many of them failed. They collapsed into a pile of rubble, fell in, or became bent. After hundreds of years of experimentation, the pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure built the three great pyramids of Giza and the famous Sphinx around 2550 BC in Giza. One of the original seven wonders of the ancient world, these monuments have enchanted and survived visiting kings, conquerors like Napoleon, and tourists. Located to the west of Cairo on the desert, some archeologists believe that the Nile River may have once flowed nearby allowing ships to deliver huge stone blocks and workers to a Giza.

It is difficult to appreciate the size and grandeur of the pyramids without visiting them. Looking at them from a distance, the buses dropping off tourists there look like kiddie cars. Up close, the structure is overwhelming. The base of the Great Pyramid of Khufu measures 3020 feet or .6 of a mile around. There is a single point of entry on the north side of the Great Pyramid which requires a special ticket to enter. It leads to the King’s Chamber and an empty sarcophagus by a series of long and cramped shafts. The fact that the interior of all three pyramids have been explored for centuries without revealing their full purpose or any hidden treasures only adds to the sense of mystery around them. 

Down the hill from the pyramids is the strange Sphinx with its human head, paws and lion like body. Covered up to its head with sand at the time of Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt, the 66-foot-high Sphinx has also generated considerable debate. Which Pharaoh’s face is depicted on the Sphinx? Was the Sphinx designed to guard the pharaohs in their pyramid tombs in the afterlife? There are no hieroglyphics on or near the Sphinx to confirm its purpose.

Number 2- The Taj Mahal- India

The Taj Mahal is one of the world’s most beautiful building because of its architectural design, white marble construction, and elaborate engravings. It is India’s largest tourist attraction and a great source of pride for the nation. Anyone visiting India should try to include an excursion to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The complex was the pinnacle achievement of the Mughal Empire which controlled northern India for three centuries. The Mughals built their empire by promoting commerce, making political and marriage alliances, and deploying a fierce army of war elephants, artillery, and soldiers. Equally important, until around 1700, the Mughals tolerated diverse ideas and cultures and blended Hindu and Islamic traditions into their kingdoms. Agra., located along the Yamuna River, was the capital of the empire for much of the 16th and 17th centuries. Many luxurious palaces, gardens and mausoleums were built in the vicinity using the region’s distinctive red sandstone. All of these structures were dwarfed, however, by the Taj Mahal.

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had many wives, but his favorite was Mumtaz Mahal, who bore him 13 children before dying in childbirth at the age of 33 in 1631. Legend has it that she asked her husband to build her a monument to demonstrate their love to the world. He certainly honored her wish. Gathering the best craftsmen from the subcontinent, Turkey and Persia, Shah Jahan oversaw the construction of the Taj Mahal by an estimated 20,000 workers who completed the building only 12 years later. There are many features of the building that make it special and unique. Surrounded by elaborate gardens and pools of water, the main building is topped by a huge onion-shaped dome. It stands at the center of a marble platform that includes four 130-foot-tall minarets. At each end of the platform, there is a red sandstone mosque that provides stability, symmetry and contrast to the white marble.

The experience of seeing the Taj Mahal is worth savoring. You enter the site through a large gate that frames the building perfectly and then you see the image of the Taj reflected in a series of ponds. As you get closer, it becomes apparent that this is a massive structure with four symmetrical sides. Mumtaz’s crypt is in the middle of the rotunda and is surrounded by mosaics and marble screens. The interior carvings are impressive, even though the jewels and gold that once filled the inlays have disappeared. At the rear of the building, you can look out over the peaceful Yamuna River, which is considered holy by many but is unfortunately quite polluted. The Taj complex can also be viewed from a local park across the river which provides a different perspective on the site.  

The great irony of the story of the Taj Mahal is that shortly after it was built, Shah Jahan’s son, Aurangzeb, revolted against the emperor and imprisoned him in the Agra Fort several miles away. He lived there for the rest of his life in a suite with a distant view of the Taj. Devoted to the end, Shah Jahan was later buried by his daughter in a tomb in the Taj next to his wife.

NUMBER 1- ANGKOR WAT- CAMBODIA

This is it! The Traveling American has named Angkor Wat in Cambodia as its Number One Epic Destination for people traveling outside of the United States.  

The Khmer Empire controlled a substantial portion of Southeast Asia from 800 to 1450 A.D. and built majestic cities in the region. While it was a prominent empire in the Middle Ages, the Khmer Empire was generally forgotten for centuries thereafter. Its cities were abandoned and overgrown by the jungle until some impressive ruins were “rediscovered” in central Cambodia by a French naturalist in the 1860s. On top of that, the entire country of Cambodia and its people were devastated by the Khmer Rouge during the 1970s, so little progress was made for decades on further archeological explorations.  Today, the city of Siem Reap, located near the ruins, has developed into a major destination with modern hotels, Asian and French cuisine, and a reputation for welcoming visitors. 

The capital city of Angkor was built by the Khmer near a huge inland lake known as the Tonle Sap. Its builders relied on a series of waterways to provide irrigation, water, and transportation for an estimated 500,000 residents. A visit to the famous temple of Angkor Wat provides one of the most dramatic and exciting experiences for travelers. It is a 200-acre complex surrounded on all four sides by reservoirs called borays. The site only can be reached by walking across a large causeway with snakelike figures called Nagas on each side. At the center of the square complex is a stone temple with five tall spires that symbolizes the Hindu universe. All four of the temple’s corridors and some of the temple’s chambers contain engraved murals telling elaborate stories. The walls of one long corridor depict a story of the world’s creation by various deities. Another corridor shows a judgment day where good people are rewarded in paradise and the wicked are sent down into a special hell where demons torture them. A third corridor displays a military procession by the army of King Suryavarmin who built Angkor Wat in 1150.

The Khmer never equaled the architectural complexity and grandeur of Angkor Wat. But there are other important sites to see nearby which are full of beauty and mystery. In subsequent years, Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII built an entire city next to Angkor Wat known as Angkor Thom. These later structures were dedicated to Buddha rather than to Hindu gods. Angkor Thom features 37 towers, and each tower contains four huge stone faces of a smiling Buddha looking out in each direction, as well as hundreds of carvings of dancing female spirits known as apsaras.

Two other temple complexes worth visiting close to Angkor Wat are Ta Prohm and Preah Khan built by King Jayavarman VII in the early 1200s. Preah Khan served as a Buddhist monastery and university for several hundred years. Stone pillars discovered there state that thousands of priests, teachers, servants, and workers were required to run the temple. Ta Prohm is only semi-intact, but it became quite popular when it was used as the setting for the movie “Tomb Raider” and for several other Asian films. At Ta Prohm, there are dark chambers to peak into along with some huge silk cotton trees growing right through the buildings. In places, the weight of these stonelike trees and their vine like trunks have cracked open the roofs and walls.

At a special place like Angkor Wat, it is important to design your trip to enhance your experience. One way is to avoid taking a large group tour of the sites since the groups tend to visit the same principal locations at the same times each day. Hiring an experienced guide like Pin Vannak of Angkor Special Tours who can take you to the key sites, work on your timetable, answer your questions and avoid the crowds is an affordable and smart alternative in Cambodia.