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អង្គរវត្ត
Angkor, Siem Reap · 13.4125°, 103.8670°
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.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
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.
Siem Reap ~6 km; Angkor Pass tickets; sunrise at the north pond is the classic darshan.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Khmer (Angkor)
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…