Mysterious Angkor (SIC)

Welcome upon arrival and transfer to the hotel, The room is available starting from 14.00., the rest of the day available, dinner free,

Breakfast, full day tour of Angkor, First of all, you can see Prasat Kravan, a Hindu temple, one of the oldest monuments in Angkor (10th century) and one of the most beautiful. Then, you continue to the royal pool of Sra Srang, 800 m x 400 m, particularly picturesque at sunrise, and then to the other immense artificial basin of Yasodharatataka (modern name East Baray), which measures 7.5 km x 1.8 km and is now dry. Built in the 10th century and fed by the Siem Reap River, it could hold up to 50 million cubic meters of water. The purpose of these basins is unknown. According to some scholars, they were used for irrigation, while others believe they had a purely symbolic purpose, representing the oceans of creation that surrounded the sacred Mount Meru, the abode of Hindu gods. A little further south, you can admire the majestic five towers of Pre Rup, a colossal "temple-mountain" with grand proportions., lunch at a restaurant, In the afternoon, the visit is completed., Today a World Heritage Site, the city of Angkor flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Recent satellite photos have shown that Angkor is the largest pre-industrial city in the world, with an elaborate system of roads and canals that connected an inhabited area of at least one thousand square kilometers, at the center of which stood the famous group of temples; it is estimated that the area housed around one million inhabitants. The history of Angkor begins shortly after the year 800, when the Khmer king Jayavarman II proclaimed Cambodia's independence from Java. In the following three hundred years, between 900 and 1200, the Khmer Empire produced some of the most magnificent architectural masterpieces in the world. Contemporary with the Notre Dame Cathedral, Angkor Wat is the main temple complex, a symbol of Cambodia and the splendid Middle Ages of Southeast Asia. It was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II as his personal mausoleum. Breaking with tradition, the temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu instead of Shiva and depicts Hindu cosmology: the central towers represent Mount Meru, the abode of the gods, the outer walls the mountains that enclose the world, and the enormous artificial basin the ocean beyond the mountains. After the death of King Suryavarman II, a period of war followed with the neighboring kingdom of Champa (now southern Vietnam), which led to the destruction and looting of the capital Yasodharapura., I will return to the hotel in the late afternoon., dinner free ***OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES*** (see supplements)

Sunrise at Phnom Bakeng (optional, for a fee): Around 4:45 am (strongly variable depending on the time of year), departure from your hotel to the hill of Phnom Bakeng, about 100 meters high and located in the center of the historic site of Angkor. You will hike up a beaten path to the summit where an ancient pyramid, now known as the oldest ruin in Angkor, is located. You will admire the sunrise on top of the temple, symbolizing the dawn of the historical period of Angkor. Return to the hotel for breakfast around 7:30 am.,

Breakfast, full day tour of Angkor, The day begins with a visit to the gigantic fortified city of Angkor Thom and its spiritual center, the temple of Bayon, built by King Jayavarman VII on the ruins of Yasodharapura, after repelling the Cham invaders. The bas-reliefs of Bayon depict not only the battles against the Cham, but also court scenes and the life of the Khmer villages. This massive construction program coincided with the transition from Hinduism to Buddhism, which Jayavarman had adopted as his faith; during his reign, Hindu temples were modified with images of Buddha. In 1186, Jayavarman consecrated the Buddhist monastery of Ta Prohm, about 1 km east of Angkor Thom, which archaeologists deliberately left in the state in which it was found: gigantic trees tower over the maze of towers, enormous roots wrap around the galleries, dense shrubs sprout from the roofs of every structure, nature has taken back the space that man had taken from it. Lunch. Also dating back to Jayavarman VII's golden period are the grand Buddhist sanctuary of Prah Khan and the enigmatic and evocative sacred basins of Neak Pean, the Entwined Serpents, which are visited in the afternoon., I will return to the hotel in the late afternoon., dinner free,

Breakfast, At the locally indicated time, transfer to the airport only with a driver, without assistance., The room is available until 12.00., end of the tour,