Cambodia the temples and the city

Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument on earth, the central structure of a complex that at its peak was home to more than a million people. The carved narrative galleries running around the lower level document battles, ceremonies, and cosmological events in stone relief of such intricacy they could occupy an entire day alone.

Bayon, at the center of Angkor Thom, is covered in 216 stone faces watching from every direction — one of the most distinctive and arresting sights in Southeast Asia. Ta Prohm is where silk-cotton tree roots have grown over and through the walls over centuries, the forest slowly reclaiming what was built. Banteay Srei, smaller and further from the main complex, is carved in pink sandstone with a delicacy that seems remarkable at any scale. Hire a private guide. Arrive at Angkor Wat before sunrise.

The Royal Palace and National Museum, with its collection of Khmer sculpture that contextualizes everything at Angkor, deserve proper time. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek are essential visits — difficult, necessary, and inseparable from any honest understanding of Cambodia.