The Ultimate Travel Guide to Cambodia: History & Attractions

The mighty Khmer Empire lives on at Angkor Wat — the world's largest religious monument surrounded by jungle, with pristine beaches on the southern coast.

A Glimpse into History

Cambodia's ancient civilisation produced one of humanity's greatest architectural achievements — the Angkor complex — before experiencing a 20th-century tragedy that stands among the worst genocides in history. The Khmer Empire (802–1432 AD) dominated mainland Southeast Asia for six centuries, with its capital Angkor at one point the world's largest pre-industrial city with a population of up to 1 million people. The Angkor hydraulic system — a vast network of reservoirs and canals supplying rice agriculture — supported this population with engineering still not fully understood. King Jayavarman VII, who converted the empire from Hinduism to Buddhism, built Angkor Thom, the Bayon temple, Ta Prohm, and over 100 other major temples. The decline of Angkor — whether from climate change, Thai invasion, trade route shifts, or overpopulation of the hydraulic system — remains debated. French colonisation from 1863–1953 preserved Angkor for modern rediscovery but damaged Khmer culture and autonomy. Independence under King Norodom Sihanouk brought brief prosperity before the Vietnam War spilled across the border. The Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975 and over four years murdered between 1.5 and 2 million people — roughly 25% of the entire population — in one of the most devastating episodes of state-directed mass murder in history. Vietnam invaded in 1979, ending the genocide. The UN Transitional Authority restored democracy in 1993, and Cambodia has rebuilt remarkably, with tourism to Angkor Wat now its primary income source.

Top Attractions in Cambodia

Angkor Wat

The world's largest religious monument — a 12th-century Hindu temple complex covering 1.6 sq km of elaborate stone galleries, five towers representing Mount Meru, and 800 metres of bas-relief carvings depicting Hindu mythology and Khmer military campaigns — remains the spiritual heart of Cambodia and appears on the national flag. Sunrise over the temple's five towers reflected in the moat is one of Asia's most photographed moments.

Angkor Thom & The Bayon

King Jayavarman VII's late 12th-century walled city contains the most mysterious temple in Angkor — the Bayon, with 54 towers carved with 216 serene giant faces believed to be the king's own countenance merged with Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, gazing in all four directions. Ta Prohm, the 'Jungle Temple' where fig and silk-cotton trees split stone walls with their roots, was famously used in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

Phnom Penh — Royal Palace & S-21

Cambodia's capital offers the most extreme contrast in any city on earth: the golden spires of the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda represent Khmer royal culture at its most magnificent, while the S-21 Genocide Museum (a former Khmer Rouge prison where 17,000 were tortured) and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek (where victims' skulls are preserved in a stupa) are among the most harrowing memorial sites in the world.

Kampot & Kep Seaside

The French colonial river town of Kampot — famous for the world's finest black pepper — and nearby Kep, a former royal retreat with crumbling Art Deco villas overgrown by jungle, offer Cambodia at its most atmospheric. Bokor National Park above Kampot contains an abandoned French hill station casino on a cloud-wrapped plateau, and the islands off Kep are home to deserted white-sand beaches.