Beng Mealea

Siem Reap is crammed with numerous ancient temples that overwhelm tourists a lot. Nowadays many discerning seek more peaceful and quieter attractions instead of famous crowded ones. In our view, the 900-year-old Beng Mealea is a good choice to make.

It takes an hour's drive from Siem Reap city to arrive at this less known jungle temple, which was built in the early 12^th century in the same style as Angkor Wat. Translated as Lotus Pond, Beng Mealea has been overrun by plants long since abandoned. You can see trees grow out of stones, vines cover causeways and roots stretch through hard walls. The hidden temple is so void and empty of people that you might mistakenly believe that you're the first to discover it.

Visiting Beng Mealea is like an adventure: you need to clamber up and down and across the stones to meet every new section of the temple. So a pair of comfortable shoes is necessary. A series of destroyed libraries, courtyards and other chambers enclose a sanctuary, all decorated with extensive carvings of scenes from Hindu mythology. There is very little information about this lost temple, but our guide will do his best to lead you into a charming world. Contact us to make an off-the-beaten-track trip to Beng Mealea!

Back to Siem Reap you have more choices spending your time in other beautiful sites, such as Bayon Temple, Elephants Terrace, Banteay Srei, Tonle Sap Lake, etc..