Beng Mealea Tours

Beng Mealea was built in the early part of the 12^th century by King Suryavarman II. It was built in a similar style to Angkor Wat and was also dedicated to the Hindu Gog, Vishnu. The temple is located around 40km outside of Siem Reap and most tourists don’t make the journey out to Beng Mealea.

The name means “Lotus Pond” and although it was a Hindu temple, you can find some Buddhist carvings around. Like most of the temples at Angkor, it was deserted at some point and the jungle was left to take over. The stones lay in huge heaps, and there are trees growing among the towers and in the courtyards of the temple.

Option 1 - Koh Ker

Ker Koh istruly off the beaten path and around 120km away from Siem Reap. It takes a few hours to get there and it’s located in the middle of thick jungle. This area was one of the last strong holds of the Khmer Rouge and the region is very sparsely populated with only a few villages in the area.

It was briefly the capital city of the ancient Khmer empire during the early to mid-10^th century under Kings Jayavarman IV and Harshavarman II. After this time, the capital was moved back to its normal residence at what is today called the Roluos Group.

Option 2 – Roluos Group and Banteay Srey

The Roluos group consists of three temples known as Bakong, Lolei, and Preah Ko. These temples are some of the earliest examples of ancient Khmer architecture. Bakong temple was built in the 9^th century AD and was the official state temple inside the capital city of Hariharalaya. Lolei temple was also built in the 9^th century and is a Hindu temple. It was built in 893 AD by Yasovarman I who dedicated the temple to Shiva. Preah Ko temple was built in 879 AD and was also dedicated to the Hindu god, Shiva.

We’ll also go to visit the famous “Lady Temple” or Banteay Srey in Khmer. It’s a popular temple because of its unique features. It was built primarily in pink sandstone and has some of the finest carvings you’ll see in Angkor. It’s thought that women carved these inscriptions and that’s why it’s now called Banteay Srey.