As spectacular and dramatic as Cambodia‘s temples are, the herds of tourists scurrying through the Angkor complexes make you feel as though the adventure has been taken out of a place that was once off limits to all but the more intrepid travellers. The city of Siem Reap is the jumping off point for budget and luxury travellers alike due to its proximity to the grand ruins of Angkor Wat and its satellite temples.
But if you need to feel a little more like Indiana Jones, Beng Mealea is the place to go. This temple is located about 80km from Siem Reap. It’s a distance that doesn’t seem prohibitively far, but when you consider the state of the roads on the way and the alternative options that sit on Siem Reap’s doorstep, it sees the smallest fraction of the other temples’ traffic.
While the trees in squirming through the ruins of Ta Prohm give a glimpse of what explorers would have seen upon re-discovering these temples, Beng Mealea’s unity with the jungle can trick you into thinking you’re making an important archeological find.
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More photos of Beng Mealea. Or see it in the Travel Photography: Places section of my portfolio.