Angkor Wat is the majestic temple which became the internationally recognized symbol of the ancient Khmer civilization. It is beyond any doubt a wonder of the religious architectural world.
Beng Mealea was only re-opened to visitors in the early 2000s after the painstaking task of clearing it from land mines, which took years, was completed. It’s often described as a ‘flat’ version of Angkor Wat and was most likely built around the same time. You will learn to recognize the sralao tree whose white trunk looks like a combination of vertical roots, but also the strangler fig tree, a ficus which starts its epiphytic life when birds carry its seeds high up another tree or on top of the sanctuary.