Built to the same floor plan as Angkor Wat, Beng Mealea was constructed by Suryavarman II (1112-52). A moat measuring 1.2km by 900m once enclosed the site, although this has mostly dried up today. Located 40km (60-80km by road) away from the main Angkor temples, Beng Mealea has been almost totally claimed by the jungle.

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Approached by a four causeways; Beng Mealea appears to be a huge pile of rubble partially hidden in the trees. Once you get closer to the high walls, the ancient Khmer architecture reveals itself. Cloaked in vegetation and with few concessions to tourism; this temple looks like it would have done when the early French explorers found it.

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Care is needed when exploring the temple, as the surrounding jungle still contains land mines leftover from Cambodia’s wars, and the temple itself is slippery and unstable in parts. Local legend has it that as recently as 10 years ago, the temple was home to a tiger. Whether or not that’s true is something I don’t know, but in 2005, a hunter was attacked by two tigers in the nearby jungle.

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