Why is Angkor Wat the largest religious monument ever built?
A Hindu temple that became Buddhist - and was swallowed by the jungle.
The answer
Angkor Wat in Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, covers 162.6 hectares - larger than Vatican City. Originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, it gradually converted to Buddhism by the late 13th century. The Khmer Empire that built it supported a city of nearly one million people through an advanced water management system. After the empire's decline, the temple was gradually reclaimed by jungle until French naturalist Henri Mouhot brought it to Western attention in 1860.
Source: UNESCO
- Cambodia
- architecture
- religion
- archaeology
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