For many the name Cambodia (or Kampuchea as it was formerly known) conjures images of war, famine, Pol Pot, the notorious ‘Killing Fields’ and political instability. True, these events have all been a part of this nation’s history, and a number of the places you will visit (particularly around Phnom Penh) are reminders of Cambodia’s tragic recent past. However, northwest of the capital near the town of Siem Reap, visitors will see one of mankind’s greatest architectural achievements. The magnificent temples of Angkor – of which Angkor Wat is the most famous – are permanent reminders of the incredible skill and dedication of the Khmer civilisation as it existed from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries. Forgotten and buried under dense jungle for hundreds of years, restoration of this ‘lost city’ only began in 1908. Angkor Wat is truly one of the great achievements of human civilisation.