Cinque Terre

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UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv, v
Reference	826
UNESCO region	Europe
Inscription history
Inscription	1997 (21st Session)

The Cinque Terre (Italian pronunciation: [ˌtʃinkwe ˈtɛrːe]) is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia. "The Five Lands" is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. The Cinque Terre area is a very popular tourist destination.
The villages of the Cinque Terre were severely affected by torrential rains which caused floods and mudslides on October 25, 2011. Nine people were confirmed killed by the floods, and damage to the villages, particularly Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, was extensive.^[1]

History

The first historical documents on the Cinque Terre date back to the 11th century. Monterosso and Vernazza sprang up first, whilst the other villages grew later, under military and political supremacy of Genoa. In the 16th century to oppose the attacks by the Turks, the inhabitants reinforced the old forts and built new defence towers. From the year 600, the Cinque Terre experienced a decline which reversed only in the 14th century, thanks to the construction of the Military Arsenal of La Spezia and to the building of the railway line between Genoa and La Spezia. The railway allowed the inhabitants to escape their isolation, but also brought about abandonment of traditional activities. The consequence was an increase in poverty which pushed many to emigrate abroad, at least up to the 1970s, when the development of tourism brought back wealth.

Transportation and tourism

There are few roads into the Cinque Terre towns that are accessible by car, and the one into Vernazza in particular is now open (June 2012 - but very narrow at many repair spots) to a parking area leading to a 1/2 mile walk to town after the October 2011 storm damage. It is best to plan not to travel by car at all but to park at La Spezia, for instance, and take the trains.
Local trains from La Spezia to Genova and the rest of the region's network connect the "five lands". Intercity trains also connect the Cinque Terre to Milan, Rome, Turin and Tuscany. The tracks run most of the distance in tunnels between Riomaggiore and Monterosso.
A passenger ferry runs between the five villages, except Corniglia. The ferry enters Cinque Terre from Genova's Old Harbour and La Spezia, Lerici, or Porto Venere.
A walking trail, known as Sentiero Azzurro ("Light Blue Trail"), connects the five villages. The trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore ("Love Walk") and is wheelchair-friendly. The stretch from Manarola to Corniglia (still closed in June 2012 for ongoing repairs since the October 2011 damage)^[2] is the easiest to hike, although the main trail into Corniglia finishes with a climb of 368 steps.

Food and wine

Main article: Cinque Terre DOC

This section entitled Food and Wine needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

Liguria

Given its location on the Mediterranean, seafood is plentiful in the local cuisine. Anchovies of Monterosso are a local specialty designated with a Protected Designation of Origin status from the European Union. The mountainsides of the Cinque Terre are heavily terraced and are used to cultivate grapes and olives. This area, and the region of Liguria, as a whole, is known for pesto — a sauce made from basil leaves, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts and pecorino cheese. Focaccia is a particularly common locally baked bread product. Farinata is also a typical snack found in bakeries and pizzerias- essentially it is a savoury and crunchy pancake made from a base of chick-pea flour. The town of Corniglia is particularly popular for "miele di Corniglia," gelato, made from local honey.^[3]
The grapes of the Cinque Terre are used to produce two locally made wines. The eponymous Cinque Terre and the Sciachetrà are both made using Bosco, Albarola, and Vermentino grapes. Both wines are produced by the Cooperative Agricoltura di Cinque Terre (“Cinque Terre Agricultural Cooperative”), located between Manarola and Volastra. Other DOC producers are Forlini-Capellini, Walter de Batté, Buranco, Arrigoni.
In addition to wines, other popular local drinks include grappa, a brandy made with the pomace left from winemaking, and limoncello, a sweet liqueur flavored with lemons.

Preservation

In 1998, the Italian Ministry for the Environment set up the Protected natural marine area Cinque Terre to protect the natural environment and to promote socio-economical development compatible with the natural landscape of the area.^[4] In 1999 the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre was set up to conserve the ecological balance, protect the landscape, and safeguard the anthropological values of the location.^[5] Nevertheless, the dwindling interest in cultivation and maintenance of the terrace walls posed a long-term threat to the site, which was for this reason included in the 2000 and 2002 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund.^[6] The organization secured grants from American Express to support a study of the conservation of Cinque Terre. Following the study, a site management plan was created.

Villages

• Riomaggiore
• Manarola — includes Groppo and Volastra
• Corniglia — includes San Bernardino
• Vernazza
• Monterosso

Understand

All the towns slope down to sea-level except for Corniglia, which is perched on top of a tall cliff. Four of the towns possess an old-world charm (from north to south: Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore). The northern-most town, Monterosso, is completely different. It is very beachy-resorty, with not much to see beyond the boardwalk apart from modern apartment blocks and hotels—nothing like the narrow, crooked streets of the other towns, lined with colorful old houses stacked haphazardly on top of each other.
Riomaggiore is the southern-most of the 5 Terre. During the day you can hear bell towers chiming and at night the frogs are in frenetic chatter as small boats go night fishing for anchovies and other fish using lights to attract the fish. Riomaggiore also has an ancient stone castello, about which little has been written. An information sign outside explains that first mention of the castello appeared in a document from the mid-500s, which already described it as “ancient”. Its quadrangular walls with two circular towers were built to protect the citizens in case of an attack from the sea. In 800, the castello became a cemetery, and parts were destroyed to adapt it to its new function. Nowadays it is one of the monuments of the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre. Most of the action in Riomaggiore is on the main street, Via Colombo, where there is an assortment of cafes, bars, restaurants, and of course, gelaterie. There are also alimentari shops selling the typical yummy Italian fare: fresh fruit (strawberries, cherries, and nespole), an assortment of salumi (salami, mortadella and the like), cheeses, olives, etc. These are good places to stock up for the hikes into the hills, although all of them are not very far from a town. Bar & Vini, perched on the side of the mountain above the sea, is excellent place for a summer night. The place had the usual mix of tourists and local families with their kids, even well into the night.

Manarola of Cinque Terre

Manarola is a town filled with boats, at least on the lower part of it. Covered boats of all kinds line the main street, but it is hard to say when they had last been out. There are many lovely places to eat and drink in Manarola. La Cantina Dello Zio Bramante serves acciughe (anchovies) fresh from the sea, with lemon, olive oil, and fresh, crusty bread. Aristide Café had the cheapest espressi macchiatti (70 cents), the first bar encountered if walking from Riomaggiore (a paved, easy, path that goes by the sea, and takes about 15 minutes or so). It turns out that Manarola also has the best gelateria of all the towns: 5 Terre Gelateria e Creperia, on Antonio Discovolo next to the Farmacia which is next to the COOP 5 Terre. Manarola also has a nice little swimming area. It’s a little cement pier next to some big rocks that you can wade out from, into the blue blue waters. It gets deep fast, so it's possible to dive off the end of the pier. Plenty of caves and coastline to explore, and underwater rocks. There are also a few more swimming holes farther on, accessible from the Blue Trail, not far from the gate beyond which the trail pass is required. There are stairs going all the way down to sea level, and a small little terrace about half-way down with picnic tables where you can see locals enjoying a simple lunch. There are lots of sharp mussels and barnacles down by the rocks, but otherwise the swimming is fantastic here too, without many people.
Corniglia: Farther along the Blue Trail there is a stone beach that offers much easier access to the water, and also more people. At the Corniglia train station, the path gains height to reach the town, the only one not near sea-level. The road passes lemon trees, vines, lilies and vegetation of all kinds, and in May the air is full of the perfume of flowers.
Corniglia feels smaller and quieter, but just as quaint as the other towns. Bar Nunzio serves 2e glasses of local wine—with a complementary bowl of local olives— under some yellow umbrellas near the statue of Corniglia himself. There is a little piazza with a communal olive press where you can sit and pass the time. There is also a tower, but it is not very high.
As Corniglia is atop a large hill, it is only reachable from the train station by either climbing the 365 steps up the hill ("one for each day of the year") or also there is a bus run by the Cinque Terre National park that takes people up to Corniglia and back down again. This is a must if you are carrying suitcases. The bus only runs from 7am - 8pm, and starts at 8am on the weekends.
The Blue Trail from Corniglia to Vernazza, the next town to the north, is a dirt path that starts off in an olive grove above the town. It keeps climbing and things get a bit sweaty and steep in some places, with many stone steps and a few switchbacks. Nothing too strenuous though. The trail along the sea affords great backwards views of both Corniglia and Manarola. Vernazza is approached from above and its two ancient towers are in prominent view (they close at 19:00). The town itself has a maze of tiny streets that eventually lead down to the main street. At first sight, Vernazza seems a little rundown. The paint on the buildings around the beach area is peeling off in large sections, but don’t let that put you off. Vernazza is lively and boisterous and has a great night scene, two clock towers, a beach, boats, and a large public space with umbrellas and tables. The beach area is a small sandy strip that is not the best swim spot (there is only a small section of water roped off for swimming, beyond which are boats and then the open sea), but it is safe for kids and free of sharp bivalves.
You can spend the evening having wine along the main street below the train station, lounging on a quiet bench above the town beside hotel Gianni overlooking the sea, or by the sea, watching the mountainous coastline zigzag in and out, hiding Monterosso.
Monterosso is built to accommodate many tourists in large, modern apartments and hotels. It doesn't have quite the same charm as the other towns, but it does have a quite a large sandy beach with lots of colourful umbrellas, and of course, beach-side restaurants and cafes. The backstreets of Monterosso are not as interesting as in the other towns. Not to be missed at the end of the beach is a big statue holding a terrace.

Get in

By plane

The closest airports are at Pisa and Genova. Firenze is also a reasonable choice. The city of Milan is about a 2 hour train ride to Genoa where one is able to change to the local train line. Milan's Malpensa International Airport serves as a major intercontinental hub for the Italian airline Alitalia, but you will have to take a bus to the train station from the Malpensa Airport (~1 hour). There are also good connections from North America via large hubs such as New York City, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. Delta Airlines also operates a flight from Atlanta via New York's JFK International Airport to Pisa's Galileo Galilei International Airport.

By train

The Cinque Terre villages are well connected by rail and each of the villages has a train station. Regular local trains from Genova and La Spezia run with high frequency. All trains are operated by the state carrier, Trenitalia[1]. When traveling from La Spezia, you can buy your passes for Cinque Terre in a tourism office in a hallway off of platform 1 at the La Spezia station.

By car

Take the 'litoranea' road from La Spezia. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes from La Spezia to drive to Riomaggiore or Manarola. There is a good parking garage in Riomaggiore, up the hill from the train station. The parking garage operates from 8am to 9pm. You will not be able to park in the garage after 9pm but may find a few open spaces near the parking attendant office. Parking is 23 Euros for 24hr. The roads to and between the five towns are not for the faint of heart, and why most travelers are encouraged to leave their vehicle in La Spezia and take the train to the Cinque Terre.

Get around

Frequent trains link all five villages with each other (Trenitalia-run trains as well as a train service run by the park authority), La Spezia and other places towards Genova (only Trenitalia-run).
A more expensive, but very scenic option, are the boats that run up and down this part of the coast.
Walking is very popular, especially on the main coastal paths, which are subject to park entrance fees. It's worth exploring some of the higher paths to Volastra (above Manarola), Monte Negro (above Riomaggiore) or paths that begin outside of the park such as the trail between Levanto and Monterosso.
In order to walk along the trails between the villages, one must purchase a pass from information offices near the train stations at any of the five villages, as well as the stations at Levanto and La Spezia. It costs €5 for an adult, or €10 to get unlimited travel on the train between the villages, Levanto, and La Spezia on regional trains for the duration of the pass. The pass also allows you to use buses within Cinque Terre, as well as entry into various museums (with discounts in La Spezia).
Traveling by car is by far the worst way to explore the Cinque Terre, there is little parking and what there is lies well outside the villages. To get from one village to the next involves driving all the way up to the high road and back down again. Better to leave the car and use the train.

See

Corniglia and the typical Cinque Terre landscape

The main attraction of the Cinque Terre is the landscape. Mediterranean herbs and trees grow spontaneously from the top of the hills down to the water level. Well embedded in this magnificent natural scenery, one can admire the intense human activity of the ancestors, when the wine terraces were built. An enormous (and somehow crazy) work of transportation, carrying all the heavy stones on men's shoulders and women's heads. A work through the centuries, in fact it's estimated to have taken about 200 years to build the entire stone-wall network. Its total length has been calculated to be at least equal to the Great Wall of China.
Tourists can enjoy the scenery described above, walk through the towns (or between them) or hiking on the paths and enjoying the local atmosphere.
Depending on the time of the year there are some specific things to see:

• The lighted Nativity in Manarola (Dec. 8th till late Jan.). The world's biggest Lighted nativity.
• The patron festivity of the 5 towns (all between late May and Aug.), a mix of religious ceremony and popular parties.
• The pirates attack in Vernazza (mid summer), a celebration of the successful defence of the town from a Saracen attack occurred during the middle age.
• The harvest (early/mid Sept.) and wine making, when men's shoulders and women's heads are still used as they were hundreds of years ago.
• The sea storms (frequent in winter), a great show of nature's power.

Do

Hiking Trail

Looking back at main hiking trail

The Cinque Terre boasts some of the best coastline hiking trails in the world.
Since Cinque Terre is an area prone to landslides, it's always better to check if the hiking paths are open or closed, before leaving. You must purchase a pass if you hike the trail number 2 (blue), while no pass is required for the other trails. It is also possible to purchase a hiking and train pass in one if you wish to catch a train to the next town. Trains are frequent but it is advisable to check local time tables especially on Sunday and Public holidays as you could be waiting up to an hour for the correct train.
The trail closest to the water is marked as No. 2, or the Coastal Track. As of May 2013, many of the paths are closed until June 2013.
The path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore (or roughly "Lovers Walk"). This is a paved path that is easy to walk for any age. Only the side starting from Manarola is wheelchair accessible. The Riomaggiore side starts with 2 flights of stairs. Along the way, passers-by have the opportunity to write their names on the walls of a gallery. Visitors should not scratch their names on trees or cactuses as this is damaging to the plants. Mid-way down the path, you will come across 'The Lover's Lock' which is a place to seal your eternal love. This custom follows the italian fad that was started by the film Tre Metri Sopra il Cielo. At this point there is a 'love seat' in the shape of a male and female locked in a kiss, where many couples pose.
The next hike from Manarola to Corniglia is also easy. It takes approximately 30 minutes. The path is not paved. To reach Corniglia town center there is an up hill hike and a large zig zag shaped staircase with 385 steps which can be quite a mission in the midday sun. In 2010-2011 there was a big landslide on this path so the park closed it for several months. Check with park offices if the trail is open.
The trail from Corniglia to Vernazza is longer and the terrain is uneven. The hike takes approximately 2 hours.
The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso is the steepest (you need a reasonably good level of fitness - there is over 250m of climbing over very uneven rocks, totalling approx. 750 'steps' - not easy for most people), winding through olive orchards and vineyards and offering dramatic ocean views. The paths are narrow, with a very real danger of falling 12 to 15 feet if you lose your footing. If you attempt this hike, take some water, and be prepared to build up a very decent sweat.
The walk on the No. 2 trail between all the villages takes the better part of a day. For those that would rather not walk (or not walk the entire trail), a boat ferry service runs seasonally to all five villages, plus Lerici. The price is reasonable, and gives a nice view of the villages from the water. The regional train that connect all the villages is also a quick way to hop among towns.
If you are a more experienced hiker, take advantage of other trails that go higher up the mountain. These trails are well maintained, off the beaten path, and usually have fewer tourists. You can obtain detailed maps from any of the park offices. The paths number 7, 7/a and 6/d are particularly scenic and passing through nice vineyards and terraces.
In June, July, August, it is advised that you attempt the walk as early as possible to avoid the unforgiving midday sun. Sneakers or suitable walking shoes are essential.

Hiking times along the Coastal Track

Monterosso - Vernazza: 90 minutes.

• Narrow trail, steep at times. Beautiful views of Vernazza.

Vernazza - Corniglia: 90 minutes.

• Amazing views of Vernazza; greenest trail.

Corniglia - Manarola: 45 minutes, Currently closed

• Scenic low trail past a beach.

Manarola - also has its own beautiful vineyard walk.
Manarola - Riomaggiore: 20 minutes, Currently closed until 2014

• The famous Via dell'Amore, paved flat trail cut into the cliff.

For the latest on whether the hiking trials are open or not, see the Parco Nazionale della Cinque Terre website. Please note that many of the other paths may be closed due to adverse weather conditions.

Swimming

It is possible to swim in the sea at each of the villages. Almost every year the Cinque Terre Marine Reserve vies for the top of the Blue Flag Beach list of Italy. There are two large sandy beaches at Monterosso, a small sandy beach at the harbor of Vernazza, and pebble beaches near Riomaggiore and Corniglia. Off the beaten path there are pebble beaches in Framura and Bonasola just 20 minutes away on the train. You can swim off rocks at the small harbors at Manarola (which has a very nice and deep swimming hole) and Riomaggiore. Corniglia's small harbor is reached by a long staircase leading down to the sea. It is probably the quietest swimming spot of all the five lands because of this.

Eat

When grapevines and olive trees cover the hillsides, wine and oil are a must on our tables. They prove excellent companions for the salted anchovies of Monterosso served in olive oil as well as the many specialty fish dishes, authentic gastronomic delights.
The cuisine of the Cinque Terre almost perfectly conserves the characteristics of yesteryear; the respect for the flavors and fragrances of the primary ingredients. Trofie is a kind of pasta made from chestnut or wheat flour and is one of the forefathers of modern and more sophisticated pasta. Its condiment is still pesto sauce; an original Ligurian sauce made from basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese, pine nuts, and marjoram. Tagliatelle, a broad handmade pasta, is used with sauces that contain mushrooms, cabbage and potatoes, beans, chickpeas or sometimes with pesto.
Vegetable pies, 'torte di verdura' are prepared with a stuffing containing borage (borago officinalis), parsley, marjoram, other local herbs that grow wild, artichokes, swiss chard, zucchini, potatoes, and leeks are combined with egg and ricotta cheese or with stale bread soaked in milk or béchamel sauce (depending on each family's traditions), parmesan cheese. The pie crust is very thin, because flour was a very precious commodity.
Rice pie, or 'torta di riso' is a specialty of every grandma in the region. In Monterosso this rice pie was made even more delectable by adding a bit of dried mushrooms to the filling. In Manarola, the tradition is to make this dish for the feast of the patron saint Saint Lawrence on August 10th.
Egg 'frittate', or flat omelettes, are popular today as the 'frittata' has been rediscovered as a tasty antipasto. Another important dish on the tables of the Cinque Terre population was the 'cotoletta di acciuga', anchovies stuffed with a breadcrumb based filling and then fried. The 'fritelle di bianchetti', fritters made from tiny newborn anchovies or sardines were also highly appreciated. Following the seamen's gastronomic traditions, other dishes included stewed cuttlefish, stuffed calamari and spiced octopus.
Mussels, another protected designation of origin product from the Gulf of La Spezia are prepared in a variety of ways: stuffed, stewed, baked.
Farinata, like a focaccia but made with chickpea flour. A regional speciality.
Pizzeria Fratelli Basso on via Roma is one of only two places in town where you can eat farinata—like a focaccia but made with chickpea flour. The wood-fired pizzeria down the road will make it if they don’t have any left.
Riomaggiore

• La Grotta
• Via Dell'Amore (across the railway station, their 'tourist menus' are actually quite OK)

Manarola

• Restaurant Il Porticciolo
• Da Billy
• Marina Piccola
• 5 Terre Gelateria e Creperia for extraordinarily delicious gelato

Vernazza

Drink

The fame of the Cinque Terre is largely due to its products, the dry white wine, simply called 'Cinque Terre' and the 'Sciacchetrà', a prized dessert wine made from prime grapes dried to the point of holding only a few drops of sweet juice. A colorful addition to the Cinque Terre products is 'limoncino'; a dessert wine made from steeping lemon peels in pure alcohol and then adding sugar and water to make a fragrant and fresh liquor. The lemons, another famous product of the Cinque Terre are prominently on display in the many 'limoneti' (lemon groves) and at the annual Lemon Festival held each year in Monterosso during the season of Pentacost.
The Sentieri dell'Uva (Grape Routes) are still as they once were with fig trees planted in strategic positions to give shade during breaks from work, agaves planted to mark boundaries, to line the footpaths along steep, stony steps and to indicate the rail terminals of the recently installed monorails which are the only vertical structures emerging from this seemingly completely, horizontal landscape. Many dry stone walls support this terraced landscape.
The large wicker baskets of grapes (corbe) are arranged along the "pose" (little walls, as wide as tables, built solely for this purpose). These include Albarola (Trebbiana), Biancorotto, Bruciapagliaio, Piccabon (Pizzamosca). To make white table wines the following are used: Fiore di Bosco, Rappolungo, Fogiaccia, Ruspara, and Sesagra. Baskets full of Magnagra (Albarola), from which the famous Black Sciacchetrà is made, are handled with extreme care and set to one side.
The Cinque Terre grape tracks reach down to the sea. In the past, people used to anchor small fishing boats called "gozzi" immediately below the terraced vineyards. Baskets laden with grapes were then lowered from above into these small boats which then sailed round to the otherwise inaccessible village.
Nowadays this method is nothing but a distant memory but by visiting the Cinque Terre you are still able to sample some of the most prized wines of the world that have been created by centuries of backbreaking experience.

Sleep

• Ostello Cinque Terre in Manarola is the largest hostel in the area. Book well in advance.
• Ostello Corniglia, in the historic center of Corniglia, has two small dorm rooms and private rooms.
• Ostello Tramonti is actually in Biassa, not any of the five towns, but is accessible by bus from La Spezia and Riomaggiore. A word of warning: the last bus up the mountain runs at about 8PM, and you don't want to hike up in the dark.
• Monastery of S. Bernardino, above Corniglia, offers accommodation for about €60 per room.
• Da Baranin B&B. Provides rooms with B&B treatment and apartments in Manarola. 
• Alla Porta Rosa. Great apartments in Manarola.
• Bed&Breakfast Marisa. Nice family-house B&B in Monterosso. 
• Cinque Terre Holidays hostel in Riomaggiore. €40/person, but these are rooms with a view! High up on a hill with a stone balcony overlooking the sea in front and a terraced mountainside on the side. Be warned that this hostel has gotten very mixed reviews on review sites.

• B&B La Torretta. Beautiful B&B with sea view in Manarola. 

Campgrounds

There are a few campgrounds where you can rent a tent with two beds and linens for very low prices. Note that none are inside the national park area but quite a few can be found just to the north of the park in the touristy but pleasant town of Levanto. It's not advised to try wild camping, since it's illegal, and it can be dangerous due to the presence of wild boars roaming free in the park.

• Camping Acqua Dolce near the town center and about 200 meters from the beach.
• Pian di Picche a bit more inland, at about 1000 meters from the beach but closer to the railway station (at about 200 meters).
• Albero d'Oro situated next to Pian di Picche.

Other campsites can be found south of La Spezia and further north around Deiva Marina. Levanto is a better option though because it is serviced by the park-run train service connecting all five villages as stated earlier.
It's advisable to try to book in advance when arriving in late June, July, August since these sites tend to fill up quickly during that period. Many hotels, including the hostel, book up in months in advance.

Angkor wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the American thrash metal band, see Angkor Wat (band).

Angkor Wat
Coordinates:	13°24′45″N 103°52′0″ECoordinates: 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E
Name
Other names:	Nokor Wat (នគរវត្ត)
Proper name:	Prasat Angkor Wat
Location
Country:	Cambodia
Location:	Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia
Architecture and culture
Primary deity:	Vishnu
Architectural styles:	Khmer
History
Date built: (Current structure)	12th century
Creator:	Suryavarman II

Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត) was first a Hindu, then subsequently a Buddhist, temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (Khmer: យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia,^[1] appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.
Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian Architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर).^[2] Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds", derived from the Pali word "vatta" (वत्त).^[3] Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit), after the posthumous title of its founder.^[4]

History

King Suryavarman II, the builder of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.
According to one legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea.^[5] According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect.^[6]
The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 – c. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" (literally "Holy Vishnu Location", Old Khmer Cl. Sanskrit") after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.^[7] In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometres to the north.
In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.^[8]
One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."^[9] In the mid-19th century the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:

"One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."^[10]

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.^[11]

Facade of Angkor Wat, a drawing by Henri Mouhot

French postcard about Angkor Wat in 1911

1870 by Émile Gsell

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation.^[12] Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.^[13]
The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863.^[14] From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not became a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937.^[15] Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from c.1880 to the mid-1920s.^[16]
The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD.^[17] Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time.

Architecture

Site and plan

General plan of Angkor Wat with central structure in the middle

Detailed plan of the central structure

Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean.^[18] Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level.^[19]
Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple.^[20] Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction—prasavya in Hindu terminology—as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services.^[12] The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower.^[21] It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse.^[22] Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.^[18]
A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above."^[23][24] Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles.^[21] She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.^[25]

Style

Upper gallery at Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture—the Angkor Wat style—to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime have been suggested.^[26]
Angkor Wat has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design, which has been compared to the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style."^[27]
Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work.^[28] Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.^[29]

Features

Aerial view of Angkor Wat

Outer enclosure

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge.^[30] There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper.^[31] Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.^[30] Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth.
The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres (203 acres), which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets.^[32] Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.^[32]

Central structure

Miniature model of the central structure of Angkor Wat. In the foreground the cruciform terrace which lies in front of the central structure.

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.^[7] Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.
The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water. North and south of the cloister are libraries.
Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru. Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.

Decoration

Devatas are characteristic of the Angkor Wat style.

Decoration on the corner

The bas-relief of the Churning of the Sea of Milk shows Vishnu in the centre, his turtle Avatar Kurma below, asuras and devas to left and right, and apsaras and Indra above.

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving".^[38] From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.
On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92^[39] asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice).^[40] It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"^[41]) and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna.
Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory.^[42] Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.^[43][44]

Construction techniques

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place.
The monument was made out of enormous amounts of sandstone, as much as Khafre's pyramid in Egypt (over 5 million tons). This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 25 miles (40 km) to the northeast. The stone was presumably transported by raft along the Siem Reap river. This would have to have been done with care to avoid overturning the rafts with such a large amount of weight. One modern engineer estimated it would take 300 years to complete Angkor Wat today.^[45] Yet the monument was begun soon after Suryavarman came to the throne and was finished shortly after his death, no more than 40 years.

Angkor Wat viewed from across the moat

Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1,000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 4 feet (1.2 m), this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone.^[47] The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.

Angkor Wat today

 

World Monuments Fund video on conservation of Angkor Wat

The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992.^[48] Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site.^[49] The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts.Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005.World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013.
Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan.
Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561,000 and 677,000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance—as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples—although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities.
Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism".Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists.
The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over the charming nature and atmosphere of their town being compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this charming local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture.
At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, both parties have agreed Borobudur and Angkor Wat to become sister sites and the provinces will become sister provinces. Two Indonesian airlines are considering the opportunity to open a direct flight from Yogyakarta, Indonesia to Siem Reap.