Beng Mealea

Beng Mealea was built in the twelfth century on a scale comparable to Angkor Wat and to a similar plan, and then it was left alone. There has been no substantial reconstruction; galleries have fallen in, roof stones lie in heaps where they landed, strangler figs have grown through the walls and much of the enclosure is a field of moss-covered blocks with trees rooted between them. A wooden walkway, built for a film production and since kept up, threads over the collapse and lets you cross the interior without scrambling. The effect is the one visitors imagine when they think of a lost jungle temple, and it is the closest thing to that experience left in the region now that the main Angkor group is fully managed.

What you actually see

• The wooden walkway - the raised route through the collapsed central galleries.
• Fig roots in the walls - trees grown through and around the standing stonework.
• The outer moat and causeway - naga balustrades half swallowed by vegetation.
• The library buildings - among the better-preserved structures on the site.

When to go

November to March for dry roads and firm ground. Early morning gives the best light through the canopy and the fewest people. The road is much harder going after heavy rain.

Honest expectations

It is a long drive for one temple, and the ticket is separate from the Angkor pass, which catches people out. The stones are uneven, slippery when damp and genuinely ankle-turning off the walkway; sturdy shoes matter. Local children often offer to guide visitors over the rubble, which is a judgement call each traveller makes for themselves.

Nearby

Koh Ker's pyramid temple can be combined on a long day; the Angkor group is back towards Siem Reap.