Few places in the world are as fascinating as Angkor, the heart of the immense Khmer empire that flourished in Indochina from the 9th to the 13th century and is today a magnificent archaeological park. The only remains of Angkor, the great capital city consisting of numerous urban areas that rose up over the centuries, are its temples, invaded by the luxuriant vegetation. The plant world has regained possession of what were once human settlements, bursting through the stones in a suffocating maze of branches and lianas; indeed, the presence of this greenery that adds to the ineffable artistic beauty of the Angkor temples a magical atmosphere of distant times and remote worlds.
