SIEM REAP: The Angkor Wat Temple of Cambodia, a UNESCO's World Heritage Site, was crowned the most famous temple in Asia, according to Touropia Travel Guides. It is the largest religious structure in the form of a temple complex in the world by land area, measuring 162.6 hectares. It is also one of the most important archaeological sites of Southeast Asia. It extends over approximately 400 square kilometres and consists of scores of temples, hydraulic structures ; basins, dykes, reservoirs, canals, as well as communication routes. For several centuries Angkor, was the centre of the Khmer Kingdom. With impressive monuments, several different ancient urban plans and large water reservoirs, the site is a unique concentration of features testifying to an exceptional civilization.
"Angkor Wat or ”City Temple” is a vast temple complex at Angkor, built for king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. Angkor Wat stands on a raised terrace above the rest of the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. It is the only temple at Angkor to have remained a religious centre since its construction, first as a Hindu temple then as a Buddhist temple," Touropia has declared.
The two runners-up are Borobudur in Indonesia and Baalbek in Lebanon, while the Harmandir Sahib, known as the Golden Temple in India won the fourth place; Kinkaku-ji or the Temple of the Golden Pavilion in Japan the fifth place; the Temple of Heaven in China, the sixth place; and the Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the Thailand, the seventh place.
The Taktsang Dzong or Tiger's Nest in Bhutan, the Ranakpur Temple and the Lotus Temple in India came in eight, ninth and tenth, respectively.
No other continent on the planet contains so many temples as Asia. This is perhaps not surprising as Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions as well as many other beliefs. A number of these, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism, were the inspiration for some of the most famous temples in the world.
