The shores of the river have seen civilizations, empires and religions pass through since 2100 BC. Thus, on board the boats of yesteryear, the first explorers, would discover a timeless spectacle, resolutely identical to what is still visible today. Human activities, such as fishing, fish farming, copper work, which you will discover in the cities of Kampong Chhnang, Koh Chen or Chau Doc, have remained unchanged over the centuries and millennia in the Mekong River basin, where shrimp farming and breeding still take place on the shores.
A true jewel of culture and tradition, Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, reveals its past and history through opulence and immemorial monuments. Built on the banks of the river, the city experienced its golden age under the Khmer empire and, much later, its French colonial influence and, more recently, its darkest hours under Pol Pot. All these events shaped a whole and vibrant capital, where the indelible traces of the past have become the tenants of a unique identity. The Khmers survived an art and architectural tradition that inspired the French to build the Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda in 1947, as did the Palace of Fine Arts and the National Museum, which housed authentic objects from the Angkor temples.
In 1958, Henri Mouhot, a French explorer and naturalist, discovered what could be considered one of the most beautiful treasures of this region, referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, and also included in UNESCO's World Heritage List: the Angkor temples. Gigantic size and human genius combined to bring out the fantastic emblem of the Khmer empire from the jungle. The archaeological site, the largest in the world, contains a series of temples, each more majestic than the last, dating back to the 9th century. The most prestigious and largest will remain Angkor Wat, now the symbol of Cambodia.
