The ruins of Angkor Wat are being threatened by the enormous number of tourists traveling to visit the breathtaking site in Cambodia.   Built in the 12th Century by King Suryavarman II to serve as his state temple and capital city, Angkor Wat has survived countless wars and unthinkable pestilence, persevering as one of the masterpieces of world architecture to this day.   But success has come with a price.   The stunning towers and remarkable setting with its unworldly sunset views over the temples have made this national symbol of Cambodia - it appears on the Southeast Asian nation’s flag - a highly trafficked tourist destination, and the massive attention it’s commanded is bringing enormous wear and tear along with it.

For starters, the structures at Angkor Wat are built primarily out of sandstone, which the huge amount of foot traffic around the site is steadily eroding.   Secondly the large number of hotels that have sprung up around the ruins to lodge visitors have put a great strain on the local water supply.   This water drain is actually causing the ruins to slowly sink into the ground.

A decade ago 300,000 people visited Angkor Wat per year.   Today that number is up to one million annually, with the government, eager for the tourist revenue, hoping to push that number up to 3 million per year by 2010.  The problem is one faced by magnificent ancient monuments the world over.   Angkor Wat is an amazing site, something practically anyone would want to visit in their lifetime - including this writer.   But the affects of mass tourism on such archaeological treasures can have such devastating consequences that keeping unrestricted access to the monuments eventually becomes untenable.

You can takepart in helping preserve masterpieces of world architecture like Angkor Wat by checking out the World Monuments Fund.

LINKS:

LA Times: Too much adoration at Cambodia’s Angkor temples

The Guardian: Tourist invasion threatens to ruin glories of Angkor Wat

Gluckman: Mass Tourism is taking over Cambodia’s Angkor Wat