How Angkor Wat alternative Koh Ker, with its tiered temples and ‘magnificent’ artefacts, gives a window into the Khmer Empire without the crowds – for now

I’m looking at a seven-tiered pyramid that has more in common with Mexico’s Chichen Itza temple than it does the structures often associated with Cambodia’s Khmer kingdoms. What’s more, I’ve got the site to myself.

There are no selfie-stick-wielding tourists and no children hawking dusty guidebooks. But I can’t help thinking the days of peace and quiet are numbered, partly because Koh Ker, the Khmer temple site I’m exploring, was given Unesco World Heritage status in 2023.

Although there are similarities in architectural style between the two, several of Koh Ker’s Brahmanic temples and prasats (sanctuaries) bear more detailed inscriptions and many of its statues depict characters rarely represented elsewhere, one being a Hindu god astride a peacock.