22 Lost Cities Underwater, On Land, and in Legend

Hidden by vines and heat, Angkor slept for centuries. Once the heart of the Khmer Empire, its temples and reservoirs spread across miles of Cambodian jungle. French explorers reintroduced it to the world in the nineteenth century, stunned by towers wrapped in roots and carvings untouched by time. Its rediscovery wasn’t just about architecture; it revealed a civilization that had mastered water management on an enormous scale.

Monks still walk those stone paths, and travelers arrive hushed, aware that they’re guests in a city that outlasted kings and storms alike.