Daring Gardeners at Angkor Wat in the Spotlight

In an article published last month on the CNA news website, the gardeners at Angkor Wat were put into the spotlight along with the work they did to preserve this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Angkor Archaeological Park located close to Anantara Angkor Resort and other such well-placed boutique hotels in Siem Reap features stunning temple ruins; however, tree saplings tend to spring up between cracks in the monuments and since the roots can cause damage, they need to be eradicated.

With this task at hand, the 30-member team of gardeners at Angkor Wat have to scale towering structures on daring ascents to carefully cut away the foliage. They cannot use climbing gear or even ropes, since that may also harm the structures and thus, have to climb manually. The Apsara Authority which manages the park is investigating the possible use of a liquid substance to help eliminate the growth of roots and thereby somewhat easing the risks taken by these brave gardeners.