An adorable girl chilled in the arms of a Buddhist deity statue at a temple while eating snacks.

The youngster climbed up the stone figure and sat on her limbs to enjoy a pack of crackers in Siem Reap, Cambodia on October 2.

Footage shows the kid holding her food and swaying her feet as she was raised 4ft (1.2 metres) above the ground on the deity's arms outside a temple.

The curious girl even put her face close to the statue's head, seemingly observing the paint detailing.

Onlooker Lynaa said: ‘I saw the little girl and she was so cute. She did not know anything about rules in the temple. She was just excited about playing and eating snacks.'

Cambodia predominantly follows Buddhism, with most people practising Theravada. It deeply influences the nation's culture and daily life, and monks and temples hold significant roles in society.

The religion was so successful in Cambodia - then the Khmer Empire - that it was adopted by neighbouring Siam before it became Thailand. Some historians even believe that the unifying power of the ideology helped Thailand avoid falling to the Communists in the 1970s.