Wat Preah Prom Rath
Wat Preah Prom Rath Though it’s more than 500 years old, Wat Preah Prom Rath is a modern-looking temple and monastery located in the heart of Siem Reap. The front gate is the perhaps the oldest looking piece of the site, with Bayon style carvings that are similar to the ones found in Angkor Wat. T
Wat Athvea (Prasat Vat Althea)
Wat Athvea (Prasat Vat Althea) Believed to have been built during King Suryavarman II’s reign in the first half of the 12th century, Wat Athvea (Prasat Vat Althea) is one of several Hindu temples in the area shrouded in mystery. Built from laterite and sandstone, both still in relatively good cond
Terrace of the Elephants
Terrace of the Elephants Located within the ancient walled city of Angkor Thom, the Terrace of the Elephants stretches across a grassy expanse for nearly 1,150 feet (350 meters) and once served as a ceremonial platform and foundation for the king’s royal audience hall.The ornately carved Terrace o
Srah Srang
Srah Srang Srah Srang is a baray, or reservoir, that is located south of the East Baray and east of Banteay Kde. Srah Srang was created by excavation in the mid-900s and, while there are several theories, it’s not clear whether the significance of this reservoir was religious, agricultural or a li
Siem Reap Art Center
Siem Reap Art Center The name suggests that the Siem Reap Art Center is a hub of culture and creativity, but travelers agree this popular destination is pretty similar to the Angkor Night Market and other Southeast Asian street fairs. Jam-packed stalls still sell wooden sculptures, handmade painti
Royal Enclosure
Royal Enclosure Just to the northwest of the center of Angkor Tom lies one of the Angkor Wat region’s more mysterious ruins, the Royal Enclosure. All that remains of this ancient royal abode (the home of kings during the 10th and 11th centuries) is its surrounding walls and a pair of stone-lined b
Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center
Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center Lions and tigers and sun bears and elephants and deer and gibbons and snakes, oh my! At this sanctuary for rescued animals, guests can see a vast array of Cambodia’s wildlife (which is usually very difficult to spot), ranging from the world’s largest captive coll
Phnom Kulen National Park
Phnom Kulen National Park Thousand-year-old carvings, thundering waterfalls and an iconic reclining Buddha make Phnom Kulen National Park one of the most-visited escapes in all of Cambodia. Travelers pile into four-door sedans that navigate the narrow, scenic road from Siem Reap to the popular par
Phimeanakas
Phimeanakas Set near the center of the Royal Enclosure in Angkor Thom, Phimeanakas served as the king’s personal temple during the 10th and 11th centuries, before Jayavarman VII constructed Angkor Thom around it. Historians believe the three-tiered temple was once topped with a gold-covered tower,
Neak Pean
Neak Pean The prolific King Jayavarman VII was behind the creation of numerous temples in Angkor, but Neak Pean is one of his most unusual. A bit off the trodden tourist path, the temple sits on a small island in a reservoir, flanked by four smaller ponds fed by carved gargoyles. Scholars believe
Kompong Phluk
Kompong Phluk While houses on stilts can be quite common in Cambodia (you’ll often see people relaxing in hammocks strung underneath the houses, homes on stilts in a lake…well, that’s a bit more unusual. Kompong Phluk is a set of villages that are located on the floodplain of the Tonle Sap Lake, a
Kbal Spean (River of a Thousand Lingas)
Kbal Spean (River of a Thousand Lingas) While the decaying structures and overgrown temples of Angkor Wat remain among the most popular destinations in Siem Reap, the rare collection of stone carvings along the Stung Kbal Spean River, often referred to as “Valley of 1000 Lingas,” continues to brin
Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument
Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument Built in the late 1970s, the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument is a statue located in a large reflecting pool that stands in honor of the former alliance between Cambodia and Vietnam. Located at the Botum Park near the center of Phnom Penh, not far from the
Cambodia Landmine Museum and School
Cambodia Landmine Museum and School When Aki Ra, founder of the Cambodia Landmine Museum and School, was a child, he was recruited as a child soldier in the army of the Khmer Rouge and spent much of his formative years fighting. After the war he returned to try and remove and defuse by hand many o
Banteay Kdei
Banteay Kdei The unrestored ruins of Banteay Kdei, a Buddhist monastery complex, date back to 1181. This was one of the first structures built by the prolific King Jayavarman VII, and it features four gates, each adorned with a carved face of the king, much like at Bayon. One of the first thi
Angkor Night Market
Angkor Night Market Open since 2007, the Angkor Night Market was the first of its kind to open in Cambodia. Today, more than 240 shops line the halls of this massive warehouse, selling handmade crafts, local silk, traditional jewelry and Khmer-style wood and stone carvings. It’s the perfect place
Silver Pagoda (Wat Preah Keo)
Silver Pagoda (Wat Preah Keo) While visiting the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, it’s almost impossible to miss the Silver Pagoda (Wat Preah Keo), an impressive, opulent structure. With a floor that’s covered with five tons of silver, a Baccarat-crystal Buddha perched on a gilded pedestal (known as th
Pub Street
Pub Street Travelers looking for cold beers and cheap food almost always find themselves in the throes of chaotic Pub Street. Local taverns, unique vendors, musicians and traditional dancers line this paved pass, giving Siem Reap’s entertainment Mecca a true party vibe. Pedestrian-only streets mea
Silk Island
Silk Island Known by locals as Koh Dach, Silk Island sits upstream on the Mekong near Phnom Penh and offers travelers to Cambodia’s capital city a quick escape from the urban landscape into a village that feels worlds away.The rural community of Silk Island is comprised of dozens of local artisans
Tonlé Sap
Tonlé Sap This great lake in the heart of Cambodia is not only the largest body of fresh water in Southeast Asia, it’s also a UNESCO-designated biosphere, due to its truly remarkable natural features. The flow of water in Tonlé Sap changes direction twice during the course of the year, and the lak
