Things to do in Cambodia

The 18 best things to do in Cambodia

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1. 1Siem Reap

   Watch sunrise over the towers of Angkor Wat

   Angkor Wat, built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II, is the largest monument at Angkor, covering about 200 hectares with its moats, and its outline sits on Cambodia's flag. First dedicated to Vishnu, it became a Buddhist pilgrimage site by the 16th century. A 200 m sandstone causeway crosses the moat to the west gate, and inside, three raised galleries lead up to five central towers. Unusually, the temple faces west, so its long bas-reliefs are read counterclockwise. The gates open at 5:00 AM, so many visitors come for sunrise, and the site authority suggests 2 to 3 hours here.

   Tip: Cover shoulders and knees and take your hat off inside, and note that children under 12 and pregnant visitors can't climb to the top level.

   Angkor Pass, 1 day: $37 · Angkor Pass, 3 days within 7: $62 · Angkor Pass, 7 days within 30: $72 · Angkor Pass neededFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh); Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Economic Diplomacy (republishing Lonely Planet); Smartraveller (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
2. 2Siem Reap

   Find the smiling stone faces of the Bayon

   The Bayon stands at the center of Angkor Thom, the state temple that King Jayavarman VII built at the end of the 12th century. Its upper terrace is a crowd of towers carved with calm, smiling faces: 37 still stand of the 49 or 54 first built. The galleries hold two sets of bas-reliefs, full of myth, history and daily life: market stalls, women grilling fish on skewers and a troop of Chinese foot soldiers. Its first name was Chey Kiri, the Triumphant Mountain. Plan 1.5 to 2 hours, between 7:30 AM and 5:30 PM.

   Tip: Walk the outer galleries and their scenes of daily life before you climb to the faces on the upper terrace.

   Angkor Pass needed
   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh)
3. 3Siem Reap

   Wander the tree-gripped galleries of Ta Prohm

   Ta Prohm is the temple where giant spung trees pour their roots over walls and doorways. Jayavarman VII dedicated it in 1186 as Rajavihara, the royal monastery, and installed a statue of Prajnaparamita, the personification of wisdom, whom he identified with his own mother. Its outer wall encloses an area about 1 km by 700 m. The temple was left close to the state it was found in during the 19th century to keep that romantic look, then consolidated to protect the stones and the many visitors. Beyond the roots, look for the Hall of Dancers and finely carved pediments. It is open 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

   Tip: Allow 1 to 1.5 hours, and most people enter from the west side, although the temple's ritual entrance was to the east.

   Angkor Pass needed
   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh)
4. 4Phnom Penh

   Tour the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda

   King Norodom moved Cambodia's capital to Phnom Penh in 1865, and the palace behind its tall yellow walls is still the king's official residence. Visitors come in by the southern gate. The golden-spired Throne Hall holds thrones used only for coronations, and nearby stands the cast-iron Napoleon Pavilion, a gift from Napoleon III. Next door, the Silver Pagoda, also called Wat Preah Keo, was rebuilt in its current form in 1962. Its floor is laid with five tonnes of silver tiles, and inside sits a life-size gold Buddha set with 2,086 diamonds. Guides wait at the southern gate.

   Tip: Plan around the midday break, since it opens 8 to 10:30 AM and 2 to 5 PM and closes on many holidays, and cover shoulders and knees.

   $[fee]; cover shoulders and kneesKnow the fee?
   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Economic Diplomacy (republishing The Culture Trip); Phnom Penh Capital Hall (phnompenh.gov.kh)
5. 5Phnom Penh

   Face Cambodia's recent past at Tuol Sleng

   Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is the memorial site of S-21, the Khmer Rouge interrogation and detention center. It was a high school built in 1962; after Phnom Penh was emptied in April 1975, its classrooms became cells and torture rooms. Between 1975 and 1979, 15,000 to 20,000 people were imprisoned here, and Choeung Ek, 15 km west of the city, was one of its execution sites. Today the classrooms, cells and prisoner photographs are preserved, and the museum's aim is to encourage visitors to become messengers of peace. It opens every day, including public holidays, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and the audio guide comes in 11 languages.

   Tip: Bring cash for the entrance booth, cover arms and legs, and note that the museum says its exhibits may not suit children 14 and under.

   International adults: $5 · Audio guide: $5 · Pay in cash at the doorFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (official); Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (official)
6. 6Siem Reap

   Cross the South Gate causeway into Angkor Thom

   Angkor Thom, the Great City, was Jayavarman VII's capital from the late 12th century, a walled square of about 900 hectares with the Bayon at its center. Its 8 m laterite walls run for 12 km behind a wide moat, pierced by five gates. The South Gate, on the road between Angkor Wat and the Bayon, is the best preserved and the busiest. Its 23 m tower carries four faces, and the causeway in front is lined with 54 gods and 54 demons hauling on a giant serpent, the Hindu story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.

   Tip: Climb onto the wall beside the gate and walk a little way along it for the best view back over the causeway.

   Angkor Pass needed
   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); APSARA National Authority (official)
7. 7Siem Reap

   Climb Phnom Bakheng for sunset over Angkor

   Phnom Bakheng was the state temple of Yasodharapura, the first city at Angkor, dedicated about 907 on a hill about 60 m high. Its five-tiered pyramid once carried 109 small sanctuaries, a number tied to Hindu cosmology. From the top you look out over the forest to Angkor Wat, about 1.5 km away, and to the Western Baray reservoir. At sunset the light turns Angkor Wat's towers gold, which makes the hill a favorite sunset spot. The temple is open 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and a visit takes about an hour.

   Tip: Go up well before sunset to find a place to sit, and note that children under 12 and pregnant visitors can't climb the pyramid.

   Angkor Pass needed
   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh); APSARA National Authority (official)
8. 8Siem Reap

   See the finest carvings at Banteay Srei

   Banteay Srei, about 25 km north-east of the main temples, was dedicated on 22 April 967 and is often called the jewel of Khmer art. Small in scale and built of pink sandstone, it was the only major temple at Angkor founded by a court dignitary rather than a king. Its carvings have no equal in other Khmer temples, and it was the first temple with pediments that tell stories, such as the demon Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa beneath Shiva. Two of its pediments are now in the National Museum in Phnom Penh and the Musee Guimet in Paris. A visit takes about an hour.

   Tip: It opens at 7:30 AM, so leave early and pair it with Beng Mealea or other outlying sites for a full day out.

   Angkor Pass needed
   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh); Angkor Enterprise (official Angkor ticket office)
9. 9Phnom Penh

   Meet Khmer sculpture at the National Museum

   The National Museum of Cambodia holds one of the world's great collections of Khmer art, with sculpture, ceramics and everyday objects from prehistory through the Angkor era and after. The building, designed by George Groslier after temples seen on ancient bas-reliefs, opened during Khmer New Year on 13 April 1920. It closed under the Khmer Rouge and reopened on 13 April 1979. Look for a carved pediment from Banteay Srei among the stone sculpture, and finish in the courtyard. It sits on Street 13 beside the Royal Palace and opens 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, with last tickets at 4:30 PM.

   Tip: Hire a guide at the entrance (tours run in Khmer, English, French and Japanese), and save your photos for the courtyard, since the galleries don't allow them.

   Foreign adults, 18 and over: $10 · Pay at the doorFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: National Museum of Cambodia; National Museum of Cambodia (official); APSARA National Authority (official)
10. 10Siem Reap

    Spend an evening at Phare, the Cambodian Circus

    Phare is a one-hour show of circus, theater, music and dance that runs every night at 8:00 PM, all year. The performers are students and graduates of Phare Ponleu Selpak, an arts school in Battambang founded in 1994 by nine young men returning from a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge years, and ticket money helps fund the school. From 5:30 PM the site fills with Cambodian street food, drinks and a boutique of students' art, and Phare Cafe serves dinner, from fish amok to beef kroeung, in its open-air seating. After the show, you can meet the performers.

    Tip: Book ahead if you want a reserved seat in Section A, or arrive early for the open seating in B and C, since some side spots have partly blocked views.

    Section C, adult: $18 · Section B, adult: $28 · Section A, adult: $38 · Book a seatFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 7, 2026

    Sources: Phare, The Cambodian Circus
11. 11Siem Reap

    Explore the overgrown halls of Preah Khan

    Preah Khan was built in 1191 by Jayavarman VII on the field where he defeated an invading Cham army, and he dedicated it to his father. Its first name, Jayasri, means holy city of victory. Inscriptions describe a huge institution of 97,840 attendants, including 1,000 dancers and 1,000 teachers, and it may have served as a university for monks and scholars. Like Ta Prohm, it has been left largely unrestored, with trees growing among long, flat galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary. It lies northeast of Angkor Thom; leave the walled city by its north gate.

    Tip: It opens at 7:00 AM and stays open until 6:30 PM, so it fits well at either end of a temple day.

    Angkor Pass needed
    Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh)
12. 12Siem Reap

    Walk the restored temple mountain of Baphuon

    Baphuon, just northwest of the Bayon inside Angkor Thom, was built around 1060 by Udayadityavarman II as a temple mountain for Shiva. Its sandy foundation made it unstable, and in the late 15th century a reclining Buddha 9 m tall and 70 m long was built into its west side. Restorers took it apart in the 1960s and numbered 300,000 stones, but the war stopped work and the records were lost. A second team later rebuilt what was called the world's largest three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, finished in 2011. Reliefs show scenes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the life of Krishna.

    Tip: Walk around to the west side to pick out the reclining Buddha in the stonework, and note that children under 12 and pregnant visitors can't climb to the top.

    Angkor Pass needed
    Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: APSARA National Authority (official); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh)
13. 13Siem Reap

    Take a sunset boat on the Tonle Sap from Chong Kneas

    The Tonle Sap is a great freshwater lake that swells and shrinks with the seasons, joined to the Mekong by the 120 km Tonle Sap River. Chong Kneas, 11.4 km from Siem Reap, about 25 minutes by tuk-tuk or taxi on Route 63, has the official boat counter for getting out on it. Boats leave from the official counter in Village 6, with small boats for up to 8 people and bigger ones for groups. The light is best late in the day, and the ticket office suggests leaving between 4:30 and 5:15 PM for a sunset cruise.

    Tip: Buy your boat ticket at the Chong Kneas counter, since it isn't sold online, and aim to leave between 4:30 and 5:15 PM.

    Small boat for 1 to 5 people, total: $28 · Boat tickets at the counter onlyFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 7, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh); Angkor Enterprise (official Angkor ticket office)
14. 14Phnom Penh

    Stroll Sisowath Quay where two rivers meet

    Sisowath Quay is Phnom Penh's riverside promenade, facing the point where the Tonle Sap River meets the Mekong. It is the city's easiest walk, busy with street vendors, local life and visitors, and it links several sights: the riverside Royal Palace and the National Museum are its neighbors, and the 1937 Art Deco Central Market is nearby. The Tonle Sap River here is the same 120 km river that links the great lake near Siem Reap with the Mekong, so a sunset walk ties the two cities together.

    Tip: Keep your phone and bag on the side away from the road, since snatch thefts from passing motorbikes happen on the riverfront.

    Free to visit
    Sources: FCC Collection; Phnom Penh Capital Hall (phnompenh.gov.kh); Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, Economic Diplomacy (republishing The Culture Trip); Angkor Enterprise (official Angkor ticket office); Government of Canada; Smartraveller (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)
15. 15Siem Reap

    Learn the Angkor story at the Angkor National Museum

    The Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap tells the story of the Khmer empire in eight galleries, in order: Khmer civilization, religion and beliefs, the great Khmer kings, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, stories carved in stone and ancient dress. A separate gallery holds 1,000 Buddha images. Multimedia displays explain the history for visitors with no background at all, which makes it a good primer before the temples. It is on Vithei Preah Sihanouk Avenue, open from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM from April to September and to 6:30 PM from October to March.

    Tip: Rent an audio guide (ten languages) and visit before your first temple day, or in the midday heat.

    $[fee]; audio guides at the ticket boothKnow the fee?
    Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: Angkor National Museum; Angkor National Museum (official)
16. 16Siem Reap

    Eat fish amok in Siem Reap's French Quarter

    Fish amok is Cambodia's best-known dish: fish marinated in coconut milk and kroeung, a fresh curry paste, then steamed in a banana leaf. FCC Angkor has served it in Siem Reap's French Quarter since 2003, in The Mansion, with French colonial decor, high ceilings, cooling fans and a veranda, alongside other Khmer classics such as beef lok lak and crying tiger. It opens daily from 6:30 AM to 11:00 PM, so it works for breakfast before a temple morning or for dinner, and the garden bar, Scribe, opens at noon.

    Tip: Book a table for dinner on the veranda or come for breakfast before a temple morning, since it opens at 6:30 AM.

    Pay as you go
    Sources: FCC Collection; Phare, The Cambodian Circus
17. 17Siem Reap

    Watch carvers and silk weavers at Artisans Angkor

    Artisans Angkor has spent over 25 years reviving Khmer crafts and has trained nearly a thousand artisans. At its craft centre on Stung Thmey Street, in central Siem Reap, you walk through workshops where artisans carve stone and wood, work silver and lacquer, and weave silk, and some of them also restore Angkorian carvings. Guided tours run daily from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM. For the full silk story, its silk farm on National Road 6 in Puok shows mulberry trees, silkworms and weaving, a craft that had almost disappeared before its revival in the 1990s.

    Tip: Combine the silk farm in Puok, whose tours run daily from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, with a morning or afternoon at the temples.

    Guided tours daily
    Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: Artisans Angkor (artisansangkor.com); Artisans Angkor (official); Artisans Angkor (official); Artisans Angkor (artisansangkor.com)
18. 18Siem Reap

    Scramble through the jungle ruins of Beng Mealea

    Beng Mealea, the Lotus Pond, is a large, mostly ruined temple about 40 km east of the main Angkor temples, on the old royal road to Preah Khan of Kompong Svay. It is thought to date from the reign of Suryavarman II, who built Angkor Wat, and shares its style. Big trees now grow over and through the walls, and the site is largely uncleared, so exploring means climbing over fallen blocks to find carvings of apsaras and nagas. It needs its own ticket, separate from the Angkor Pass, and pairs well with Banteay Srei or Kbal Spean for a long day out.

    Tip: Hire a guide, as the ticket office recommends, since some paths are hard to walk, and plan the trip in daylight.

    Search tickets and tours on KlookSources: Angkor Enterprise (official Angkor ticket office); Angkor Enterprise (angkorenterprise.gov.kh); Angkor Enterprise (official Angkor ticket office)

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