Ta Prohm

Cambodia

　　The so-called 'Tomb Raider Temple', Ta Prohm is cloaked in dappled shadow, its crumbling towers and walls locked in the slow muscular embrace of vast root systems. Undoubtedly the most atmospheric ruin at Angkor, Ta Prohm should be high on the hit list of every visitor. Its appeal lies in...

Angkor Wat

Cambodia

　　The traveller's first glimpse of Angkor Wat, the ultimate expression of Khmer genius, is matched by only a few select spots on earth. Built by Suryavarman II (r 1112–52) and surrounded by a vast moat, Angkor Wat is one of the most inspired monuments ever conceived by the human mind....

Banteay Chhmar

Cambodia

　　Beautiful, peaceful and covered in astonishingly intricate bas-reliefs, Banteay Chhmar is one of the most impressive temple complexes beyond the Angkor area. About a two-hour drive from Siem Reap, these remote ruins are also the site of a superb community-based homestay and tourism program. If you're looking for an opportunity...

Beng Mealea

Cambodia

　　A spectacular sight to behold, Beng Mealea, located about 68km northeast of Siem Reap, is one of the most mysterious temples at Angkor, as nature has well and truly run riot. Exploring this Titanic of temples, built to the same floor plan as Angkor Wat, is the ultimate Indiana Jones...

Banteay Srei

Cambodia

　　Considered by many to be the jewel in the crown of Angkorian art, Banteay Srei is cut from stone of a pinkish hue and includes some of the finest stone carving anywhere on earth. Begun in 967 CE, it is one of the smallest sites at Angkor, but what it...

Bayon

Cambodia

　　At the heart of Angkor Thom is the 12th-century Bayon, the mesmerising, if slightly mind-bending, state temple of Jayavarman VII. It epitomises the creative genius and inflated ego of Cambodia’s most celebrated king. Its 54 Gothic towers are decorated with 216 gargantuan smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara, and it is adorned...

Coconut Beach

Kep

　　This 'beach' has dining platforms and food shacks, but not really any sand as such. It begins a few hundred metres southeast of Kep Beach, just past the town's famous giant crab statue. ...

Wat Samathi

Kep

　　Sitting atop a hill overlooking Kep, this tranquil wat has gorgeous views over the coast. You can take the off-shooting 'Samathi Path' from the main Kep National Park trail to get here. ...

Kep Butterfly Garden

Kep

　　This small and beautifully kept flower-filled garden is home to myriad butterflies. You can cycle or motorbike here – drive about 300m past the Rabbit Island pier, turn left at the Total station and keep going straight. There's also a hard-to-find connection path that links to the main trail in...

Kep Beach

Kep

　　This is Kep's only proper beach, although it wasn't always that way. In the prewar period, powder-white sand was trucked in from other beaches. This practice resumed in 2013 and these days the beach is looking bigger and better than ever. It's immensely popular with locals, who descend here by...

Wat Kiri Sela

Kep

　　This Buddhist temple sits at the foot of Phnom Kompong Trach, a dramatic karst formation riddled with more than 100 caverns and passageways. From the wat, an underground passage leads to a fishbowl-like formation, surrounded by vine-draped cliffs and open to the sky. Various stalactite-laden caves shelter reclining Buddhas and...

Koh Tonsay

Kep

　　If you like the rustic beachcomber lifestyle, Koh Tonsay's 250m-long main beach is for you. This is a place to while away hours or days doing little but lazing on the beach, napping, reading, sipping cocktails, eating seafood and stargazing before retiring to your threadbare bungalow and drifting off to...

Kep National Park

Kep

　　The interior of Kep peninsula is occupied by Kep National Park, where an 8km circuit, navigable by foot, mountain bike, or motorbike, begins behind Veranda Natural Resort. Led Zep Cafe is responsible for the quirky yellow signs that point the way to various viewpoints, sights and trailheads. The cafe, if...

Sothy's Pepper Farm

Kep

　　One of the friendliest farms to visit, Sothy is passionate about his product and will gladly elaborate on the history and process behind the 'champagne of pepper'. Short tours are free and there's a wonderful gift shop on the premises if you want to bring a few packs of the...

Old Market

Kampot

　　Kampot's Old Market building, with its art-deco-style concrete facade, was constructed during the 1930s. Various shops, travel agencies and cafes rim both sides of the building. ...

Old French Bridge

Kampot

　　Destroyed during the Khmer Rouge period, Kampot's old French bridge was later repaired in a mishmash of styles. It is now open to motorbikes and pedestrian traffic after being closed for years. ...

Tek Chhouu Rapids

Kampot

　　Popular with locals, these modest rapids at the end of Tek Chhouu Rd northwest of Kampot are surrounded by food stalls and picnicking platforms. A tuk tuk here from Kampot costs around US$5. There's also a spa on the water called Tada Bokor, and it is said (by the owner)...

Phnom Sorsia

Kampot

　　Phnom Sorsia is home to several natural caves. From the parking area, a stairway leads up the hillside to a gaudy modern temple. From there, steps lead left up to Rung Damrey Saa (White Elephant Cave). A slippery, sloping staircase (where one false step will send you into the abyss)...

Kampot Traditional Music School

Kampot

　　During set hours, visitors are welcome to observe traditional music and dance training sessions and/or performances at this school that teaches children who are orphaned or have disabilities. Donations are very welcome. Photos are discouraged. ...

Kampot Provincial Museum

Kampot

　　This tiny museum, inside the finely preserved French colonial-era Old Governor's Mansion, traces the history of Kampot and the outlying area. The artefacts, photos and text (in Khmer, French and English) are informative and neatly displayed, including a series of oversized panels explaining the province's historic milestones. Rotating exhibits might...

La Plantation

Kampot

　　This sprawling organic pepper farm offers free guided walks in French, English and Khmer, explaining how several varieties of pepper are grown, harvested and processed. The farm also grows fruits, chillis, herbs and peanuts, and there's a restaurant and shop where you can buy pepper at steep prices. (The money...

Phnom Chhnork

Kampot

　　Phnom Chhnork is a short walk through a quilt of rice paddies from Wat Ang Sdok, where a monk collects the entry fee and a gaggle of friendly local kids offers their services as guides. From the bottom, a 203-step staircase leads up the hillside and down into a cavern...

Governor's Residence

Battambang

　　The two-storey Governor's Residence, with its balconies and wooden shutters, is a handsome legacy of the early 1900s. The interior is now open to the public and has a collection of grand old furnishings, old photographs and traditional costumes inside. It was designed by an Italian architect for the last...

Cambodia Peace Gallery

Battambang

　　This small museum tells the big story of Cambodia's long journey from war to peace. Exhibits are well presented in a series of buildings in the spacious compound, including some original stained-glass windows showing different aspects of Cambodia's recent history. Other sections include some context on landmines in Cambodia and...

Khor Sang House

Battambang

　　Khor Sang House is one of a clutch of surviving traditional Khmer houses in Wat Kor village, with floors worn lustrous by a century of bare feet. Decorated with old furniture, family photos and old school certificates, the house was built in 1907 by the French-speaking owner’s grandfather, who served...

Mrs Bun Roeung's Ancient House

Battambang

　　Built of now-rare hardwoods almost a century ago and surrounded by an orchard garden, Mrs Bun Roeung's Ancient House has a wide verandah and exudes the ambience of another era. The house is open to visitors and the owner can give you a short tour in French or English. 　　The...

Battambang Museum

Battambang

　　This petite provincial museum has been given a full makeover thanks to the generous support of Friends of Khmer Culture (FOKC; www.khmerculture.net) and now has state-of-the-art lighting and detailed signage in English and Khmer. There are some beautiful Angkorian lintels and elegant statuary from all over Battambang Province, including pieces...

Wat Somrong Knong

Battambang

　　About 4km north of Battambang, Wat Somrong Knong was built in the 19th century on the site of a pre-Angkorian temple complex. The Khmer Rouge used the temple grounds as a prison, and it's believed that around 10,000 people were executed here. The complex today houses the gorgeous main pagoda...

Wat Kor Village

Battambang

　　About 2km south of central Battambang, the village of Wat Kor is centred around the temple of the same name. It's a great place to wander, especially late in the afternoon when the opposite (east) bank of the Sangker River is bathed in amber tones by the sinking sun. Picturesque...

Romcheik 5 Artspace

Battambang

　　Expanded from a workshop into a bona fide gallery in 2015, this impressive space has a permanent collection upstairs displaying the edgy, contemporary works of its four founders, who in their youth were expelled from Thailand and forced to work as child labourers, before being rescued by an NGO and...

Otres 1 Beach

Sihanoukville

　　Otres 1 is the first stretch of sand along Otres Beach. It's changing fast as Chinese companies take over from predominantly Western-owned businesses and either run them as is or build gaudy new establishments. A few Western holdouts remain and the beach is still lovely if you have a day...

Kbal Chhay Cascades

Sihanoukville

　　Thanks to their appearance in Pous Keng Kong (The Giant Snake; 2000), one of the most successful Cambodian films of the post-civil-war era, these cascades on the Prek Toeuk Sap River draw numerous domestic tourists. Hence all the picnicking platforms, drink stands and food stalls. Not much water flows here...

Wat Leu

Sihanoukville

　　Spectacular views of almost every casino (finished and unfinished) in Sihanoukville and gorgeous sunset panoramas await at Wat Leu, situated on a peaceful, forested hilltop 1.5km northwest of the city centre. ...

Independence Beach

Sihanoukville

　　Northwest of Sokha Beach, much of Independence Beach (also known as 7-Chann Beach) has been taken over by a gargantuan new property development, but a 500m swath is open to the public and features about a dozen restaurants and bars. ...

Ochheuteal Beach

Sihanoukville

　　This 4km-long beach qualifies as Sihanoukville’s main beach, but it's no place to swim these days as the rapid development of high-rise casinos along its length has had drastic consequences on the water quality (which was questionable at the best of times). The laid-back bars and barbecue shacks that once...

Lamherkay Beach

Sihanoukville

　　About 1.5km southwest of Victory Beach, next to a shady grove, is Lamherkay Beach, also known as Hawaii Beach. Koh Pos (Snake Island), the island 800m offshore, has been leased by Russians with big resort plans, which explains the flashy new bridge linking it with the mainland. It’s currently a...

Otres Beach

Sihanoukville

　　Past the southern end of Ochheuteal Beach, beyond the Phnom Som Nak Sdach (Hill of the King’s Palace) headland, lies stunning Otres Beach, a seemingly infinite strip of casuarinas and blinding white sand. In Sihanoukville's glory days it could give southern Thailand a run for its money, but in recent...

Sokha Beach

Sihanoukville

　　Midway between Independence and Serendipity Beaches lies Sihanoukville’s prettiest stretch of sand, 1.5km-long Sokha Beach. Its fine, silicon-like sand squeaks loudly underfoot. The tiny eastern end of Sokha Beach is open to the public and is rarely crowded. The rest is part of the exclusive Sokha Beach Resort. ...

Factory Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh

　　This 3.4-hectare Levi's garment factory, 2km south of town, was completely transformed in 2018 into a graffiti-covered hub for entrepreneurs, artists and creative thinkers. On a ride through the sprawling campus (there are 50 free-to-use bikes) you'll encounter four art galleries, most run by Kbach Arts, as well as a...

Kbach Arts

Phnom Penh

　　Cambodia finally got a sizable contemporary arts space in 2019, when Kbach moved into three galleries covering 400 sq metres of Factory Phnom Penh. The mission is to provide a platform for young Khmer artists to showcase their work, while also inviting resident artists from abroad to serve as mentors....

Psar Thmei

Phnom Penh

　　A landmark building in the capital, the art deco Psar Thmei (literally 'New Market') is often called the Central Market, a reference to its location and size. The huge domed hall resembles a Babylonian ziggurat and some claim it ranks as one of the 10 largest domes in the world....

Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Phnom Penh

　　Between 1975 and 1978, about 20,000 men, women, children and infants who had been detained and tortured at S-21 prison were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek. It is a peaceful place today, where visitors can learn of the horrors that unfolded here decades ago. Admission includes an...

Royal Palace

Phnom Penh

　　With its classic Khmer roofs and ornate gilding, the Royal Palace once dominated the skyline of Phnom Penh. It's a striking structure near the riverfront, bearing a remarkable likeness to its counterpart in Bangkok. Being the official residence of King Sihamoni, parts of the massive palace compound are closed to...

Silver Pagoda

Phnom Penh

　　Within the Royal Palace compound is this extravagant temple, also known as Wat Preah Keo or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Silver Pagoda is so named for its floor, which is covered with 5 tonnes of gleaming silver. You can sneak a peek at some of the 5000 tiles...

National Museum of Cambodia

Phnom Penh

　　The National Museum of Cambodia is home to the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture: a millennium’s worth and more of masterful Khmer design. It's housed in a graceful terracotta structure of traditional design (built from 1917 to 1920) with an inviting courtyard garden, just north of the Royal Palace....