17-Day Authentic Cambodia

Day-1 / Arrive in Phnom Penh

Welcome to Cambodia. Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, sits at the junction of the Mekong and Tonlé Sap rivers. It was a hub for both the Khmer Empire and French colonialists.

A driver will greet you and be ready to take you on a private car from the airport to your accommodation in Phnom Penh. Then you’ll have the rest of the day to spend as you’d like. If you ever need a ride, your driver and his car are always ready for you.

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Day-2 / Travel to Kratie

About 8:00am, after breakfast we hit the road to the bustling provincial city of Kampong Cham. Along the way, there is the chance to pause at Skuon, affectionately called Spiderville Cambodia, the popular place for Cambodian and foreign travelers where it is possible to taste the local delicacy of fried tarantulas and other fried insects. However, if you don’t want to taste spider, cricket, scorpion, grasshopper or other insects, this is also a good place to take pictures.

You arrive in Kratie and check in the hotel. After a lunch break, the highlight of our day is a visit to one of the many deep pools where the rare river dolphins gather to feed. We board a local boat and head out onto the mighty Mekong to have a chance encounter with these gentle mammals, viewing is guaranteed. After enjoying an hour or more of dolphin viewing, we travel back to Kratie.

Overnight in Kratie

Day-3 / Travel to Banlung, Ratanakiri

Option A, In the morning, we learn about local lifestyles of the Kratie as well as their local productions. We walk through the central Market of Kratie where you will see the local trades and see some of the old colonial building which remains from the French colony. Visit Wat Rokakandal which has a very unique wooden carving about 300 years of age and visit a mushroom farm.

Option B, Cycling on Rural Island, Koh Trong is a beautiful and peaceful 8 km long sand island that emerges in the middle of the Mekong River, across from the Kratie Town’s riverfront. The island is perfect for cycling as a generally smooth path winds around the entire island. Accessible in 15 minutes by ferry from the city, it is a village island to see the traditional houses built on stilts and the famous pomelo and other seasonal fruits. You can rent bicycle on the island or take a walk in the village to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the rural landscape with friendly locals to learn about their traditional way of life. The people are friendly and the majority of residents here reside in the main village, with farming and fishing being their main income, while others live in floating houses and earn their living from the water of the Mekong.

In the afternoon, we travel to Banlung town of Ratanakiri province. The journey takes around 4h30. Then you will have the rest of the day to spend as you wish.

Overnight in Banlung, Ratanakiri

Day-4 / Banlung Sightseeing Tour

After having a nice breakfast, we visit three waterfalls, Kachanh Waterfall, Katieng Waterfall, Cha Ong Waterfall.

Kachanh Waterfall is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Ratanakiri province. It is a very pleasant place not to be missed during your stay in this province. Kachanh Waterfall is a 12m natural waterfall located in the rainforest and surrounded by a mixture of large and small trees. Follow the steps to the water’s edge, stroll across the wooden bridge and admire the cascading water before taking a dip in the deep pool.

Katieng Waterfall is a classic Ratanakiri favourite. The upper pool of water cascades over a rock platform into a large pool below. Admire views of the forest from the top or descend the wooden stairs for a dip at the bottom. The water cools and the large rock wall allows you to sit behind the waterfall that flows from the top. Katieng Waterfall is managed by the local indigenous community.

Cha Ong Waterfall located in the forest of Cha Ong village and named after the Kreung hill tribe living nearby. From its upper level, water flows through a small channel before descending 25 meters to a lower level. A mountain slope leads you to the base of the waterfall, where they can sit in a cave and enjoy the view. Cha Ong Waterfall is very amazing and looks like a jungle, surrounded by such beautiful nature and covered with a mountain of rocks. It is excellent for photography because of the magnificent surrounding nature and the beautiful view behind the water.

We then travel to Borkeo district, 29 km from the city, to the mining center of Gem where locals work daily digging a large pit in the ground and then digging a horizontal tunnel in search of amethyst and zircon.

In the afternoon, we visit the Country unique volcanic lake and enjoy the refreshing waters of the beautiful Yeak Loam Volcanic Crater Lake, located a short distance outside of town in an area of ​​lush jungle.

Overnight in Banlung, Ratanakiri

Day-5 / Travel to Sra Eam, Preah Vihear

We leave Banlung after breakfast and head southwest towards O’Pongmorn, the junction between Kratie and Stung Treng provinces. We turn north towards Stung Treng province and cross the river via the Mekong Bridge to Thala Barivat and continue towards Sra Eam passing through the provincial town of Preah Vihear. After check in the hotel and have some lunch, we drive 30 minutes to Preah Vihear temple. The magnificent mountain temple of Preah Vihear, straddling the border with Thailand. We see Cambodia’s most spectacular mountain temple as it was built in the 11th century during the Khmer Empire. The winding road up the mountain is very steep in places and eventually we come to the second enclosure of this king of mountain temples. We take a local pickup truck and then explore the temple on foot and continue to the final level, clinging to a cliff in the Dangrek Mountains, towering hundreds of meters above the Cambodian lowlands below. The views from these most mountainous temple mountains are breathtaking, with the foundation stones of the temple stretching to the edge of the cliff as it plunges precipitously into the plains of the province of Preah Vihear below.

Overnight in Sra Eam, Preah Vihear

Day-6 / Travel to Siem Reap

We leave after breakfast, travel through the bush to the remote capital of Angkor, Koh Ker. Today, you will visit Koh Ker is the proud owner of some ancient temples in Cambodia, Prasat Pram is covered in strangler figs, and other temples in the group. Koh Ker built in the 10th century by Jayavarman IV, was the Capital of the Khmer Empire for a very brief period from the year 928 to 944. We visit Prasat Thom, a seven-storey step pyramid which offers stunning views of the surrounding forest. There are many more temples in the area, including Prasat Pram, the fantastic temple with trees growing on it, the five towers of Prasat Ling, each enclosing a giant linga or fertility symbol, the largest and best found in situ in Cambodia.

After lunch, we then continue the journey towards Beng Mealea. The temple is just 65 km northeast of Siem Reap town, you will explore the lost temple of Beng Mealea, the titanic of temples, a sleeping giant lost for centuries in the forests of Cambodia. It is the most accessible of Angkor’s lost temples, a mirror image of Angkor Wat, but completely consumed by nature’s voracious appetite. Built in1113-1150, the forest has gone wild here and it’s hard to get a sense of the monument’s shape amid the intimidating ruins.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Day-7 / Siem Reap, The Great City of Angkor Thom – Grand Circuit Temples & Sunset

In the morning we head to Angkor Thom, first the ancient city of Angkor Thom. It was the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII. This city is surrounded by an 8 m high wall drawing a perfect square. You will enter the city from the ancient South Gate, an impressive stone gate carved with Elephants and four giant faces. And our highlight is the enigmatic and enchanting Temple of Bayon. The 54 towers are each crowned with the four faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion), which bear more than a passing resemblance to the king himself – Visit Baphuon, one of Angkor’s most beautiful temples from the 11th century. It was extensively renovated by the French and is now open to the public again – continue along the Terrace of Elephants – visit at the Terrace of the Leper King.

Preah Khan temple, a ruined but highly atmospheric mélange of tree roots and crumbling stone structures. Construction of this site was commissioned by the great ‘temple builder’ Jayavaraman VII (in honour of his father) and a visit to this smaller site makes for an interesting contrast with the more imposing Angkor Wat – Neak Pean temples, an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on a circular island in Jayatataka Baray and other beautiful temples outside the Great City of Angkor, Ta Som temple, East Mebon temple, Pre Rup temple, Banteay Kdei, a Buddhist monastery from the late 12th Century, and Srah Srang, also known as the “pool of ablutions and spend your evening watching sunset from Phnom Bakheng Hilltop.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Day-8 / Siem Reap, Sunrise Angkor Wat – Jungle Temple – Small Group Temples

Today we will meet in the hotel lobby at 4:45am and travel to see Angkor Wat at Sunrise, the temple is considered the largest religious building in the world and is truly one of the wonders of the world. Believed to have been built as a temple and mausoleum for King Suryavarman II during the height of the Khmer Empire in the first half of the 12th century, Angkor Wat is the best preserved of the Angkorian temples. The central monument represents the mythical Mount Meru, the sacred mountain at the center of the universe, which was home to the Hindu god Vishnu

Ta Prohm is unique in that it is overgrown by jungle trees and vines, with many parts of the temple crumbling to the ground. This makes the ‘Tomb Raider Temple’ one of the most picturesque and memorable of the Angkor temples – Giant Pyramid of Takeo, one of the highest temples in the Angkor area – Take a short jungle trek to Ta Nei, a temple hidden in the forest, which has been left in its original state and is partly overgrown with trees – Then we continue to Chau Say Tevoda, Thommanon, Victory Gate of Angkor Thom.

Note: We can return to the hotel for breakfast and have some rest before exploring other temples.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Day-9 / Siem Reap, Banteay Srei – Roluos Group – Floating Village

Today after your breakfast, we will meet and greet you in the hotel lobby and head straight to Banteay Srei, Angkor’s ultimate art gallery. This petite pink temple is the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. The elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia and the name translates as Fortress of the Women. The intricate detail here, considered too fine for the men’s hands.

We then travel back in time to one of the earliest capitals in the Angkor region, Hariharilaya, now known as Roluos – visit the brick temple of Lolei, which originally stood on an island in the centre of the Baray (reservoir) – Preah Ko (sacred cow), named after Shiva’s mount Nandin – Bakong, the oldest temple mountain, which later became the symbol of the Khmer kings. It is a huge pyramid whose cardinal points are marked by huge elephants.

Explore the typical Khmer village of Kampong Khleang/Kampong Phluk, see an incredible, so different way of life in the largest freshwater lake Tonle Sap in Southeast Asia. On the wooden boat trip, get a fascinating insight into local life as you explore the stilt houses and lifestyle and drive through the flooded mangrove forest. That’s the amazing thing about this village and definitely one of the aspects of a Cambodia trip.

Overnight in Siem Reap

Day-10 / Travel to Battambang, visit Senteurs d’Angkor & Banteay Chhmar

We start the trip from Siem Reap after breakfast and make a first stop at Senteurs d’Angkor, Handicraft – Botanical Garden – Natural Products. The wonderful culinary and olfactory heritage of Cambodia, has inspired the Senteurs d’Angkor range of products. Founded in 1999, Senteurs d’Angkor has succeeded in relying on local resources to develop an original and local craft industry of high quality, maintaining working conditions that are respectful to people. Thus, our staff have good terms of employment and social protection. Senteurs d’Angkor got involved for equal opportunities and women’s rights.

We then continue the journey northwest from Siem Reap towards the trading town of Svay Sisophon and turn to the impressive jungle temple of Banteay Chhmar. Located in Banteay Meanchey province and about 20 km east of the Thai border, the temples were built during the reign of Jayavarman VII in the late 12th or early 13th century. Upon arrival we view the magnificent sculptures of Lokesvara with 32 arms, called by the Khmer “lok sam-pee” or “Mr. 32”, as well as the magnificent dancers’ hall. One of the shrines in the temple once contained an image of Srindrakumara rajaputra (the crown prince), probably a son of Jayavarman VII.

You will arrive at the hotel in the late afternoon for check-in and then you will have the rest of the day to spend as you wish.

Overnight in Battambang

Day-11 / Battambang Tour & Lifestyle

Your beautiful day starts after breakfast and we look the French colonial buildings in the heart of Battambang town. Battambang is home to some of Indochina’s best preserved colonial era architecture.

Experience the bamboo train ride along the rail tracks offering great views of the surrounding countryside. It is first appearance in the early 1980s inspired by the small railway vehicles used by railway workers to carry out repairs. We then visit Hilltop temple of Wat Banan, the mountaintop temple from the Angkor era is the best preserved of the Khmer temples in Battambang – Phsar Prahok or Stinky Market, it is an interesting place where they make Fish Prahok, the traditional Khmer cuisine and its ingredients. This place has been selling prahok since the 1990s as it is located near a river which hosts various types of fish.

After lunch break, we then drive to Phnom Sampeau, a sacred mountain dotted with interesting pagodas and stupas. There is also a moving memorial to the victims of the Khmer Rouge who were thrown into one of the many caves that dot this sacred mountain. After visiting this view on the hill and later you will see the most spectacular 7 million bats flying out of the cave. Wrinkle-lipped bats fly up to 50 km from their roosts each night to hunt insects. Bats eat 50-100% of their own weight every night before returning home. We then travel back to Battambang town for the night.

Overnight in Battambang

Day-12 / Travel to Kampong Chhnang

After having breakfast and check out the hotel, we discover Doun Teav village to learn how family makes hand-made rice paper for fresh and deep-fried spring rolls. Known for its great quality rice paper for fresh and deep-fried spring rolls, the village of Doun Teav Village is Battambang’s only area that produces rice paper dating back for almost 100 years. This village is home to many families who have perfected the making of rice paper and have taken it as a family business.

We head to the ruins of Ek Phnom, it was built during the Bayon period 11th-century in year of 1027 in reign of king Suryavarman I (1002 – 1050) in the Angkor period in order to dedicate for the deities in Hinduism.

We will have lunch in Pursat province and we continue to Kampong Luong, a large floating village community on the Tonle Sap. Visit the waterfront lifestyle as well as homes, schools and shops. The floating buildings include gas stations, medical clinics and even a Catholic church.

You will arrive at the hotel in the late afternoon for check-in and then you will have the rest of the day to spend as you wish.

Overnight in Kampong Chhnang

Day-13 / Travel to Kep/Kampot

Kampong Chhnang province often referred to as the “Pottery Capital of Cambodia” has a long history of producing exquisite pottery that showcases the craftsmanship and creativity of the local artisans.

After breakfast, we visit a pottery village of Andong Russey where the rich area with red clay over Phnom Krang Dei Meas Mountain. From one generation to the next, residents have followed the tradition of their ancestors by making pottery in the traditional way under each stilt house. Jars, vases, incense burners, piggy banks, traditional stoves and pots can all be found in front of almost every home.

These red clay ceramics not only provide a trade for many villages, but they have also created a special identity for the people of Kampong Chhnang.

We travel to Kep/Kampot after spending some time to visit this village. The journey takes around 4h30. After check in the hotel, then you will have the rest of the day to spend as you wish.

Overnight in Kep/Kampot

Day-14 / Kampot, Pepper Plantation – Unique Cave Temple & Sea Mangrove Forest

After breakfast at your hotel, our day begins with a tour of the countryside, but if you enjoy looking at buildings, in Kampot it is possible to find a generous amount of French colonial architecture.

We then go to one of the very famous pepper plantations. The Kampot Pepper plantation which is grown in Cambodia for centuries. Kampot’s pepper is considered among the world’s finest by chiefs.

We then visit a 7th-century brick temple in the cave of Phnom Chhnork, the only cave temple in Cambodia, is a real must-see. Built in the Funan style, this complex hidden in a cave has a history of more than 1,300 years.

Visit Trapeang Sangkae Mangrove Forest by local boat. It’s huge with a network of pedestrian walkways from one side to the other. Once you reach the end, the boat ride back reveals a holistic view of the green forest. A very pleasant and enjoyable experience to visit this place. On the way back, visit Kampot salt field (December-April), the only salt field in Cambodia.

Overnight in Kep/Kampot

Day-15 / Kep Crab Market & Rabbit Island or Bokor National Park

This morning, we visit Kep Crab markets, where crabs are kept fresh in pots that float in the Gulf of Thailand’s warm waters. You can walk along the Kep beach and explore the old oceanfront buildings as Kep was once Cambodia’s most popular and prestigious beach town, but the Khmer Rouge destroyed many of Kep’s mansions and villas. The ghostly remains now stand as a silent reminder.

Option A, we then head to the pier to board a local boat for the journey to the peaceful island of Koh Tonsay or Rabbit Island. We cross calm waters to this lovely palm-fringed island, home to a small community of fishermen and farmers. You can spend time enjoying the wonderful white sand beaches and delicious fresh seafood lunch. You will return to Kep by boat in the afternoon before 4 p.m.

Option B, explore Bokor Hill station, this site is located on a plateau more than 1,000 meters above sea level, filled with steaming jungle, some wildlife and abandoned buildings such as a church, casino, French style hotel. The site’s specific climate, often shrouded in fog and clouds, completes the mysterious atmosphere. On the way from Sihanoukville, the journey goes passing some very picturesque fishing villages which make for good photo opportunities.

Overnight in Kep/Kampot

Day-16 / Travel to Phnom Penh, City Tour

After your wonderful breakfast, we travel to Phnom Penh and make a stop on the way to visit the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek, these sites are testament to Phnom Penh’s tragic modern history and the insanity of the Pol Pot era.

We then continue to Tuol Sleng genocide Museum – a mass gravesite and a former high school converted to a detention and torture center by the Khmers Rouges when they came to power in 1975.

If time allows, we visit Wat Phnom is the unique hillock in the city, is crowned by at active Buddhist Wat and marks the legendary founding place of Phnom Penh. In the evening, you’ll find boats that take you on an hour cruise to the other side of the river bank and back. Whether you’re gazing at the sunset or twinkling city lights, it’s a lovely way to wind down and reflect on your day.

After check in the hotel, then you will have the rest of the day to spend as you wish.

Overnight in Phnom Penh

Day-17 / Phnom Penh City Tour & International Airport Departure

Today is your last day in Cambodia. After breakfast, we start our tour and visit some of Phnom Penh’s important sights, landmarks and attractions. Visit the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, it is the official residence of the King of Cambodia and it’s where you can see some very beautiful wall paintings, charming building with lots of different decorations and colorful and there are such many beautiful plants. We visit Russian Market, a noteworthy street market in Phnom Penh. This is the interesting market in town, stalls selling wooden handicrafts, antiquities, miniature Buddhas, fruits and veggies, jewelry, etc.

We continue to the National Museum, it is the most important repository of Khmer artifacts in the country. Over 5000 objects are on display including Angkorian era statues, lingas and other artifacts, most notably the legendary statue of the ‘Leper King’ in Siem Reap and an enormous 11th century bronze Vishnu. Here is also a good collection of pieces from later periods, including an exhibition of post-Angkorian Buddha figures.  We then see Central Market, built during the French Colonial rule, the bright yellow building completed in 1937 has a 26-metre-high central dome, with four tall arch-roofed arms branching out diagonally across the block, creating vast hallways housing countless stalls and a variety of goods. When it first opened in 1937, it was said to be the biggest market in Asia.

In the evening, you’ll be picked up to transfer to Phnom Penh International Airport by your driver, where you’ll catch your flight to your onward destination.

Have a good flight! See you again on our next trip!