Private Tour: HERO Rats & Angkor National Museum - A Half-Day Museums Visit in Cambodian Countryside
4.6
8 Ratings
Siem Reap

Spend a half-day touring nearby museums under the guidance of an expert. Witness the ‘Hero Rats’ in their mission to clear the Cambodian landscapes of mines, explore the Siem Reap killing grounds and visit the Angkor National Museum.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Wat Thmey (Killing Fields) - Your day starts with a pick up at 8am or 13pm by your driver and experienced guide. Visit Wat Thmei, one of the killing field memorials, a small memorial stupa which contains the skulls and bones of victims killed during the regime of the Khmer Rouge during 1975
  • APOPO Visitor Center - We continue the tour at Apopo Visitor Center to learn about the history of conflict in Cambodia and the impact the region’s landmines has on the local communities. In place to make a difference are what’s known as the “Hero Rats”. Used because of their light weight, the rats have been trained to sniff buried landmines, a huge help in de-mining the region. Watch the rats in action at the helm of their trainers. (This experience is closed on weekends and public holidays and will be replaced by War Museum.)
  • Angkor National Museum - The day ends with a visit to the Angkor National Museum, an archaeological museum dedicated the collection, preservation and presentation of Angkorian artifacts. The collections are mainly dated from Khmer Empire’s Angkor period circa 9th to 14th centuries, with most of the artifacts discovered in and around the Angkor archaeological sites nearby.
What's Included
  • Bottles of water per guest
  • Air-conditioned private car
  • English speaking tour guide
  • Admissions
What's Not Included
  • Meal
  • Other drinks & refreshments not stated
  • Personal expenditure
  • Tips
  • Travel insurance
Additional Information
  • There are two options of your choice that the tour can start in the morning at 08:00am or in the afternoon at 01:00 pm
  • Please kindly note: Angkor National Museum is currently closed, therefore, the itinerary may be amended.
Location
Wat Thmey (Killing Fields)
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(8 Ratings)
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Davidthepiratechef
Jan 20, 2024
Amazing rats and ancient artifacts - The hero rats are amazing. I really enjoyed learning about their activities to save lives. Our guide to the Angkor museum was extremely friendly, knowledgeable and was willing to adapt to what we wanted to see.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
609rogerh
May 16, 2023
Amazing - There are locals that live nearby that don’t know about the work that the rats do. They find land mines by sniffing them out. There are many land mines left and they hope to have them cleared by 2025 so go and see them now before it’s too late.
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O5379otjuliew
Apr 19, 2023
Hero rats tour - For the price we paid for the tour was very expensive nearly $500 aud 1 adult and 1 child. Didn't get lunch but plenty of water. Our tour guide was good and the driver always had a smile on his face and always ready with water and opening car door. The tour was very short and wasn't far from our hotel. We could have just got a tuk tuk and would have been less than half the price. My advice would be organise the tour yourself as all 3 attractions are within 5 min of each other. The hero rats were the highlight of the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
153marnac
Dec 2, 2019
Hero Rats & Angkor ational Museum - We did a half day tour with Svay Soriya. It was an excellent tour. We were collected from our hotel. Svay is extremely knowledgeable and gave us loads of background information on the history of Cambodia pre and post Pol Pot days. The only disappointment was the short amount of time we spent at the killing fields - 30 mins compared to 1 and a half hours at the National Museum. For us, the history of Pol Pot is more significant as this is also a part of our history which we also lived through via distant media. But the National Museum is a very thorough immersion intothe culture of Buddhism, the Kmer culture and the significance of Angkor Wat. The Landmine rats is also an amazing insight into just what conditions this beautiful country lived and continues to live with. Well worth doing this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mmorris5170
Nov 20, 2019
Eye-opening - I'll be honest. I signed up for this tour to see the rats. It ended up being so so much more (though they were as cool as I imagined). My tour guide was absolutely amazing. I would give a shout out but I don't think I caught his name correctly :(( He offered a sincere firsthand perspective on how the civil wars and genocide of Cambodia affect survivors. He was honest and open about extremely sensitive family history, which I found both extraordinary and moving. I also didn't realize this tour was not conducted a group, just you and the guide. We ended up staying longer at the stops than listed in the description, so possibly plan on that. TLDR: If you are interested in history/humanitarianism/culture, honestly just book it. This story needs to be heard.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Happytravelllers
Mar 3, 2024
Interesting - After speaking someone at our hotel they said it was interesting and worth a visit if we had time. We took at Tuk Tuk and turned up, cost was $10 and lasted about 45 mins. Lots of boards displaying the work they undertake, a session of information then a demonstration with one of the rats. After you can hold them. The tour ends with a short film, we enjoyed our visit and learnt that is bits just Cambodia that use them.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen_l
Dec 7, 2020
Good day out! - So cool to watch the clever rats working to detect the mines! My hats off to this wonderful animals. Our guide was very helpful and experience. The national war museum was good but stood in the hot sun a bit too long. Less time about history standing outdoors could be a challenge.
Review provided by Viator
Stevie222000
Jun 19, 2020
Informative trip - Very informative and personal tour. The guide and driver were great. I would definitely remember it. Met some really nice local people. The trip is quite sad but it’s part of the history of the country.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
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