The Fishing Village and Flooded Mangrove Trees

Ro Lus Market - Visit a local market located on the banks of the Rolous River. This market is a vital hub where villagers gather in the morning and late afternoon to buy fresh vegetables, meats, fruits, freshwater fish, and household items. It is the oldest Khmer market in the area and a must-see for those wanting to experience local life.

Kampong Phluk Floating Village - Kampong Phluk is an excellent destination for tourists to explore the flooded mangrove trees and forests. Travel through the countryside to the Tonle Sap fishing village. Enjoy scenic countryside views, visit the local market, school, Buddhist temple, and fishing villages. Discover the beautiful Tonle Sap, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, which is the lifeblood of the country and the main source of fish and protein for most Cambodians. Your local guide will explain the daily lifestyles and work of locals living on land and water. Along the way, stop to explore local villages on foot and engage with the local people.

Kompong Phluk - The community primarily relies on fishing, especially shrimp, during Cambodia’s wet season. Many houses and buildings are built on stilts, ranging from 6 to 9 meters, to adapt to the changing water levels between wet and dry seasons. During the dry season (November-April), as the river recedes, many turn to farming to supplement their income. Tourism, which began in the village about 10 years ago, is also a growing part of the local economy.

Artisans Angkor - Artisans Angkor is a Cambodian social business that creates job opportunities for young people in rural areas while reviving traditional Khmer craftsmanship, including stone and wood carving, painting on statues, lacquering, and silver plating. Founded in 1992, it is located in the city center, just a 2-minute walk from the Old Market in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Visitors can explore their showroom and craft room.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and Angkor Thom

Angkor Wat - Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world, built in the 12th century. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it has remained a significant religious center since its foundation. Enter the great temple in darkness from the less-visited eastern side. Continue on foot through a jungle path to the North ancient library pool to await the sunrise. Listen to your expert guide’s explanations, then explore the central chambers of the temple, where your guide will reveal the history, myths, and stories depicted on the stone bas-reliefs, the longest stretch of bas-reliefs carvings in the world. Your knowledgeable guide will ensure you leave with a rich understanding of the history and purpose of this great temple and the mighty Angkorian civilization.

Ta Prohm - The jungle-enveloped Ta Prohm, also known as the Tomb Raider temple, is one of the most atmospheric temples in Angkor. Built in the 13th century, Ta Prohm remains in much the same condition as it was found, with trees growing out of the ruins and jungle surroundings, making it one of Angkor’s most popular temples. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. Ta Prohm was a religious temple located in the center of the Ancient Khmer University during the 12th and 13th centuries.

North Gate Bridge - The South Gate is one of the five gates of Angkor Thom, the ancient capital city of the Khmer Empire. The gate, flanked by a row of 54 stone figures on each side, was the entrance to the fortified city of Angkor Thom. At its peak, Angkor Thom had a population of over one million people and was larger than London. It is one of the most popular tourist spots in the Angkor Wat area.

Bayon Temple - The Bayon is a richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the 13th century as the state temple of King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the center of Jayavarman’s capital. The Bayon’s most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers that jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. You’ll see its beautifully crafted central towers, covered in more than 200 enormous faces. The temple has two sets of bas-reliefs, presenting a combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The outer wall of the outer gallery features bas-reliefs depicting historical events and scenes from everyday Angkorian Khmer life. The inner gallery bas-reliefs depict mythological events.

Baphuon Temple - Baphuon is located in Angkor Thom, northwest of the Bayon. Built in the mid-11th century, it is a three-tiered temple mountain built as the state temple. The temple adjoins the southern enclosure of the Royal Palace and measures 120 meters east-west by 100 meters north-south at its base, standing 34 meters tall without its tower, which would have made it roughly 50 meters tall. Its appearance impressed Temür Khan’s late 13th-century envoy Chou Ta-kuan during his visit from 1296 to 1297, who described Bayon as the Tower of Gold and Baphuon as ‘the Tower of Bronze…a truly astonishing spectacle, with more than ten chambers at its base.

Angkor Thom - Hidden Gem: Your guide will take you to a place that most tourists have never seen. Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.

Phimeanakas - Phimeanakas, or Vimeanakas, was built at the end of the 10th century during the reign of Rajendravarman (from 941-968) and completed by Suryavarman I in the shape of three-tier pyramids as a Hindu temple. On top of the pyramid, there was a tower, while on the edge of the top platform, there are galleries. Phimeanakas is located inside the walled enclosure of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom.

Terrace of the Elephants - The 350-meter-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king’s grand audience. Some local Khmer residents call it “the Ancient Khmer Stadium.” It was built in the 13th century under King Jayavarman VII.

Terrace of the Leper King - The 350-meter-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king’s grand audience. Some local Khmer residents call it “the Ancient Khmer Stadium.” It was built in the 13th century under King Jayavarman VII.

Angkor Thom - Secret Stop: A majestic place that sets the tone for the day’s adventure. Don’t listen to what they say, go to see. All journeys have secret destinations of which travelers are unaware.

Beng Mealea and Koh Ker Temple

Wat Khsach - Stop to visit Bamboo Sticky Rice village to taste local sticky rice cooked in bamboo, sample seasonal fruit, and enjoy photo opportunities. “The ingredients of bamboo sticky rice are sweet rice, black bean, coconut cream, and other spices put in a piece of bamboo and then burned. It’s a kind of food for Khmer people.”

Beng Mealea - Visit the most intriguing temple outside the Angkor area, King Suryavarman II’s 11th-century Beng Mealea temple – a prototype for the more famous Angkor Wat. Beng Mealea Temple stands almost forgotten in the jungle, and reaching the site is quite an adventure. It was isolated during Cambodia’s civil war. It is the largest temple outside the main Angkor complex, and in places, it is remarkably intact, while in others, it is utterly destroyed; tree roots envelop many of the temple walls and doorways. The atmosphere here is eerie but a welcome contrast to the more visited temples closer to Angkor Wat. Beng Mealea shares many characteristics with Angkor Wat but on a smaller scale. It has three encircling galleries, the same four gates and entrances, and a pair of interior libraries. It differs from Angkor Wat in having only one central tower instead of the famous five towers of Angkor Wat.

Ancient Quarry - Visit the Ancient Quarry, where the ancient Khmer people cut stones to build Angkor Wat. The tour guide will explain how they cut and transported the stones to build Angkor Wat. You will see hundreds of stone pieces cut and left there.

Koh Ker Temple - Journey to Koh Ker, the former 10th-century capital of the Angkorian Empire. Koh Ker was abandoned in the forest for many years due to civil wars. After a two-hour drive through beautiful scenic rural Cambodia, arrive at Koh Ker ruins. Begin the visit at Prasat Thom, creeping through the main gateway, flanked by atmospheric sanctuaries. Walk along a serpent-lined causeway to Prasat Krahorm, the “red brick temple,” near libraries and reservoirs. Finally, arrive at Prasat Thom, the “centerpiece,” a large seven-level pyramid constructed of sandstone, 45 meters high. Climb to the upper terrace for panoramic jungle views. Visit other nearby temples. Archaeologists believe there may be more than 100 temple ruins in the area waiting to be discovered. Visit a few more beautiful temples near Prasat Thom, such as Prasat Ling, Prasat Damrei, Prasat Prum, etc.

Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Banteay Srei

Preah Khan - Preah Khan (Royal Sword) is a temple in the Angkor area. Built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII to honor his father, the temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary, complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.

Neak Pean - Neak Pean (or Neak Poan), the entwined serpents, was built on an artificial island in the middle of a reservoir (3.5 km by 1 km), associated with the Preah Khan temple. Neak Pean was built by King Jayavarman VII in the second half of the 12th century.

Eastern Mebon - The East Mebon temple was built in the 10th century by King Rajendravarman. It stands on what was an artificial island at the center of the now-dry East Baray reservoir (7.5 km by 1.8 km). The East Mebon was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and honors the king’s parents. Its location reflects Khmer architects’ concern with orientation and cardinal directions. Visitors looking out from the upper level today are left to imagine the vast expanses of water that formerly surrounded the temple. Four landing stages at the base remind us that the temple was once reached by boat.

Pre Rup Temple - Pre Rup temple was built by King Rajendravarman in the 10th century. It is a temple mountain of combined brick, laterite, and sandstone construction. The temple’s name is a comparatively modern one meaning “turn the body.” This reflects the common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the service progressed.

Ta Som - Ta Som is a small temple at Angkor, built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just east of Neak Pean. The King dedicated the temple to his father Dharanindravarman II (Paramanishkalapada), who was King of the Khmer Empire from 1150 to 1160. The temple consists of a single shrine located on one level and surrounded by enclosure laterite walls. Like the nearby Preah Khan and Ta Prohm, the temple was left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins. In 1998, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) added the temple to their restoration program and began work to stabilize the structure to make it safer for visitors.

Banteay Srei - Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings still observable today. Banteay Srei was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch; it was built by a king’s counselor in the 10th century. It is an intricately carved and well-preserved temple. The detailed reliefs on this sandstone structure are the finest, most skillfully crafted in Cambodia.

Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre - BBC is a butterfly zoo near Angkor Wat. Founded in 2009, it is the largest enclosed butterfly center in Southeast Asia. BBC was designed and financed by Ben Hayes and Mike Baltzer, two British butterfly enthusiasts. BBC is part of the Cambodian project connecting responsible tourism with environmental conservation. Scientifically, butterflies belong to the insect group of lepidopterans, which also includes moths, and moths also have the attention of BBC. The center showcases examples of the large variety of lepidopterans in Cambodia, preferably local varieties, in a large netted garden.

Cambodia Landmine Museum - The Cambodia Landmine Museum and Relief Center educates the public on the dangers of landmines and supports education for Cambodian youth. This home serves as a place of healing for bodies, hearts, and minds. It is believed that love, support, and education are essential means to secure a better future for the children living here and for visitors.

• Hotel pick up and drop off
• Bottled water
• Private air conditioned vehicle
• English Speaking Tour Guide

• Meals

This is a Private Guided Tour, tailored to your preferences! Delight in a 4-day tour of Angkor Wat and other temples, and explore the floating villages of Beng Mealea and Koh Ker.

Day 1: Visit the fishing village, explore the flooded mangrove trees, browse the village market, and discover cloth weaving and handicrafts. Engage with locals and observe their daily lives.

Day 2: Witness the sunrise at Angkor Wat. After breakfast, explore the jungle-covered Ta Prohm temple. Then, admire the Bayon and Angkor Thom.

Day 3: Discover the fascinating outlying temples, including Koh Ker temples, Beng Mealea, and the Ancient Quarry. On the return journey, stop by the Bamboo Sticky Rice village.

Day 4: Explore Preah Khan, Neak Pean, and Ta Som temple. After lunch, visit Banteay Srei temple. (Drive past the Cambodian Landmine Museum and Banteay Srei Butterfly Center). Finally, visit the sugar-producing village on the way back to your hotel.

Enjoy your lunch near the ancient temple.

• Avoid the crowds & escape the heat
• Great photo opportunities
• Please wear shoe that is easy to walk.

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