9-day highlights of Siem Reap Angkor Complex & Phnom Penh

Overview

Day by day itinerary

1. 1Siemreap arrival⌄

   Upon arrival, welcome by a tour guide in Siem Reap, transfer to check in hotel. Then visit Wat Thmei (Killing Field) contains a unique glass-walled stupa containing the bones of victims of the Khmer Rouge. Some of the bones were recovered from a nearby well while others are the remains of soldiers who died on a nearby battlefield. Come back to visit the "Les Artisans d'Angkor – Chantiers Ecole" the Finest Authentic Khmer Arts and Crafts

   Meals: Dinner: Welcome dinner with Apsara, the traditional Khmer dance which is not merely dance but also telling a story

   Overnight: Overnight Kouprey Hotel (3-star) or similar

2. 2Siemreap - Full day Angkor Complex⌄

   explore South Gate of Angkor Thom known as Big Angkor, 3km2 walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire, The famous Bayon Temple was an architectural muddle, in part because it was constructed in a somewhat piecemeal fashion for over a century. Terrace of the Elephants is an impressive, two and a half meter tall, 300 meter long terrace wall adorned with carved elephants and gradual that spans the heart of Angkor Thom in front of Baphuon - huge temple mountain in the heart of Angkor Thom, Royal Palace Area and Phimeanakas - impressive rite and sandstone pyramid. Terrace of the Leper King is at the north end of the Terrace of the Elephants, a double terrace wall with deeply carved nag as, demons and other mythological beings

   Visit Angkor Wat temple, the founder of the temple was Suryavarman II who reigned Cambodia from 1113 to 1152 and built the five towers in the 12th century to dedicate to the Hindu God Vishnu. The plan of the pyramidal conception of the temple combined with spaces, alleys, ditches is an ancient masterpiece of architectural design and construction

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch

   Overnight: Overnight Kouprey Hotel (3-star) or similar

3. 3Siemreap - Full day Angkor Complex⌄

   Visit Ta Prohm temple which is a wonderful combination of human genius and natural beauty! Giant trees have grown here for centuries

   Prasat Kravan was originally constructed by noblemen rather than a king

   Banteay Kdei was built in sandstone, which has deteriorated quite badly. However, there remain some very beautiful lintels and pediments

   Srah Srang is a royal pool was the King's bathing pond, where he washed with his many concubines each day

   Takeo - King Suryavarman I commissioned this temple in the 10th Century, but it was never completed so has no elaborate decoration like its contemporaries. It is a pyramid on 5 levels and is dedicated to Shiva. Thommanon - small attractive temple in very good condition, built at the same time as Angkor Wat

   Preah Khan - meaning The Sacred Sword, this temple was also built by Jayawarman VII and is famous for its immensely long cruciform corridors and delicate carvings

   This temple is a delicate highlight of Khmer art. Built by Jayavarman VII, this temple is the perfect representation of the heavens on earth

   Ta Som was a small classic Bayon style monastic complex consisting of a relatively flat enclosure.

   Last visit Pre Rup was built in the 10th Century by Rajendravarman and view lovely sunset there

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch

   Overnight: Overnight at Kouprey Hotel (3-star) or similar

4. 4Siemreap - Kbal Spean - Banteay Srei - Siemreap⌄

   there are also carving of Buddha and Buddhist images in the rock that date from a later period than the lingas. The original River of Thousand Lingams, Kbal Spean is an intricately carved riverbed deep in the foothills of the Cambodian jungle. Lingams are phallic representations sacred to Brahmanism as symbols of fertility, and hundreds of them are carved into the rock here, as are several carvings of gods and animals above the small waterfall

   Banteay Srei, loosely translates to “citadel of the women, but this is a modern appellation that probably refers to the delicate beauty of the carvings

   Banteay Samre - large, comparatively flat temple displaying distinctively Angkor style architecture and artistry

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch

   Overnight: Overnight at Kouprey Hotel (3-star) or similar

5. 5Siemreap - Phnom Penh⌄

   Floating Villages, located 10 kilometers south of Siem Reap! Take a ride in a traditional wooden boat on the Tonle Sap, the "Great Lake" of Cambodia and the largest in Asia. Here you’ll see plenty of examples of the Khmer way of life on the Tonle Sap

   Wat Bo founded in the 18th century, a highly respected pagoda contains very unique wall paintings of the Reamker (Ramayana) that are said to be late 19th century

   Psar Chars, also called the “Old Market”, where anything and everything is for sale

   Phnom Penh – the city retains its traditional Khmer and colonial styles with French villas and large tree-line sidewalk

   Meals: Breakfast · Dinner

   Overnight: Overnight at Cardamon Hotel (3-star) or similar

6. 6Phnom Penh - Full day city tour⌄

   Visit the impressive colorful Khmer-style royal palace complex build in 1866 by the Predecessors of King Norodom

   Silver pagoda (the emerald Buddha temple), where contain plenty of Buddha Statues decorated and made by gold, diamond, gemstone and silver

   Independence Monument, or Vimean Ekareach as it is referred to in Khmer, is a majestic structure that dominates Phnom Penh city centre. Independence Monument was primarily erected to mark the liberation of the country from the French, who ruled Cambodia for almost a century from 1863 to 1953.

   The National museum; a beautiful Khmer architecture building contains more than 5000 art antiques made by bronze, wood, gold, silver, copper, sandstone and others

   Walk up to sacred hill Phnom Daun Penh – also the name of a pagoda and name of the capital nowadays

   Central Market, a large market constructed in 1937 in the shape of a dome with four arms branching out into vast hallways with countless stalls of goods. Initial design and layouts are from French architect Louis Chauchon

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch

   Overnight: Overnight at Cardamon Hotel (3-star) or similar

7. 7Phnom Penh - Full day city tour⌄

   Visit Choeung Ek museum, where between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, children and infants detained and tortured at S-21 were transported for the extermination

   Tuol Sleng prison now is Genocide Museum, the most secret part of the Khmer Rouge regime. It’s also called S-21 (abbreviated for Security Office 21), a Khmer Rouge's premier security camp, specifically designed for the interrogation and extermination of anti-Angkor elements

   Going shopping around Russian market, enjoy the bustling daily activities of the locals

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch

   Overnight: Overnight at Cardamon Hotel (3-star) or similar

8. 8Phnom Penh – Free the Bears at Ta Mao Mountain – Tonle Bati⌄

   Tonle Bati Lake, a popular weekend destination for the local people. It is also a popular fishing spot for both tourists and people who live locally. We then visit the nearby small picturesque Angkorian temple of Ta Prohm, the Bayon-style temple built in the late 12th century and left in much the same condition in which it was founded - unlike most of the Angkorian ruins.

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch

   Overnight: Overnight at Cardamon Hotel (3-star) or similar

9. 9Phnom Penh departure⌄

   free leisure on own arrangement until time transfer to airport for flight onwards.

   Meals: Breakfast