Cambodia Tourist Attractions

ANGKOR WAT
The greatest attraction in Cambodia and one of the most spectacular ancient sites on earth, Angkor is a vast temple complex featuring the remains of several capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century AD. These include the famous Angkor Wat temple, the world’s largest single religious monument, and the Bayon temple (at Angkor Thom) with its multitude of massive stone faces and Ta Prohm, a Buddhist temple ruin entwined with towering trees.

SIEM REAP
Siem Reap is undoubtedly Cambodia’s fastest growing city and serves as a small charming gateway town to the world famous destination of the Angkor temples. Thanks to those Cambodia attractions, Siem Reap has transformed itself into a major tourist hub. It is laid-back and a pleasant place to stay while touring the temples. Siem Reap offers a wide range of hotels, ranging from several 5-star hotels to hundreds of budget guesthouses while a large selection of restaurants offer many kinds of food

PREAH VIHEAR
Preah Vihear is a Khmer temple situated atop a 525 meter (1,722 ft) cliff in the D?ngr?k Mountains, on the border between Cambodia and Thailand. It has the most spectacular setting of all the Khmer temples. Most of the temple was constructed in the 11th and 12th century during the reigns of the Khmer kings Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II. It was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Preah Vihear is the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, and several soldiers were killed in clashes in 2009.

SIHANOUKVILLE
Sihanoukville, also known as Kampong Som, is a port city and beach resort on the Gulf of Thailand. The big attraction here is the white-sand beaches and several undeveloped tropical islands. Sihanoukville is a good place to relax and unwind, though be prepared to battle the crows during the high season or a holiday weekend.

TONLE SAP LAKE
Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is of major importance to Cambodia. The lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia’s dry season, the Tonlw Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year’s heavy rains begin in June, the flow of the Tonle Sap changes directions and an enormous lake forms. Tonle Sap is home to many ethnic Vietnamese and numerous Cham communities, living in floating villages around the lake.

PHNOM PENH
The capital of Cambodia, located within the Royal Palace compound in Phnom Penh, the Silver Pagoda houses many national treasures such as gold and jeweled Buddha statues. Most notable is a small 17th century baccarat crystal Buddha (the Emerald Buddha of Cambodia) and a life-sized gold Maitreya Buddha decorated with 9584 diamonds. The internal wall of the Silver Pagoda courtyard is decorated with a richly colored and detailed mural of the Ramayana myth, painted in 1903–04 by 40 Khmer artists.  Next to the Royal Palace is The National Museum. Wat Phnom top an artificial hill built in the 15th century stands a stupa containing the ashes of a king from the same period. There is also a small Buddhist pagoda. Wat Phnom is a city landmark and a popular place for worship. Wat Ounalom facing the Tonle Sap River near the Royal Palace, this pagoda serves as the headquarters for one of Cambodia’s most revered Buddhist patriarchs.  If it is shopping you like to do, be sure to check out The Russian Market, The O’Russei Market, and The Central Market where the locals do their shopping.

TONLE SAP  & MEKONG RIVERS
Walking along the newly landscaped Tonle Sap River in the evening is very enjoyable.  See all the local merchants out selling their wares.  All along the River Walk are great coffee houses, cafes and restaurants. Sunset Cruise on The Mekong and Tonle Sap, a one-hour cruise from the capital takes you along the river to watch the daily life of the people living on and around the rivers. You’ll enjoy a magnificent sunset, when the reflected rays of the setting sun cast a golden glow across the river. Mekong Island.
A one-hour boat trip from Phnom Penh brings tourists to this resort situated on Mekong Island. Tourists can dine in the restaurant, visit the zoo and the weaving villages, ride elephants and watch traditional dance performances.  Koh Dach, traditional silk weaving villages on a Mekong River island. A half-day boat trip from the capital.

Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek
When the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 they converted a non-descript high school on the fringe of downtown Phnom Penh into a detention and torture center known as Tuol Sleng, or S-21 (Security Prison 21). A genocide museum was established at Tuol Sleng after the 1979 Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and today it appears precisely as it was left by the fleeing Khmer Rouge. The non-descript facade belies the horrors and atrocities committed inside. Hundreds of photos of those tortured line the walls inside the old school. Most of the 17,000 people detained at Tuol Sleng were subsequently transported to Choeung Ek, a longan orchard 15 km outside Phnom Penh, slaughtered and buried in mass graves. Known to locals as the Killing Fields after the popular movie of the same name, Choeung Ek also serves as a memorial to those killed under Khmer Rouge rule.

KRATIE
Kratie is a small town located on the banks of the Mekong River and is dominated by a central marketplace surrounded by old, French colonial buildings. There’s no large scale tourism, but plenty of backpackers pour through here during the peak season. It is the place in Cambodia to see the rare Irrawaddy dolphins, which live in the Mekong River in ever-diminishing numbers. It is estimated that there are between 66 and 86 dolphins left in the upper Cambodian Mekong area.