4-Day Private Tours of the Temples and Beyond from Siem Reap

Day 1: The Fishing village and Flooded Mangrove trees

1. 40m
   You will also stop to visit a local market which is situated on the Bank of Rolous river. Rolous market is one of the important markets where the local villagers go there in the morning and late afternoon to purchase fresh vegetables, meats, fruit, fresh water fish as well as household items. It’s the oldest Khmer market in that area and a must-visit for those looking to experience the local lifestyle.
2. Kampong Phluk Floating Village
   2h
   Kampong Phlouk is a great destination for tourists to visit the flooded Mangrove trees and forests. Drive through the countryside to Tonle Sap fishing village. Enjoy country side sightseeing views, visit the local market, school, Buddhist temple, fishing villages Visit the beautiful Tonle Sap, the lake is the 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world. This lake is the lifeblood of the country and the primary source of fish and protein for most of the Cambodian population. Your local guide will explain to you the daily lifestyles and works of a local who lives on land and on water. Along the way, you will stop at some places to explore local villages on foot, meet and talk to local people.
3. Kompong Phluk
   1h
   The community largely depends on fishing for survival, primarily shrimp, spending Cambodia's wet season fishing.
   Many houses and buildings are constructed on stilts ranging from 6 m to 9 m to accommodate the changes in water level between wet and dry seasons. During the dry season (November-April) as the river thins due to receding water, many turn to farming to supplement their income. Tourism, which started in the village approximately 10 years ago, is also a growing part of the local economy.
4. Artisans Angkor
   40m
   Artisans Angkor is a Cambodian social business creating job opportunities for young people in rural areas, while reviving traditional Khmer craftsmanship (stone and wood carving, painting on statues, lacquering, and silver plating). The organisation, founded in 1992, is located in the City Center, 2 minutes walk from the Old Market in Siem Reap, Cambodia. You can visit their showroom and their craft room.

Day 2: Sun Rise at Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom

1. Angkor Wat
   2h · Admission ticket included
   Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world. It was built in the 12th century. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it’s the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation. We will enter the great temple in darkness from the little-visited eastern side. We continue our journey on foot and creep through a jungle path to the North ancient library pool where we will wait for the Sun Rise. Listen to the explanations of your expert guide, then spend time venturing into the central chambers of the temple, where your local guide will reveal the history, myths and stories depicted on the stone bas-reliefs (the longest stretch of bas-reliefs carvings in the world) then you will venture deep into the central chambers of this truly great temple. Your knowledgeable guide will ensure that your visit to Angkor Wat leaves you with a rich understanding of the history and purpose of the great temple, and also of the mighty Angkorian civilisation.
2. Ta Prohm
   1h
   The jungle-enveloped Ta Prohm (Tomb raider temple)– one of the most atmospheric of all temples in Angkor. Ta Prohm was built in the 13th century. Unlike the most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm is in much the same condition in which it was found, the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. 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 centre of the Ancient Khmer University during the 12th and 13th century.
3. 15m
   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 the height of its greatness, Angkor Thom had a population of more than one million people and was larger in size than the city of London. It is one of the most popular tourist spots in the Angkor Wat area.
4. Bayon Temple
   1h
   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 centre of Jayavarman's capital. The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers which 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, which present a combination of mythological, historical and mundane scenes. The outer wall of the outer gallery features a series of bas-reliefs depicting historical events and scenes from the everyday life of the Angkorian Khmer. The inner gallery bas-reliefs depict mythological events.
5. Baphuon Temple
   40m
   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 metres east-west by 100 metres north-south at its base and stands 34 meters tall without its tower, which would have made it roughly 50 meters tall. Its appearance apparently impressed Temür Khan's late of the 13th century envoy Chou Ta-kuan during his visit from 1296 to 1297, who said Bayon was the Tower of Gold and Baphuon was 'the Tower of Bronze...a truly astonishing spectacle, with more than ten chambers at its base.
6. Angkor Thom
   10m
   Hidden Gem:
   Your guide will take to you a place that most tourists have never seen it. Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.
7. Phimeanakas
   40m
   Phimeanakas (celestial temple) or Vimeanakas built at the end of the 10th century, during the reign of Rajendravarman (from 941-968), then completed by Suryavarman I in the shape of the 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.
8. Terrace of the Elephants
   30m
   The 350 m 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.
9. Terrace of the Leper King
   30m
   The 350 m 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.
10. Angkor Thom
    10m
    Secret stop:
    A majestic place that set the tone for the day’s adventure. Don’t listen to what they say, go to see. All journeys have secret destinations of which the travelers are unaware.

Day 3: Beng Mealea and Koh Ker temple

1. 20m
   Have some stops to visit Bamboo Sticky Rice village to taste local sticky rice cooked in bamboo, taste season fruit and enjoy your photo opportunities. “The ingredients of bamboo sticky rice are sweet rice, black bean, coconut cream and other spicy put in the piece of bamboo and then burns it. It's a kind of food for Khmer people”.
2. Prasat Beng Mealea
   2h
   Visit the most interesting temple outside the Angkor area, King Suryavarman II’s the 11th century Beng Mealea temple – a prototype for the more famous Angkor Wat. Beng Mealea Temple stands almost forgotten in the jungle and getting to the site is quite an adventure in itself. 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, but in other places 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.
3. 50m
   Visit Ancient Quarry, the place where the ancient Khmer people cut the stones to build Angkor Wat. The Tour Guide will explain you how they cut the stones, and how they transport the stones to build Angkor Wat. You will see hundred pieces of stones were cut and left there.
4. Koh Ker Temple
   2h
   Journey to Koh Ker, the former 10th century capital of the Angkorian Empire. Koh Ker was abandoned in the forest for too many years due to the Civil wars. After a drive for about two hours through beautiful scenic rural Cambodia, we arrived at Koh Ker ruins. We begin our visit at Prasat Thom creeping through the main gate way, franked by atmospheric sanctuaries. Walk along a serpent lined causeway to Prasat Krahorm “red brick temple” near there are Libraries and Reservoirs. Finally, we arrive at Prasat Thom “centerpiece” Prasat Thom is large seven level pyramids constructed of sandstones, 45 meters height. If we climb to the upper terrace we will see panoramic jungle views. Visit other outlying temples. Archaeologists believe there may be more than 100 temple ruins in the area waiting to be discovered. We will visit few more beautiful temple near by Prsat Thom such as Prasat Ling, Prasat Damrei, Prasat Prum etc.

Day 4: Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Banteay Srei

1. Preah Khan Temple
   1h
   Preah Khan (Royal Sword) is a temple in the Angkor area. It was built in the 12th century by the 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.
2. Neak Pean
   1h
   Neak Pean (or Neak Poan), the entwined serpents. It was built on an artificial island in the middle of a Reservoir (3.5 km by 1 km), which was associated with the Preah Khan temple. Neak Pean was built by King Jayavarman VII in the 2nd half of the 12th century.
3. 50m
   The East Mebon temple was built in the 10th century by the King Rajendravarman. It stands on what was an artificial island at the center of the now-dry East Baray reservoir (7.5km by 1.8km). The East Mebon was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and honors the parents of the king. 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 give reminder that the temple was once reached by boat.
4. 50m
   Pre Rup temple was built by King Rajendravarman in 10 centurary. 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.
5. Ta Som
   40m
   Ta Som is a small temple at Angkor, built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located north east 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.[1] In 1998, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) added the temple to their restoration program and began work to stabilise the structure to make it safer for visitors.
6. Banteay Srei
   1h
   Banteay Srei temple
   Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are 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.
7. Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre
   30m
   BBC is a butterfly zoo near Angkor Wat. Founded in 2009, it is the largest enclosed butterfly centre in Southeast Asia. BBC has been 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 centre showcase examples of the large variety of lepidopterans in Cambodia, preferably local varieties, in a large netted garden
8. Cambodia Landmine Museum
   Pass by
   The Cambodia Landmine Museum and Relief Center serves to educate the public on the dangers of landmines, and in addition it supports education for Cambodian youth. This home was created so that it might serve as a place of healing for bodies, hearts and minds. We believe that love, support and education are the essential means to secure a better future for the children that live here and our visitors.

Pickup details

You will be picked up from your accommodation to begin the tour by your Tour Guide and a Driver.

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Please wear shoe that is easy to walk.