Places to Explore

• Angkor Temple Complex

• Around Siem Reap

  Covering 2,600 square km (1,000 square mi) in the dry season, Cambodia's vast Tonle Sap is the biggest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Its unique annual cycle of flood expansion and retreat dictates... (more)

• Battambang

  Cambodia's second-largest city straddles the Sanker River in the center of the country's rice bowl. Dusty Battambang is bypassed by most visitors to Cambodia, but it's an interesting city to explore. The... (more)

• Kampong Cham

  Cambodia's third-largest city was also an ancient Khmer center of culture and power on the Mekong River, and it has a pre-Angkorian temple, Wat Nokor. (Sadly, the temple itself is in a state of disrepair... (more)

• Kampong Thom Ruins

  These ruins, exactly halfway between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, are even older than those at Angkor. They are all that remain of the 7th-century Sambor Prei Kuk, the capital of Zhen La, a loose federation... (more)

• Kampot

  This attractive riverside town at the foot of the Elephant Mountain range, not far from the sea, is known for its French colonial architecture remnants—and for salt and pepper. In the dry season... (more)

• Kep

  You'll never find another seaside getaway quite like Kep, with its narrow pebble beach bordered by the ghostly villa ruins of the Khmer Rouge era. What once was the coastal playground of Cambodia's elite... (more)

• Koh Dach

  This Mekong River island's main attractions are its beach and handicrafts community of silk weavers, wood-carvers, potters, painters, and jewelry makers. The beach isn't spectacular by Southeast Asian... (more)

• Kratie

  Kratie is famous for the colony of freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins that inhabit the Mekong River some 15 km (9 mi) north of town. The dolphins are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. Taxis... (more)

• Phnom Chisor

  A trip to Phnom Chisor is worth the drive just for the view from the top of the hill of the same name. There's a road to the summit, but most visitors prefer the 20-minute walk to the top, where stunning... (more)

• Phnom Penh

  The capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh is strategically positioned at the confluence of the Mekong, Tonle Sap, and Bassac rivers. The city's origins date to 1372, when a wealthy woman named Penh, who lived... (more)

• Ratanakkiri Province

  Visiting this region makes you feel as if you've arrived at the end of the world. Both Ratanakkiri and neighboring Mondulkiri provinces are mountainous and covered with dense jungle, and together they... (more)

• The Road to the Coast

  The four-hour bus journey from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville along Highway 4 is an interesting one, winding through uplands, rice paddies, and orchards. Once you drive past Phnom Penh's Pochentong Airport... (more)

• Siem Reap

  Siem Reap, which means "Siam defeated," based on a 15th-century battle with Cambodia's neighbors to the west, is turning into a thriving, bustling city with great shopping, dining, and nightlife options... (more)

• Sihanoukville

  A half a century ago, Cambodia's main port city, Sihanoukville, was a sleepy backwater called Kampong Som. Then, a series of world-shattering events overtook it and gave rise to the busy industrial center... (more)

• Tonle Bati

  On weekends, Phnom Penh residents head for this small lake just a half hour's drive south on Highway 2. It has a beach with refreshment stalls and souvenir stands. Note that you'll encounter many beggars... (more)

• Udong

  This small town served as the Khmer capital from the early 1600s until 1866, when King Norodom moved the capital south to Phnom Penh. Today it's an important pilgrimage destination for Cambodians paying... (more)