Cambodian Gems

1-Join tour Phnom Penh; Visit National Museum
Arrive Phnom Penh and check-in at the hotel. Located on the Mekong River the city has been the capital since 1440s. It is now lively city with many French colonial buildings, busy markets, art galleries, temples and museums. This afternoon we’ll enjoy a guided visit to the National Museum, a beautiful building in its own right, which houses some of the best works of art rescued from Angkor, giving us a flavour of what is to come.
Villa Langka Hotel
Surrounded by palms and foliage, this charming boutique hotel is an oasis in the city. It is located close to the Independence monument and street 278, popular for shops, bars and restaurant, and just a short drive from the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda and the riverfront of Sisowath Quay. Each of the 24 rooms are decorated in their own contemporary style. Facilities include a swimming pool and a poolside restaurant bar.

Single Rooms Available

2-Phnom Penh city tour
This morning we continue with our exploration of Phnom Penh’s main sights. Our first port of call is the heart wrenching Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also known as S-21 (a High School which became the Khmer Rouge’s main torture and interrogation centre). We then head out of the city to the infamous and emotive ‘Killing Fields’ of Choeung Ek (the memorial stupa is a huge glass tower filled with human skulls – a sombre reminder of the scale of Pol Pot’s atrocities). You should be aware that many people find Tuol Sleng and the ‘Killing Fields’ quite an emotional place to visit. The afternoon is free to enjoy the vibrant capital, perhaps browse the lively Central or Russian Markets, or a visit to Wat Phnom, the spiritual heart of the capital or a stroll along the banks of the Mekong River.
Villa Langka Hotel
Surrounded by palms and foliage, this charming boutique hotel is an oasis in the city. It is located close to the Independence monument and street 278, popular for shops, bars and restaurant, and just a short drive from the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda and the riverfront of Sisowath Quay. Each of the 24 rooms are decorated in their own contemporary style. Facilities include a swimming pool and a poolside restaurant bar.

Single Rooms Available

3-In Phnom Penh; Drive to Siem Reap via Skuon
Today we make an early morning visit to the spectacular Royal Place and Silver Pagoda before taking to the road for our journey to Siem Reap. We stop off in Skuon, where we see deep fried tarantula and crickets on sale as snacks. Those who dare can sample these local delicacies! We also make a visit to the 12th century Angkor era bridge of Spean Praptos in Kompong Kdei, the world’s longest corbelled stone-arch bridge, comprising more than twenty narrow arches and spanning 87m. We arrive in Siem Reap mid to late afternoon, and have time to organise our overnight bags for tomorrow.
City River Hotel
Overlooking the Siem Reap River and walking distance of Pub Street and the Central Market, the City River Hotel has an excellent location within the town of Siem Reap. The iconic temples of Angkor are just a ten-minute drive away. The hotel offers 80 contemporary Khmer style rooms. Facilities include a roof top swimming pool and a massage centre. Staff are trained and employed from under-privileged backgrounds as part of a social project.

Single Rooms Available

4-Temple Safari Camp including sunset
Leaving our main luggage behind we take 4WDs drive out of Siem Reap for our adventurous night camping at the temples. We travel along the ancient royal highway and stop at the mysterious and once ‘lost’ Angkor Wat style temple of Beng Melea, which being 40km east of the main temple complex of Angkor and 70km by road receives fewer visitors. We continue on Koh Ker temple group, the site of our tented safari camp, passing along unsealed roads through areas once populated by land mines. Our camp is unique in Cambodia, and provides us with a truly memorable introduction to the temples of Angkor. We enjoy dinner served to the sounds of the jungle and watch as the sun goes down behind the Mayan style seven-tiered temple of Prasat Thom.
Tented Safari Camp – Koh Ker Temple
This ‘adventure’ tented safari camp is pitched at Koh Ker Temple, deep in the remote jungle areas around one hours drive from the main temples of Angkor. The walk-in tents are made from waterproof durable tarpaulin with an inner layer providing mosquito and insect protection with mesh windows for ventilation. Each tent has its own separate toilet and shower tents. Simple yet tasty local fare is served communally while the camp is looked after by a team of five staff and a security guard.

Single Rooms Available

5-Visit Angkor Temples
Koh Ker was briefly the capital of the Khmer empire (928-944 AD). Its remote location and previously inaccessible jungle setting earned it the title of ‘the lost wonder’. This morning we leave our campsite and discover more of the temples in the area, including Prasat Krahom, with its impressive red-brick tower, and the smaller Prasat Neang Khmau. We return to Siem Reap by 4WD.
City River Hotel
Overlooking the Siem Reap River and walking distance of Pub Street and the Central Market, the City River Hotel has an excellent location within the town of Siem Reap. The iconic temples of Angkor are just a ten-minute drive away. The hotel offers 80 contemporary Khmer style rooms. Facilities include a roof top swimming pool and a massage centre. Staff are trained and employed from under-privileged backgrounds as part of a social project.

Single Rooms Available

6-Visit Angkor Temples including sunrise
We head out early this morning for our first day at main temples of Angkor. We begin with a dawn visit to the atmospheric Ta Phrom, a temple half consumed by the Cambodian jungle and famous in the west as the spectacular film location for ‘Tomb Raider’, and where we can really get in touch with our inner Indian Jones! We continue on to Takeo, an unfinished 10th century Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and the first temple to be built using large blocks, which were later decorated. The afternoon is free to relax or to explore the town of Siem Reap further, perhaps a visit to the old market, a refreshing beer on Pub Street or high tea at the Foreign Correspondents Club.
City River Hotel
Overlooking the Siem Reap River and walking distance of Pub Street and the Central Market, the City River Hotel has an excellent location within the town of Siem Reap. The iconic temples of Angkor are just a ten-minute drive away. The hotel offers 80 contemporary Khmer style rooms. Facilities include a roof top swimming pool and a massage centre. Staff are trained and employed from under-privileged backgrounds as part of a social project.

Single Rooms Available

7-Visit Angkor Temples and floating village
Today we drive a little way outside of Siem Reap to make a visit to Banteay Srei, also known as the ‘ladies temple’ – with the most stunning carved lintels at Angkor. We continue on to the Rolous group of temples, the first major capital of the Angkor era Khmer empire. Here we can enjoy a Khmer picnic at the temples. In the afternoon, we head for Kompong Phluk, where we discover a flooded forest and a ‘floating village’ on the flood plain of Tonle Sap, South-east Asia’s largest freshwater lake. Here we gain a fascinating insight into life on the lake, where villagers live a simple life in stilt houses and make their living fishing.
City River Hotel
Overlooking the Siem Reap River and walking distance of Pub Street and the Central Market, the City River Hotel has an excellent location within the town of Siem Reap. The iconic temples of Angkor are just a ten-minute drive away. The hotel offers 80 contemporary Khmer style rooms. Facilities include a roof top swimming pool and a massage centre. Staff are trained and employed from under-privileged backgrounds as part of a social project.

Single Rooms Available

8-Visit Angkor Temples including sunrise at Angkor Wat
This morning we visit the iconic Angkor Wat for sunrise – the best known and most iconic of all the sights and a highlight of any visit to Angkor. It is a grand and imposing structure but its most stunning features are the extensive and intricately carved bas reliefs that stretch throughout the galleries and inner temples. This afternoon we continue our exploration with a visit to the temples of King Jayavarman Vll, reputedly Angkor’s greatest king. The fortified city of Angkor Thom which he had built at the end of the 12th Century is enclosed by a square wall. The city contains another of Angkor’s true gems – The Bayon. Not nearly as impressive as Angkor Wat from a distance, The Bayon is nevertheless incredible for its maze of corridors and gothic style towers, probably best known for the large and truly serene smiling faces carved into the stone. From here we will walk to Phimeanakas, located in the middle of the old Royal Palace area, and to the Terrace of the Elephants and the Leper King.
City River Hotel
Overlooking the Siem Reap River and walking distance of Pub Street and the Central Market, the City River Hotel has an excellent location within the town of Siem Reap. The iconic temples of Angkor are just a ten-minute drive away. The hotel offers 80 contemporary Khmer style rooms. Facilities include a roof top swimming pool and a massage centre. Staff are trained and employed from under-privileged backgrounds as part of a social project.

Single Rooms Available

9-Tour Ends
Tour ends after breakfast. If there is time before your flight home pay a visit to Siem Reap’s busy market for some last minute souvenirs.

Tour includes:

8 Breakfast
3 Lunch
1 Dinner
Transport:
Bus, Boat
Accommodation:
7 nights Comfortable Hotel
1 night Standard Camping
Tour Staff:
Driver(s), Explore Tour Leader, Local Guide(s), Boat Crew
Group Size:
Generally 10 – 16

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