The capital of the Khmer kingdom in northwestern Cambodia remains one of the most outstanding legacies of the ancient world. Many have the impression that Angkor Wat is a single temple, when in fact there are more than 40 sites still recognizable to this day. Visitors planning to see the ruins should allow at least three full days to get a good overview. Five days is ideal.
Map of Siem Reap & Angkor Wat
Your base for any visit to the temples will be the modern day town of Siem Reap. It is located just a few miles outside of the temple complex. Most visitors arrive there by air, although road and water transport are also possible. See our page about getting there for more information.
See the guidebook page for a couple of recommended books on the temples themselves. The general guides to Cambodia will also contain extensive information about the temples.
There are more than 40 accessible sites in the Angkor Wat area. The following selections highlight the most interesting as well as the most commonly visited. If you need help sorting through it all, here's some very rudimentary advice: You must visit the temples of Angkor Wat and the Bayon, or you haven't even been to Angkor. You should take in Banteay Srei, Ta Prohm and Preah Khan to appreciate the full range of the monuments.
$page->page_head("Angkor Wat Guide Books"); $sel = "Angkor Wat Guidebooks"; $page->menu(); ?> There are several guides specific to the temples of Angkor. Among them, the Dawn Rooney work is widely considered the best and most readable, with advice on how to visit each temple and what to see. The general guides to Cambodia listed will also contain extensive information about the temples.
Generally, the best time to visit Angkor is during the cool dry season from December to March. This is when the weather conditions are at their very best. However, it's also when most other people choose to visit Angkor, so you'll find hotel rates at their highest and the temples at their most crowded. Our suggestion would be to come in November. There's still a slight chance of rain, but storms usually only come in the late afternoon, which is a good time to rest up from a morning visiting the temples anyway.
Siem Reap is full of amazingly good restaurants, serving cuisines from all over the world. There are far more good restaurants than one could reasonably try in a typical stay. The list below is the result of my own visits as well as the recommendations of a few trusted sources. However, note that restaurants in places like Siem Reap frequently change hands, or even go out of business. Be sure to ask some locals for current advice when you visit.
Although Siem Reap is place most people visit for the ancient cultural experience, it does have a small, quiet gay scene of its own. Basically, there's a few small bars and pubs where you can have a drink, and maybe meet a few locals.
Resources for Gay Travelers to Cambodia As always, the people at Utopia Asia have the latest information on where to go, where to stay and where to meet people.
Many people vastly under-estimate the size and scale of the Angkor site. Firstly, the main archaeological site is five to ten kilometers from Siem Reap town, where you'll be staying. Some important sites are more than 40 kilometers away. There are no taxis or any other public transportation within the park. In short, you'll need transport to visit Angkor. Your options include a tuk-tuk - a sort of motorcycle with a passenger trailer, a car with driver, or a car with driver and guide.
Assuming the purpose of your visit to Angkor is to do more than tick off another one of those “must see” places, planning your visit can be a bit daunting. There are more than 40 identified sites in the Angkor Archaeological Park alone, plus a dozen or more ancient sites within a few hours' drive from Siem Reap. Figuring out which sites you want to see, and in what order, can be quite difficult.
There isn't a lot of shopping to be had in Siem Reap, although there's probably more than enough to keep you busy between meals and temple touring. There are a number of souvenir stalls at many temples, but much of what's on sale appears to come from Thailand or Vietnam, and the same is true for many of the stalls in the old market.
Still, you can get genuine local handicrafts, and support the community while you're at it.
Beautiful downtown Siem Reap, near the old market.
Siem Reap is the town closest to the ruins of Angkor Wat, although it's more than just a place to sleep and catch a plane. The city has developed into one of the most pleasant towns in Cambodia, if not Southeast Asia, with more than its fair share of good restaurants, although it has most recently started taking on some of the more unpleasant features of tourist hot spots.
The Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap was opened in 2007 to provide an interpretive center for the history of the Khmer empire, as well as to display some of the many delicate and priceless artifacts rescued from the Angkor archaeological complex.
Entrance to the Angkor National Museum The museum is on two levels. After paying your admission, you ascend a spiral ramp to the second level to start your journey through the galleries, which are more or less in a chronological order of Cambodian history.
Like its neighbor Thailand, Cambodia's year is generally divided into three seasons: the “cool season,” “hot season” and “rainy season.” But for travellers from Europe and North American these might more appropriately be labelled hot, really hot and really hot and wet. The box at right shows the current conditions.
Historical Weather Patterns for Siem Reap The cool season runs from November to February, and of course this is the best time to visit.
Most people arrive in Siem Reap by air directly from neighboring countries. Siem Reap's small airport is only a few minutes from town. The airport code is REP, see Cambodia Airports for more information.
Bangkok Airways Flies from Bangkok to Siem Reap directly. Jet Star Asia One of Singapore's own home grown budget carriers. We've actually found flying with Jet Star to be a rather pleasant experience. See our complete review of Jet Star Asia for more information.
As it is in many tourist destinations, location is a very important consideration when selecting where you'll stay in Siem Reap. There are a large number of hotels spread out along the road from the airport towards the city. These are mostly tourist-class hotels patronized by the large tour groups. They're easy to get in and out of, for buses, but there's not much around them. You'll need to catch a taxi or tuk-tuk to the old market area to find a selection of restaurants, bars and shops.
