Temples of Angkor

Small Group Journeys

Highlights

Tour Details

Itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to Siem Reap

You are collected at Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, roughly an hour from town, and taken to the hotel; the afternoon is yours until the briefing. Four nights at La Niche D'Angkor Boutique Hotel (or similar).

Day 2: Siem Reap

After breakfast the road runs to the southern entrance of Angkor Thom, the 'Great City', a walled site scattered throughout with substantial temples and relief carving. Bayon, the state temple, sits at the middle of it, its towers bearing huge faces carved out of single blocks of stone. On foot from there: the Terrace of the Leper King, the Terrace of Elephants, and then Ta Prohm, where roots and creepers have taken hold of the ruins. The day ends at Angkor Wat, pausing by the Angkor National Museum and its uncommon collection of Hindu and Buddhist work.

Day 3: Siem Reap

You are up in the dark for sunrise at Angkor Wat, the central towers black against a lightening sky, then back to the hotel for breakfast. Next comes Kampong Phluk, a stilted settlement on the floodplain where daily routines have altered very little. A monk gives the group his blessing, and the road then leads out to the older temples of Rolous. In the evening a tuk-tuk shuttles you from one street food stall to the next through a run of Khmer dishes.

Day 4: Siem Reap

The day starts among the traders at Domdek market, and the road then runs to Beng Mealea, one of the largest Khmer temples built outside the Angkor group. Sandstone blocks lie half buried in the soil there, and you have time to pick your way across it. Lunch is at a nearby restaurant, followed by Banteay Srei. On the return leg there is the Landmine Museum and a village that works sugar palm, and the day finishes with sunset at Pre Rup.