Our favorite Cambodia tours and excursions

If you like exploration with a purpose, it’s time to channel your inner Indiana Jones and unlock the secrets of Angkor Thom. 

Armed with nothing but a map, some clues, and your camera, you’ll start at the South Gate, where remarkable statues depicting mythological demons and gods line the fifty-meter walkway. As you solve each riddle, you’ll be drawn into the heart of this ancient Khmer city, uncovering the stories behind the Terrace of the Leper King and the enigmatic faces of the 54 Bayon towers as you go. Once you’ve captured eleven photos, it’s time to meet up with your guide to find out if you completed your quest!
 

Gargantuan and yet surprisingly sensitive, an elephant can crack a peanut shell without breaking the seed and react to the touch of a feather on their leathery hides. 

The Mondulkiri Project rescues these highly intelligent animals from exploitation in logging and tourism,and provides them with a safe and happy retirement while educating the local community on elephant welfare. One thing you definitely won’t be doing is riding them – which is good. You can appreciate something without trying to ride it. You will be able to walk with them through the forest: a profoundly humbling experience.

When it comes to Phare, “circus” barely begins to cover it. This is world-class performance art — telling the stories of Cambodian legend and history through ambitious choreography, spine-tingling live music, and almost terrifying acrobatics that’ll have you gripping the edge of your seat.

As if that weren’t enough, it’s also a social enterprise that provides a vocation for disadvantaged young people, helping to fuel a Cambodian cultural renaissance in the wake of the Khmer Rouge. We know circus might not be high on your Cambodia bucket list but trust us: just go!

Imagine stumbling upon a crumbling brick tower half-devoured by the roots of a strangler fig, accompanied by nothing but the whoops and chirps of the rainforest.

This isn’t Angkor — this is Sambor Prei Kuk, an ancient city much older, more mysterious, and (for some of us) more lovely than the more famous temples to the west. Constructed around 1,200 years ago by the Hindu civilization of Chenla, it was recently named Cambodia’s third World Heritage Site. What’s most amazing is how many people unknowingly zoom past on the highway instead of stopping, meaning you can have these tumbledown ruins almost to yourself.

We already loved Battambang for its sleepy, colonial-era town center and charming rural surrounds, but did you know that it’s also the beating heart of Cambodian contemporary art? 

This tour will take you inside the country's post-Khmer Rouge cultural revival, introducing you to the local artists and curators who are driving it forward. In one art café, you’ll sip award-winning coffee at a screening of short films. Later, you’ll visit a local artist’s studio for a one-to-one discussion of his work. For us, Battambang’s wealth of little galleries, studios and quirky exhibition spaces make it one of the most exciting destinations in the country.