Siem Reap

Cambodia·Asia

Currency

KHR

Language

Khmer

Timezone

Phnom Penh

Continent

Asia

Our guide

Discover Siem Reap

Siem Reap is only the doorway: what people come for starts seven kilometres north. Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, was built in the 12th century and was never abandoned — monks still live there. Angkor Thom, the walled city beside it, opens through monumental gates and closes on the Bayon, whose towers carry two hundred stone faces. Ta Prohm, left under the silk-cotton trees whose roots push the walls apart, is the most photographed temple of the group. Preah Khan and Banteay Kdei extend the circuit, and Phnom Bakheng serves as the sunset viewpoint.

When to go

November to February: dry, around thirty degrees, and also the high season. March to May reaches forty and makes the temples punishing after ten in the morning. The monsoon, June to October, brings short downpours, fewer people, and full moats that let Angkor Wat be photographed in its reflection. The park opens at five: sunrise over the towers is why people are up at four.

Getting around

A tuk-tuk hired by the day is the normal arrangement, agreed the evening before with a driver who waits from temple to temple. The small circuit runs seventeen kilometres, the grand one twenty-six: cycling them works in the cool season and is hard otherwise. The Angkor pass is bought at the official counter, for one day or several, with a photo taken on the spot; it is checked at every temple entrance and cannot be transferred.

Where to eat

Amok, fish curried in coconut milk and steamed in a banana leaf, is the national dish. Lok lak, stir-fried beef served with an egg, is everywhere. Kampot pepper, grown in the south, is what people take home. Pub Street concentrates the tourist terraces; the morning markets feed better and cheaper. Two halal addresses are listed, which is few: the Cham community is more present elsewhere in Cambodia.

Good to know

The riel is the official currency but US dollars circulate everywhere and the machines dispense them — small change comes back in riels. Covered shoulders and knees are required to climb to the third level of Angkor Wat, and refused at the entrance otherwise. Water and a hat are not optional. And never climb on the ruins: the collapses are not theoretical.

Smart Planning