Guide to the Temples of Angkor.
At the top of many travellers bucket lists are the temples of Angkor in Northern Cambodia. Once the biggest city in the world, these incredible temples date back over 1000 years, being active from the 9th to the 15th century.
Like going to London and not seeing the Big Ben or Paris and missing the Eiffel Tower, these temples are a must do when visiting Cambodia and below I will give you some information about how to get in and the best temples to see.
To begin with you will need to purchase a temple pass. These come in 3 different options:
- 1-day pass is $37 USD
- 3-day is $62 USD
- 7-day is $72 USD.
The best way to purchase this involves getting an extra free sunset, to make the most of your pass. If a pass is purchased after 5:00pm, you can make your way to the temples that afternoon to view the sunset, not using up any of your allotted 1,3 or 7 days.
Transportation: tuk tuk
The easiest way to see this ancient city is to hire a tuk tuk driver for the length of your pass and get them to include the trip to purchase the ticket and view the sunset that night (or on the way during your first day if you don’t want the extra sunset). Tuk tuk’s can be organised through your hostel or on the streets easily as they all know their way around Cambodia’s Iconic tourist attraction. Generally for a very reasonable $25 USD they will drive you around for the day, stopping at all your chosen temples and if your lucky providing you with a little information on each. When you split this between multiple people is becomes a very cheap day.
Which temple pass to choose? 1,3 or 7 day pass?
Google the top temples or have a look through one of the guides offered at your hostel and decide on which temples you want to see and how much you are willing to do in 1 day. I chose the 3 day pass as I think it would be a shame to visit this wonder of the world and be rushing through it or wishing that you had seen that one extra temple you missed out on. I only used 2 of these days as I got to see all that I wanted to and didn’t mind paying that little bit extra to ensure I had no regrets.
Short vs grande circuit
When choosing which temples you want to visit you will notice the there are two common circuits. The short, which is 17km and encompasses many of the most popular temples including Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm. And the grand which is longer at 26km and incorporates some of the other spectacular temples missed on the short circuit (Preah Khan, Ta Som, East Mebon ect.) As I mentioned above, the best way to choose is to find some pictures and information on the temples and decide which ones are essential to you and which ones aren’t. If you have a 3 or 7 day pass you should be able to do both and see all you want to see.
Temples not on the circuits
There are multiple sites that are not within the circuits as they are further out from Siem Reap. These can still be seen after negotiating with your tuk tuk driver and are well worth the trip. These include Banteay Srei, Roulous Group, Beng Mealea, Kbal Spean, Phnom Kulen Pagoda and more.
I visited Banteay Srei and Kbal spean which were both absolutely incredible. Banteay Srei had the most prominent and well preserved carvings out of all the temples I visited and Kbal spean (River of a thousand lingas), although not an actual temple was one of my favourite sites in all of Cambodia. Set deep in the jungle 50km North East of Siem Reap, this extraordinary piece of history (only discovered in 1969) is normally over looked due to its distance away from the popular sites.
After a beautiful 2km trek through the Jungle, you emerge though the trees to find a beautiful river with intricate carvings laid under the flowing water. It is like nothing I have ever seen and feels far more natural and private than all the large, tall standing temples I had seen before it. If you get the chance I highly suggest you make the effort to visit this spectacular spot.
Hiring a bike for the temples in Cambodia?
Lastly if you are wondering if riding a bike out to the temples is a good idea, I would suggest you just go with the tuk tuk. The only people I saw riding a bike were red faced and looked like they were hating life. It might be nice on the way out there but after a full day of walking around the temples and with the sun coming down the last thing you will want to be doing is having to ride all the way back to your hostel.
If you’re looking for other things to do while in Siem Reap why not check out a cooking class?
If you have any questions about the temples or Cambodia let me know in the comments below.
Don’t stop wandering.