1. Angkor
The home of the famous Angkor Wat is certainly one of Cambodia’s must-see places.
Sadly, thanks to the famous pagodas and vine-dressed stupas that are tagged by UNESCO, it’s likewise one of the busiest areas in the country.
Still, it’s certainly worth braving the crowds and hopping out of Siem Reap for a spell to see this world wonder.
Encompassed by wetland rice paddies and dense jungles, it emerges from the canopy in a medley of historic Khmer towers and enchanting erstwhile Hindu shrines.
Today, it’s the chants of Buddhist monks and gasping tourists that dominates, as they weave in between the elaborate base reliefs and the fantastic sandstone sculptures of mythic beasts.
2. Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville is Cambodia’s answer to the backpacker beach towns of Thailand simply across the gulf.
A broken-down place of tin-roofed hostels and bamboo beer bars spilling onto the sands, it exudes a laid-back ambiance that’s a welcome break from the nation’s other city.
The beaches are the location to be both day and night, with the facilities of Ochheuteal offering loungers and water sports aplenty.
For something a little quieter, you might also make a beeline around the headlands to less-trodden Otres Beach, or pay the entry fee for secluded Sokha Beach nearby.
3. Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is a city in flux: a place where barrios of haphazard shack homes mingle with gilded temples of gold leaf and straight-laced highways of the 21st century.
That suggests it’s also a fine spot to get to grips with the nature of Cambodia as a whole; a country neatly well balanced in between the old and the brand-new.
The piece de resistance is surely the opulent Royal Palace complex, which sparkles with the spires of the Silver Pagoda at its center.
For a taste of regional life, be sure to strike the buzzing Sisowath Quay, which runs along the Mekong in a medley of markets and picnic areas.
And– of course– there are the so-called Killing Fields simply on the edge of town: sobering and plain pointers of the scaries of Cambodia’s 20th-century past.
4. Kratie
Specified by the meanders of the Mekong River as it gushes towards the delta and the South China Sea in the south-east, this laid-back area is gradually but definitely raising itself to turn into one of Cambodia’s bona fide backpacker hubs.
It’s easy to see why the small travelers enjoy it too– think cheap lumber longhouses and earthy guesthouses, actually old ruins at Sambor and conventional craft markets on the water.
That’s not all, since Kratie has actually likewise ended up being well known as one of the top locations to see the Cambodian river dolphin.
Trips to stalk these magnificent mammals in the Mekong leave from the docks every day.
5. Siem Reap
It holds true that most people flock to Siem Reap to hop throughout to the UNESCO wonder of Ankgor Wat.
Nevertheless, thanks mainly to the influx of folk coming in current decades, this one has developed into a great location to visit in its own right.
You can look into an old town of sophisticated French estates and captivating Chinese shops, all of which are stressed by the heady fray of Psah Chas market (best for sizzling noodle soups!) and countless backpacker bars (try to find appropriately-named Club Street). There are likewise some actually terrific museums in Siem Reap, like the sobering Cambodia Landmine Museum and the (similarly sobering) War Museum Cambodia.
6. Koh Ker
Koh Ker is the smaller, lesser-known sibling of Angkor Wat.
Located deep in the jungles of northern Cambodia, the spot ruled as the capital of the magnificent Khmer Empire for a measly 20 years.
However, those twenty years of magnificence still show, with fancy stupas protruding from the canopies and the 1,000-year-old rises of the stepped Prasat Thom temples skyrocketing more than 30 meters in the air.
You’ll likewise be able to see an intricate variety of strongholds dating from the 10th century, and crumbling ruins of shrines now practically totally declared by the roots of huge teak trees.
In short: this one’s a great option to busy Angkor.
7. Koh Rong
This eight-shaped island that remains where the waters of the Thai Gulf fulfill the South China Sea is a photo of tropical perfection.
It boasts a whopping 23 specific stretches of sand, all of which are far quieter and untouched than their compadres across the straits in Sihanoukville.
Rustic, salt-sprayed cottages line the coast sporadically, and there are plenty of opportunities for travelling through the forests, or hitting the coral-colored sea for a bout of snorkeling.
Koh Rong is also famous for its bioluminescent waters, which glimmer under the dark skies during the night– you’ll identify them if you aren’t too hectic guzzling beers in nearby Koh Tuch Village!
8. Banlung
The provincial capital of Ratanakiri is hardly on the tourist radar at all– at least for the minute, that is.
Slowly but undoubtedly, increasingly more experience hunters and outdoorsy types are waxing down the strolling boots and heading to this remote corner of the nation, where macaques fulfill sliding snakes between the jungle canopies.
The town itself may be a dusty, chaotic affair, however there are plenty of tour organizers there https://pbase.com/topics/sjarthclwk/jpylelc071 who can put together journeys out to the stunning Yeak Laom Volcanic Lake, the enormous cataract of Cha Ong, or the sweeping rubber plantations that surround the province.
9. Kampot
Kampot may seem tantalizingly near the coast for it not to be about beaches, however this river town on the delta waters of the Praek Tuek Chhu uses something completely different than just sand, sea and sun.
Start with a trip to the pepper farms that blanket the local flatlands– they are not only the primary economic driver here, however also accountable for the distinct peppercorns of Kampot.
The town is likewise home to a series of earthy fishing villages, where seafood fries come doused in chili and lemongrass.
And after that there’s the selection of dilapidating colonial builds in the center, together with the rusting shells of old locomotives in the Kampot train station.
10. Mondulkiri
Asian elephants stalk the fields and bushlands of far-flung Mondulkiri Province; water buffalo and timber longhouses call the wetlands, as peaks of forest-clad rock increase to meet the border with Vietnam.
This eastern jewel is a far cry from the sun-scorched lands and steamy tropical climes that control the rest of the nation, and is gradually ending up being famed for its second-to-none elephant preservation job.
Cultural encounters with the earthy Bunong tribespeople are likewise possible, and ecotourism of that sort is now the main driver here.
11. Battambang
Statue-dotted Battambang is perhaps something of an uncommon preferred on the backpacking circuit around Cambodia.
Why? Well, there’s not truly all that much to see in the town itself, and the temples barely measure up to the majesty of Siem Reap.
Still, folk continue to flock to this second city, and we’re barely grumbling.
Vibrant traveler bars line the streets and there are some excellent hotels to select from, all of which conceal in between the occasional Buddhist temple and the throbbing Central Market.
Around Battambang is where you’ll find the Wat Baydamram (filled with fruit bats) and the eerie Wat Samraong Knong, which was when used as a Khmer Rouge prison!
12. Kep
Poor little Kep is simply a shadow of the jet setter resort for Cambodian dignitaries it remained in the early 20th century.
Yep, years of war and Khmer Rouge damage took its toll on the nation’s leading seaside retreat, and today remnants of that dark age can still be seen in the form of messed up villas and burned out hotels along the shore.
However, Kep is rebounding, and today the pretty stretches of powdery yellow sand along the Kep Peninsula are alive again with seafood restaurants and bars.
Oh, and do not leave without sampling the famous Kep crab– among Cambodia’s a lot of famous staples!
13. Koh Thonsay
Rabbit Island (as it’s known in English) is one of the gems of Kep Province, set simply out in the waters of the Thai Gulf from the southern coast of the country.
Fringed with softly sloping yellow sands and rows of swaying coconut palms, it’s got all the tropical beauties you ‘d get out of a tropical island.
Koh Thonsay also comes with far fewer crowds than its compadres throughout the waters in the Land of Smiles, and the costs are cheaper too! The best thing to do is strap on the strolling boots and trek the coastal trails.
Sooner or later you’ll discover a secluded cove of sparkling coast waters, absolutely empty save for the occasional bobbing fishing skiff.
14. Koh Kong
The rugged, salt-sprayed rocks of the Koh Kong coast mark the point where the primeval woods of the Cardamom Mountains Rain forest waterfall down to meet the Indian Ocean.
Undeveloped and unblemished by the beginning of modern-day tourism, the place stays an image of wild Southeast Asia.
A smattering of gambling establishments and sleazy massage parlors do still remain on from the days when Krong was a smuggler passage town on the Thai border, however the genuine pulls are definitely the gushing waterfalls, the wild jungles, and– obviously– the legendary white-sand beaches of Koh Krong Island.
15. Pailin
Pailin can be discovered deep in the Cardamom Mountains of western Cambodia.
Surrounded by hills of green bush and dominated by the serrated tips of the high hills on the horizon,
