Khmer Empire Tour 15 days

Welcome at airport upon arrival then transfer to your hotel.  Free time in the afternoon at leisure and at rest.  In the evening, transfer for a Welcome dinner at the local restaurant, where you can enjoy Cambodian food while seeing Apsara dance, a special traditional dance of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which dates from the ancient Khmer empire then get back to hotel. Rest and relax for the rest of the

Stay overnight: Siem Reap | Meals: Dinner

After breakfast, pick up at hotel by tour guide and transfer by tuk tuk for a visit to Angkor Temple Complex. Start your trip with a visit to the most famous temples such as the jungle temple Angkor Thom, known from the movie Thomb Raider. The South Gate which gives access to Angkor Thom, which in its heyday was one of the largest cities in Asia. The Bayon is also here. This is also called the face temple because of its many towers with four buddha faces. The Terrace of the Elephants is also worth a visit. As walking through this impressive complex, you can also visit the much smaller, but certainly not less beautiful, temples and will have chance to see the beautiful Angkor Wat in sunset then get back to hotel in the late afternoon. Rest and relax for the rest of the day.

Stay overnight: Siem Reap | Meals: Breakfast

Breakfast at hotel, Heading out of town we make our way by traveling on a newly paved road to the intricately carved and well preserved temple of Banteay Srei. Along the way we make stopover at the Preah Dark village and we follow these with a visit the Banteay Samre Temple adorned with impressive relief’s depicting scenes of Vishunu as well as Krishna legends. Afternoon, Drive 18km toward Tonle sap where we will enjoy a boat ride (private boat and guide) on the Tonle Sap lake. This is the largest permanent fresh-water lake in South East Asia and flows into Tonle Sap River, joining the Mekong in Phnom Penh. We will see a fishermen’s “floating village” with floatting schools, floatting police station, etc. It is same as a big village floatting on the lake, and the “village” move from place to place following water levels and curant. Overnight in Siem Reap

Stay overnight: Siem Reap | Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, transfer to Battambang, a charming big city where you can watch the elegant houses in the French colonial style along the river.  Upon arrival, pick up and transfer to the hotel check in. Later this afternoon, walk through the town to discover its beautiful colonial architecture

Stay overnight: Battambang | Meals: Breakfast | Lunch

After breakfast, visit Wat Samrong Knong and followed Ek Phnom Temple which is an 11th century Angkorian-era ruin built as a Hindu temple under Suryavarman I. The temple consists of prasats on a platform with some carvings in pretty good condition. Wat Ek Phnom, a modern pagoda, sits next to the ruin. The river road drive to Ek Phnom from Battambang passes through small villages and rice paddies and is an absolutely beautiful countryside drive. Visit a market where Prahoc, the Cambodian fish paste, is made. We continue to visit the place where local people take steam-sticky rice cooked in bamboo. Return to town for a short walk to local market. We end our day tour by visiting bamboo train village with a great experiences of sliding on this funny train.

Stay overnight: Battambang | Meals: Breakfast | Lunch

After breakfast, Visit National Museum, over 5000 objects are on display including Angkorian era statu, lingas and other artifacts. Visit Royal Palace is a royal residence now where His Majesty, the King of Cambodia, and the royal families live. Visit Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21 prison). This former school was used as a prison by Pol Pot’s security forces. More than 17,000 people held at S-21 were taken to the extermination camp at Choeng Ek to be executed. Then drive to visit the “Killing Fields” of Choeng Ek (15 km south of Phnom Penh). Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, children and infants (including nine westerners) were detained and tortured at the S-21 prison and transported to extermination camp of Choeng Ek. If have permit time, Visit Russian Market (Toul Tumpong Market), the Market has gained reputation for cheap clothing, a large selection of Buddha images and woodcarvings, betel-nut boxes, silk, silver jewelry, and classic music instrument

Stay overnight: Phnom Penh | Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, tour guide will pick you up at hotel and drive to the most beautiful province of Cambodia, Mondulkiri. Because this area is more difficult to reach, many travel organizations leave this section to the left, but we find it absolutely worthwhile to visit this unknown and much less touristy part of Cambodia.  On the long yet fascinating trip to Sen Monorom in the remote province of Mondulkiri, you will stop to visit Phnom Pros and Phnom Srei (the men’s mountain and women’s mountain). From the temple from mountain peak, you can enjoy beautiful panorama view before visiting Wat Hanchey pagoda, dates from the 8th century and was an important religious center in the Chenla period as well as the bests the views over the Mekong River in Cambodia. Also, you will make a stop at a rubber plantation in Memot district then continue to your hotel for check in. Rest and relax for the rest of the day

Stay overnight: Mondulkiri | Meals: Breakfast | Lunch

After breakfast, you will be transfered to the project site: https://www.mondulkiriproject.org. Get to know each of our wonderful elephants as you feed them and walk with them in our protected forest. Enjoy a delicious Cambodian lunch at our jungle lodge, and then relax in hammocks. In the afternoon we will walk to a waterfall for a swim and have fun washing our elephants there. After farewelling the elephants we will walk back to the Jungle Lodge and be driven back to Sen Monorom

Stay overnight: Mondulkiri | Meals: Breakfast | Lunch

After breakfast, discover the flora and fauna of Mondulkiri. Stop at the beautiful Bousra Waterfalls. Its dramatic 3 stage creates a natural swimming pool that is very popular with visitor during summer. You can take beautiful pictures here! The different levels of the waterfalls are tens of meters high and the waterfall is also beautifully wide. There are no marked trails and you can get the time to look around and especially take a dip in one of the pools. A picnic lunch will be prepared for you at the waterfall. Continue on to the coffee plantation, learn about this popular good and the coffee plantations in the northeast of Cambodia are struggling to meet the increasing international demand for these lucrative beans. You can also enjoy a cup of coffee at the small restaurant in the plantation/ There is a small restaurant on the plantation where the furniture is made from the wood of the coffee tree. Here you can enjoy a cup of fresh coffee. After this pleasant coffee break, you set foot to the Sen Monorom Waterfall and enjoy the charming sunset in Mondulkiri from the northeast corner of the beautiful temple, Wat Phnom Doh Kromom. On the way back, visit the Samot Cheur (Ocean of Trees), with a magnificent view over the emerald green forests. Rest and relax for the rest of the day.

Stay overnight: Mondulkiri | Meals: Breakfast | Lunch

After breakfast, free time at leisure until leaving Siem Reap for Stung Treng. On arrival, transfer to your hotel and relax.  Overnight in Stung Treng

Stay overnight: Stueng Treng | Meals: Breakfast

After breafast, take about 1.5 hour drive to the north, nearby border with Laos. Then you continue by boat to the Mekong River to a wide rocky river with lots of deep water pools and the impressive Mekong waterfalls. Walk closer to see the waterfall and visit a small nearby fishing village. You can learn more about the traditional medicines against malaria, fever and diarrhea that the local people still use. Then go to the southern tip of Hang Khone. This is one of the 4000 islands that this area is known for. Here you will find an old French ferry port and train tracks. The French used this during the Indochina war for the transport of material. By boat you will spot the rare Irrawaddy dolphins that live in the deep water pools.  After lunch, continue on to do kayaking through “flooded forest” and “Ramsar wetlands” where are the living environment of many species of birds here. Trees protrude from the water whose branches have grown in the direction of the current over the years. Here and there are small islands. After kayaking, return by longtail boat to the car and get back to Stung Treng.

Stay overnight: Stueng Treng | Meals: Breakfast | Lunch

Breakfast at the hotel – drive to Kratie, is a little town at the edge of the Mekong River. Kratie is famous for its Dolphins Irrawaddy, which number about sixty specimens. This afternoon, we will take boat to view the fresh water dolphins.

Stay overnight: Kratie | Meals: Breakfast 

Breakfast at the hotel – we will drive back to Phnom Penh via Chlong  village, a small and peaceful village on the Mekong River bank with both, typical Khmer and Colonial architecture. One unique and beautiful wooden house is called 100 columns house for its many columns supporting the house, dating from 19th century.  Tonight, we’ll stay another night in Phnom Penh

Stay overnight: Phnom Penh | Meals: Breakfast