Top Things to Do and See in Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat now reopens to travelers. From March 17, 2022, you don't need to do the nucleic acid test or post-arrival test to enter Cambodia as long as you're fully vaccinated.

Angkor Wat is Cambodia's most celebrated relic of the country's rich culture and history, and perhaps the most sought-after travel destination in the region. This enormous temple complex has stunning scenes of ancient stone architecture immersed inside lush tropical nature, and a mesmerizing system of canals and water reservoirs.

Originally built in the early 12th century by Emperor Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple, this complex has been used by many kings and leaders, for different political and religious purposes. Incredibly, the various temples have remained in great shape, despite destruction in some parts due to various conflicts over the years, most notably that of Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Today, it is still standing almost as strong, but just as majestic as it was in its glory days.

There are endless reasons to visit Angkor Wat, and just as many things to do there! Below you can get inspired by all the exciting features that the largest religious monument in the world has to offer!

5 Must-See Places

Angkor Wat as a whole is a must-see destination in Cambodia, and arguably in the entire Southeast Asian region. Within it, are several unique spots that are all highly-recommended to visit if you are already there. So, if you are going to Angkor Wat, the 5 spots below are absolute musts in order to get the full experience.

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All of this was well organized by the local office. The holiday was wonderful. Our guide, Mr. Longdy（ Siem Reap）were exceptional. He shared his extensive knowledge of the many wonderful places we visited, and were flexible to take us to additional places along the way based on discussions. Thank you so much .shared their extensive knowledge of the many wonderful places we visited, and were flexible to take us to additional places along the way based on discussions.

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It was our first time in Cambodia and …

It was our first time in Cambodia and we had a wonderful time. The accommodations, food, and sites were really beautiful. We ended our trip with a relaxing massage. Sam was very accommodating to our needs and knowledgeable. Thank you for the laughter and for being so kind.

Amy Oakes Moon, Jun 2023

Our guide Borin - never boring!

Our guide Borin, in Cambodia, was knowledgeable, understanding and thoughtful in every aspect of the plan he put together for our trip to Siem Reap and in its execution. He can read the room, and knew exactly how to pace the tour, when to pause, when to break, and how to prepare us for the maximum benefit. He is extremely kind and caring, and it showed at every turn. He also is a dab hand with the camera, and we have a lot of great pictures to show for it. Kudos to my Asia Highlights coordinator - Cathy Chen, for picking Borin. Borin works with a driver (007) who was also very kind and caring. Whenever we returned to the car, he would have cold towel rolls and chilled water to refresh us. So amazingly considerate. It was an unforgettable experience

David Muliyil, Jun 2023

Great visit!

Our guide, Anna, was fantastic! She was highly informative and a delight to spend our days with. Would request her again if we were to return!

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We've had such a great experience planning our honeymoon with Alisa at Asia Highlights! We gave her our dream itinerary, thinking that it might be impossible to do all the things we wanted, but Alisa made our dreams a reality! She's gone so far above and beyond to answer ALL of our questions and make little adjustments that will make a huge impact on our experience.

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Alisa knows how to work fast and please a customer.

Alisa is very helpful and works very fast. I am a very difficult client because Inknow what I want in therm of hotels and comfort. She had a lot of patience with me, and moved a lot the plan of the trip, always following my requests. It was a pleasure organizing my trip with her. I recommend her a lot! Thanks Alisa. Malala from Argentina.

maria laura artola, Jun 2023

Trip-of-a-lifetime

In addition, I want to specifically mention the guides provided in certain locations. Rum, in Siem Reap, made the most memorable experience possible. His positivity was contagious - even when it felt like 1000 degrees and we were tired. He brought it all to life, and created a couple days of Ankor Wat, etc. that we will never forget! He heard my daughter's request for specific Cambodian food, and changed our itinerary to go to a village and eat at a locally known shop. He brought the dessert she asked about to us in the car! Overall, he and his driver "Lucky" were a reason to go to Siem Reap. In addition, the other guides (minus one which was switched out immediately) were stupendous. Mon in Bangkok was friendly and provided a great day there; Eak in Chiang Mai gave us a world-class food-tour and day touring the city and its surrounding temples with lots of laughs; Tommy in Hanoi kept us from getting killed in the traffic and gave a stupendous food and architecture/history tour - so very friendly and funny; the fishing village tour in Hoi An, as well as the side-car tour in Saigon, were both unforgettable! Thank you Sharon, and Asia Highlights. Would definitely use again for future trips!

Teri Simpson, Apr 2023

Cambodia and Vietnam adventure!

Our guide in Cambodia, Meas Darapolaith (Pol), was absolutely amazing. He was knowledgeable, friendly and so helpful. His English was excellent and he shared important insights about history and the magnificent sites we visited. We highly recommend him!

Jennifer Roth Krieger, Apr 2023

My daughter and I wanted to discover SE…

My daughter and I wanted to discover SE Asia. Being the first in that region, we wanted to use a tour service company. We ended up using Asia Highlights. From the beginning we were impressed with their services. We left home with of mind because all the pre-travel arrangements were taking care and communicate to us efficiently. All our questions were answered promptly. Once in the countries, we were welcome by our excellent tour guides. Everything was taking care for us. We did not have one issue. They selected the right tours guides for us, they were highly knowledgeable and so much attentive to our needs. We had Dhat in Vietnam and Borin in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I highly recommend Asia Highlights. I came back home so much rested, and with plenty of wonderful pictures and memories. I will definitely use Asia Highlights again for my next trip to Asia.

Isabelle Dessaux, Apr 2023

Fabulous tour and guide in Cambodia

We have been touring Cambodia, guided by Borin ( and driver 007) for the last 2 days. What a fabulous experience! Borin has been a wonderful guide, the best so far in Southeast Asia, explaining the history and culture of Cambodia through his tours of the temples in and around Angkor, as well as the Landmine museum. He has answered all our questions, made sure we were comfortable, and that we have had great food. 007 made sure we always had enough water and cool towels for our face/neck.We highly recommend Borin as a tour guide for Cambodia!!

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Best Travel Service for Asia Travel

Alisa Liu was in charge of making the arrangements and she helped us from the start to make all of the arrangements and also helped us when we had questions and requested some adjustments. Her service is of the highest professional level. We are 100% confident that our trip will be perfect. We’re also 100% confident that, if anything comes up during our trip, that Alisa will be there to guide us through and take care of us. We won’t even consider using another agency for travel around Asia and we would like to have Alisa work for us again.

Leo Pospichal, Mar 2023

Tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand

The tour guides and drivers were another high point. All were very good, friendly, knowledgeable and spoke English well. There were two that I want to call out for their excellence. Chan Sovannarith in Siem Reap was our guide in Cambodia. He really made the experience special. His knowledge, willingness to answer all my questions, helpfulness and general attitude made him fun to be around. In order to praise the second exceptional guide I have to explain about an unfortunate occurrence that I had. I'm normally a very active senior, but after leaving Cambodia for Laos I was suddenly struck by the most intense back pain I've ever experienced, couldn't even roll over in bed (turned out to be sciatica). The guide, Mr. Sonophet, really went the extra mile. He went with my traveling companion and bought a back brace and medications for me. When that didn't help much he took me to a clinic where I was seen by a doctor, given a shot and pain meds. He hand-made a walking stick for me that I'm still using! He made it possible for me to somewhat participate in the activities, i.e. a bed on the boat down the river. When it was time to move on to Bangkok he got me a wheelchair at the airport. I can't thank him enough for these kindnesses! This problem lasted for the remainder of the trip, through Bangkok and Phuket and these guides were also very helpful getting wheelchairs, etc. It was a terrible disappointment to have this wonderful trip disrupted, but it would have been SO much worse without the great help that I received from the guides and my poor travel companion!

Deb M, Mar 2023

In good hands with Sam

Sam Ol took very good care of us - lots of information, listened to and answered all our questions, was passionate about the places we visited and about his people and country. He was kind, had a great sense of humor, and made sure we felt safe and comfortable at all times. He helped us to fall in love with Cambodia in 3 short days.

Carol Jones, Feb 2023

Best tour guide in Cambodia

When we first arrived at the airport in Siem Riep it was so nice to be greeted by Mr Sam Ol. We instantly fell at home when we saw his friendly smile. We were impressed by his great English and knowledge of the temples. On the tour to the temples Sam took care of us every step of the way. He took awesome pictures of us. It felt like we were on a tour given by our brother who is also a professional photographer. Also, we appreciate his humor as well as the fact he had an answer for every question we had. I give Sam 5 stars, best tour guide ever :)

Len S, Feb 2023

Mr. Sam

Mr. Sam our guide in Cambodia, he and the driver out standing service they went above and beyond touring, my wife so amazed beautiful country, we're planning back here near the futures. Thank Mr. Sam,We'll feedback the whole trip next week when we be home in US

Pho Lover, Feb 2023

Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand

We are still in the middle of our trip, but we are just finishing up our time in Cambodia and our guide, Borin, has been AMAZING!!! He has truly made our time here unforgettable and I plan on referring all of my friends and family to come visit this beautiful country! Thank you, Borin, for everything you did to make our trip so fantastic!

Danielle Blount, Feb 2023

Excellent service and Wonderful Guides

All of our guides have been terrific. Mr. Sam in Siem Reip was especially wonderful. Both he and our driver were polite, safe knowledgable and informative. Sam made our trip memorable and enioyable. We will definitely recommend Sam and Asia Highlights to our friends.

Kaaren, Feb 2023

Great tour guide Charity at Siem Reap

Our experience in Siem Reap could not have been any better thanks to our outstanding and cheerful guide, Charity. Her very good English speaking made it so easy to learn so much from her. She understood and answers all of our questions.She was relaxed and very knowledgeable. She went out out her way to help us make amazing pano photos of the cotton trees at Siem Reap and on our sunset cruise. She also advised us on Chanrey Tree restaurant—what we found to be the very best vegan restaurant on our first three weeks of our Asia tour. So glad to have vegan meals with very little oil!!! We are not supposed to have oil and is very hard to find vegan with no oil. Went went back the next night.

Barbara Cornyn, Jan 2023

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is both the name of the entire complex, as well as the name of the central and biggest temple of the location. It is the first thing you see as you enter the grounds of this holy world-wonder, and it will surely provide you with the most amazing pictures of your Cambodia trip.

Walk through the long pathway leading from the gates of the complex to the temple's main gate, and absorb the unbelievable spiritual energy that radiates off this majestic structure.

The Bayon

This pyramid-shaped temple is known as "the smiling faces", as it is composed of huge stone statues and carvings of gods and deities' faces typical to the Mahayana-Buddhism influence that was the driving force of its construction. These iconic faces that watch and keep guard of every direction of the temple, have come to be known as "the Mona Lisa of Southeast Asia."

Unlike the other temples, The Bayon is unique in that it is the only one built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist dedication to the Buddha.

Ta Prohm

Deep inside the walls of the complex, is the magnificent Ta Prohm section. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is also the location where Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones were filmed, as it is a truly unique site. The temple seems as if it had been ‘swallowed' by nature, as it has enormous tree roots growing through and around the stone walls and statues.

This temple, like much of the rest of the complex, was subject to destruction and neglect, leaving many parts of it in ruins. This is what partially allowed the dense jungle vegetation to seep through the stones to create the unique result we see today.

Through a lot of restoration efforts, the temple has been resurrected and allowed to be safely explored by tourists, while still keeping the now integral tree roots that serve as its foundation.

Banteay

As incredible as the previous stops in Angkor Wat are, this specific temple is a true gem of ancient Khmer art, and a sight that can't be missed. It features incredibly complex designs carved all across the walls, ceilings, floors, and everything else in between. It is hard to imagine how such a feat could have been achieved, but the closest thing we can do, is to see this mind-boggling temple first-hand and up-close.

The elaborate carvings were made possible as the temple was constructed from red sandstone, a substance that can be carved in the same way as wood can. The precision and symmetry of the designs baffle experts to this day, and it has therefore been claimed by some to be of the highest architecturally out of the five temples of Angkor.

Ta Som

The Ta Som temple is often said to be a miniature version of Ta Prohm, as it too features a similar (but much smaller) temple, completely engulfed inside the gigantic roots of an old banyan ("sacred fig") tree. It too has been subject to ruin, and has been mostly left unrestored, but stabilized for the safety of tourists.

Top Things to Experience

1. Enjoy Sunrise / Sunset at Angkor Wat

The complex and its various structures are particularly beautiful during sunrise and sunset. The complex artificial water reservoirs surrounding the grounds reflect the breathtaking orange and purple sky, leaving a dark silhouette of the majestic temple. It is a sight that professional photographers from all corners of the world flock to see, to try to capture its magic.

Luckily, the opening and closing times of the temple complex allow tourists to witness both sunrise and sunset. At these times, the temple gets particularly crowded with tourists, so make sure to find a secluded spot in advance to capture some gorgeous scenes without swarms of people blocking the view.

2. Explore Angkor Wat by Bike or TukTuk

Arriving to Angkor Wat is usually done by air-conditioned coach buses, vans, or private cars. However, if you want a more authentic experience of exploring this site, then you should opt for the slightly harder, but definitely worthy alternative.

The size of the complex is much bigger than what is seems from outside, and walking through it, although allowing you to witness all the small details upfront, can get tiring, particularly on hot days. Especially if you plan on hitting all the major spots of the area, you have two unique options for traveling between the various temples, in a fun and relaxing way— hiring a bike or tuk tuk.

3. Photography

Without a doubt, if you want to show off some amazing photos of your Cambodia trip, or keep incredible memories that will have you amazed for years to come, then Angkor Wat is the place to supply you with these.

Forget about pictures of cocktail glasses on sandy beaches, you can take those anywhere! Once you witness the view of Angkor Wat, you will not want to forget the beauty it holds, and will try to snap a photo from every angle, at every step of the way!

Explore Angkor Wat with Asia Highlights

With Asia Highlights, you can explore the most amazing spots in Angkor Wat, and receive personalized service that suits all your needs. Check out our most popular Cambodia tours, and read up on some of the amazing destinations you have to see!