Phnom Penh - Battambang - Siem Reap trip 8 days
Private tour
Daily departure from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap with English or French
speaking guide
Highlights: Phnom Penh |
Battambang | Siem Reap | Angkor wat | Tonle Sape lake
Itinerary in brief:
Day 1: Phnom Penh arrival
Day 2: Phnom Penh - Battambang
Day 3: Battambang
Day 4: Battambang - Siem Reap
Day 5: Siem Reap - Angkor Temple
Day 6: Siem Reap - Angkor Temple
Day 7: Siem Reap - Angkor Temple
Day 8: Siem Reap - Departure
Itinerary in details:
Day 1: Arrival Phnom Penh (L-D)
Arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport and transfer to the hotel (rooms
may not be ready until the afternoon).
Phnom Penh city tour: Visit the Victory Monument, and the National Museum,
also called Musee des Beaux-Arts. The museum contains a
collection of Khmer art - notably sculptures - throughout the ages. Visit
the Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866 on the site of the old town,
and the Silver Pagoda. Located within the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda is
so named because of its floor, which is made up of 5000 silver tiles. The
treasures found inside include a solid gold Buddha encrusted and weighing
90kilos and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha. End
your afternoon with the visit of the Wat Phnom Temple, Phnom Penh’s
namesake.
Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 2: Phnom Penh - Battambang (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Depart Phnom Penh for Battambang by overland transfer.
Stop in Kompong Chhnang to see the pottery village. Visit the floating
village with private boat at Krar Kor. After lunch, visit the stone carving
in Pursat. Arrive in Battambang, and check-in at the hotel.
Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at TE.O
Day 3: Battambang (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Drive along the picturesque Sangker River to Wat Slaket
Pagoda, the residence of the provincial Buddhist patriarch. Continue to
visit Wat Ek Phnom. Visit a market where Prahoc, the Cambodian fish paste,
is made. Visit the Provincial Museum (closed on Saturdays / Sundays) and the
local market. Drive to Phnom Banon, with its five sandstone towers on top of
a hill and enjoy a magnificent view of the TE.O Hotel.
Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at TE.O
Day 4: Battambang - Siem Reap(B,L,D)
Option I: (This option is available between mid July to mid February
only, when water levels are sufficiently high to navigate the Sangker River
and Tonle Sap!). Travel by private boat to Siem Reap along the Sangker River
and enjoy unspoiled landscapes and traditional daily-life scenes. Stop at
Cheur Khmao Pagoda, “Black Wood Pagoda”, in Bak Prier floating village and
cross the floating village of Prek Tuol. Picnic lunch on board. Continue by
boat across the Tonle Sap Lake to Chhong Kneas floating village. On arrival
transfer to Siem Reap and check-in at hotel.
Option II: (Feb-Jul)
Depart from Battambang to Siem Reap via Sisophon by overland transfer. Lunch
at local restaurant in Sisophon. Continue to Siem Reap. Arrive in Siem Reap
and transfer to hotel. Dinner at accommodation at hotel.
Day 5: Siem Reap(B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. Visit the Roluos Group: The monuments of Roluos, which
served as the capital of Indravarman I (reigned 877-89), are among the
earliest large, permanent temples built by the Khmers and mark the beginning
of Khmer classical art. Preah Ko erected by Indravarman I in the late 9th
century dedicated by the King to his ancestors in 880. Bakong the largest
and most interesting of the Roluos group temples, with his active Buddhist
monastery just to the north of the east entrance. Lolei built on an islet in
the center of a large reservoir (now rice fields) by Yasovarman I, the
founder to the first city at Angkor.
In the afternoon, continue your temple tour. See the unique interior brick
sculptures Prasat Kravan, the Srah Srang reservoir (known as “The Royal
Baths” was once used for ritual bathing), Banteay Kdei (surrounded by 4
concentric walls), Eastern Mebon (guarded at its corner by stone figures of
harnessed elephants, some of which are still in a reasonable state of
preservation) and the mountain-temple of Pre Rup until sunset. Dinner at
local restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 6: Siem Reap (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel. In the morning, visit the most famous of all the temples
on the plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares
and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive
five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century
masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of
classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat’s five towers symbolize
Meru’s five peaks - the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge
of the world and the surrounding moat, the ocean beyond.
Visit the South Gate (with its huge statues depicting the churning of the
ocean of milk), the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (12th century), Bayon
Temple (unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of
Avolokitesvara), the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephants Terrace and
the Terrace of the Leper King. Enjoy the sunset on Angkor Wat.
Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 7: Siem Reap(B,L,D)
Morning, transfer to Banteay Srei temple (10th c), regarded as the jewel in
the crown of Classical Khmer Art. Continue to Ta Prohm, one of the area’s
most beautiful temples. Ta Prohm has been relatively untouched since it was
discovered and retains much of its mystery.
In the afternoon, you continue your temple visits to Preah Khan. Built by
the King Jayavarman VII, Preah Khan is, like Ta Prohm, a place of towered
enclosures and shoulder hugging corridors. Unlike Ta Prohm, however, the
temple of Prea Khan is in a reasonable state of preservation and ongoing
restoration efforts should maintain and even improve this situation. Neak
Pean, a fountain built in the middle of a pool (representing the
paradisiacal Himalayan mountain-lake), Ta Som and Banteay Samre, built in
the third quarter of the 12th century. It consists of a central temple with
four wings preceded by a hall and accompanied by two libraries, the southern
example remarkably well preserved. Two concentric walls enclose the
ensemble.
Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at hotel.
Day 8: Siem Reap – Departure(B)
Breakfast at hotel. Silk Farm of Puok: Learn about the different stages
of the complex process of producing handmade silk. Then continue to Wat
Inkosei built on the site of an ancient temple, which still remains. and to
Wat Bo pagoda to view its well-preserved paintings. You will also observe
monks making the various moldings, which adorn the pagodas. Visit to “Les
Artisans d’Angkor - Chantiers Ecoles” of Siem Reap and time at leisure at a
local market (if time permits). Transfer to Siem Reap airport for departure
flight to the next destination.
Trip includes:
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Transfers and tours with
local English or French speaking guide.
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Accommodation in shared
twin rooms at indicated hotels or similar,
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Meals as specified in the
program (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner),
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Entrance fees,
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Service charges, room tax
and baggage handling.
Trip excludes:
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