Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre
An interactive butterfly exhibit located 25 km north of Siem Reap, on the road to the Bantey Srey temple. The exhibit consists of a netted tropical garden with thousands of free-flying butterflies, all of which are native species to Cambodia. The enclosure provides residents and tourists with an interactive and visual environment to learn about butterflies.
Butterfly Garden
Butterflies Garden Restaurant features 1,500 tropical butterflies and a koi pond in a romantic, private garden. Creative tropical cuisine, including unique Khmer specialties, is served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. An array of fresh juices, shakes, beer, wine and cocktails is also available. Butterflies Garden Restaurant specializes in group events of all kinds from corporate retreats to children's birthday parties. Check our website for a listing of family-oriented activities and traditional and contemporary Khmer performance art.
Cambodian Cultural Village
A unique, sprawling new cultural attraction in Siem Reap, intended to introduce the visitor to Cambodian culture and history. Wax museum with scenes and figures from history. Fascinating 1/20th scale models of sites such as Phsar Thmey and the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and the hills and temples of Oudong. Full scale models of a variety of Cambodian architectural types, including different styles of huts and homes, hill tribe houses, pagoda and mosque. Live shows, traditional dance performances and music. Traditional Khmer wedding show twice per day.
Classes
Ceramics Classes
Khmer Ceramic Center
Make a ceramic within 2 hours. Make by hand or on the potters wheel using Khmer traditional techniques. Experience potters will guide you through the process. Your piece will be fired and glazed and delivered to your hotel within 24 hours. Free pick-up from your hotel for the class.
Cooking Classes
Alliance Café
Half day Cambodian cooking classes at the Alliance Café by a Khmer chef. Begin with a trip to a traditional market to select the ingredients. Cook and dine on several Khmer recipes. Wat Damnak area.
Beyond Unique Escapes
Half and full day Cambodian cooking courses held in a rural setting just 10 minutes from Siem Reap. Maximum six people per class. Booking is essential.
Corner Sivutha Blvd & Alley West.
Peace Café
The Peace Café in the Wat Bo area holds regularly scheduled vegetarian cooking classes. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 11:00AM-1:00PM. $20/person, no appointment needed. Lunch included.
The RiverGarden - Cooks in Tuk-Tuks
Restaurant is offering culinary tours and cooking courses focusing, of course, on local fare. Unique culinary tours such as ‘Cooks in Tuk Tuks’ and include a tour of a local market(s) with an introduction to local culinary culture, foods and ingredients, cooking equipment, etc. followed by cooking classes at the restaurant.
Countryside Tours
If your schedule allows, set aside a day or three to get out of the Siem Reap Town/main temple area and into the countryside. The vast majority of Cambodians live and work in the rural countryside and a countryside tour or even a day trip to a remote temple ruin can provide a glimpse of ‘real Cambodia’ - picturesque, bucolic scenery, rice paddies and water buffalos, countryside pagodas and little villages filled with traditional stilted houses... And there are a number of ways to see it: by 4WD or dirtbikes, ATVs, bicycle, ox cart and more. The following tour operators specialize in countryside expeditions.
Beyond Unique Escapes
Unique day trips, cycle, alms, treks, walks, villages, small groups, private packages, cooking classes, ticket services.
Corner Sivatha Blvd & Alley West, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Green Cycles Travel
Offering unique bicycle tours of the Siem Reap countryside. Rice paddies, villages, silk farm, country market, more. Mountain bikes and helmets available. Weekly cycling tour every Sunday.
Street 9, Old Market area, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Khmer Ways
Countryside and distant temple ‘moto’ tours using 125cc motorcycles, the same as the local people. Visit Beng Meala temple, Phnom Kulen, tour the countryside and local villages. Custom tours.
Hidden Cambodia Dirt Bike Tours
Hidden Cambodia Adventure Tours
Hidden Cambodia Tours
Single and multi-day all-inclusive, high end, cultural, ad- venture and humanitarian tours by 4WD vehicles, dirt bike and car to Koh Ker, Preah Vihear, Preah Khan temples and historic KR area, Anlong Veng. Tonle Sap Lake tours.
Just off the road to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Peace Of Angkor
Set up by a British photographer in 2003; Peace Of Angkor run special tours to remote temples and Tonle Sap Lake all year round. Bird watching Tours at Prek Toal and The Sarus Crane Reserve at Ang Trapang Thmor are featured
The office is on Street 20 off Wat Bo Road, behind the New Apsara, Supermarket, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Siem Reap Angkor Quad Bike Countryside Tour
Quad Bike tours. One hours, multi-hour, half-day, full day, extreme tour overnighter. Countryside tours, rice paddies, pagodas, villages, more.
Terre-Cambodge
Mountain bike (TREK, GIANT) and trekking specialist. Overnight in some villages. Tonle Sap Lake boat tours (bird sanctuary, floating and stilted villages,) elephant trekking and more. Tailor made itineraries.
#668, Hup Guan Street, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Elephant Rides
During the day, elephants await customers near Bayon or at theSouth Gate of Angkor Thom. In the evenings, elephants are stationed at the base of Phnom Bakheng, ready to transport riders up the hill for sunset. $10-$15 for a 25 minute ride.
Golf
Phokeethra Country Club
Siem Reap’s first international golf club. 18-hole, 72 par golf course spread over 155 hectares and stretching 6.53 kms. A combination of paspulum grasses allows for year round golf. Putting green, pitching area, driving range, pro-shop and restaurant. Managed by Sofitel Royal Angkor Golf & Spa Resort.
Helicopter Rides
Helicopters Cambodia
The first commercial helicopter service to operate in the country, commencing operations in 1998. Offer a selection of scenic flights to Angkor Wat and the Angkor area and services far beyond including supporting mining exploration operations, magnetic surveys, forestry and concession monitoring, long line lifting and more. Highly trained Australasian pilots have provide specialist aerial photographic and cinematography platforms, shuttled business executives from the capital to outfield locations and fly eco-flights over the wildness areas.
Helistar Cambodia
Offers scenic helicopter tours of the temples beginning at US$90/person for an 8 minute jaunt around Angkor Wat. It isn’t a particularly cheap way to tour but the view is spectacular and memorable. Helistar Cambodia offers specialized tours, aerial photography and charter services. Multiple aircraft in service. Conveniently located at Siem Reap International Airport, Domestic Terminal. Office on National Road 6, Borey Angkor Arcade, diagonally opposite the Total petrol station. Walk-in customers welcome.
Movies/Cinema
Angkor Cinema
Cinema in the Angkor Trade Center near the Old market showing blockbusters, kids movies, classics, old favorites and more. Regular showing of new movies, or select a personal favorite from a catalogue of movies. Fully air-conditioned, 100x200 inch screen, 5.1 channel speakers. American, Chinese, Japanese, Korean movies and more.
Roller-Skating
Roller-skating
Family fun, fun for the kids at the Sky High roller-rink located on the 4th floor of the Angkor Trade Center just north of the Old Market. Roller skates for rent or bring your own. Restaurant serving drinks and snack. Inexpensive.
Museums
Angkor National Museum
The newly opened Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap promises eight chronologically ordered galleries of Angkorian-era artifacts and multi-media presentations of Angkorian history and culture. The Museum had just opened its doors and was not quite completed at time of printing, but should be very soon. Admissions price: US$12 (for foreigners). $2 for a camera. Hours:
Cambodian Cultural Village
A unique, sprawling cultural attraction, intended to introduce the visitor to Cambodian culture and history. Interesting wax museum features scenes and figures from history. Large park area with 1/20th scale models of important cultural sites and landmarks. Full scale models of a variety of Cambodian architectural types. Entrance: $12. 9AM - 9PM. Airport Road.
Cambodia Land Mine Museum & Relief Facility
The Cambodia Landmine Museum has evolved from a small shack museum by former soldier and deminer Akira to a formal museum and charitable organization. The museum exhibits a variety of defused mines, bombs and other ordinance as well as information on mines, demining and Cambodia’s mine problem.
Located six km south of Banteay Srey.
Siem Reap War Museum
Displaying a wide variety of military hardware and equipment in decrepit condition, taken from the battlefield. Heavy armor including T-54 tanks, anti-aircraft guns, artillery pieces, rocket launchers, APCs, small arms and piles of disarmed mines, bombs and small arms. Most of the larger pieces are labeled.
Located on Route #6 (Airport Road).
Shrine to Ya Tep Under a huge tree in the traffic circle in front of the royal residence is a statue of Ya Tep, a neak-ta. Neak-ta are powerful spirits connected to a particular area of land. Ya Tep is local to Siem Reap and is said to help bring protection (and winning lottery numbers) to the faithful. Offerings of chicken skins can often be seen around the shrine.
Wat Bo Founded in the 18th century. A large, highly respected pagoda. Like the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, the vihear of Wat Bo contains very unique wall paintings of the Reamker that are said to be late 19th century. Look for the ordinary-life market scenes such as an opium smoking Chinese merchant, the colonial era French officer at the market and the French soldiers attending a traditional dance performance. Also of interest is the large collection of Buddha statues located behind the main Buddha.
Wat Keseram “Pagoda of the Cornflower Petals”. Pastoral setting and extensive, detailed collection of the life of Buddha on the interior of the vihear make this one of the more interesting wats to visit. The date of establishment is unclear, but most agree that the vihear was constructed in the early 1970’s.
Wat Preah Prohm Rath An unspectacular but idyllically situated wat on the river in the center of town. Founded in 1915, the main vihear was constructed in 1945. Oddly enough, the wat grounds hold two large cannons said to have belonged to the larger-than-life 20th century warlord, Dap Chhoun.
Wat Thmei (New Wat) The wat contains a unique glass-walled stupa containing the bones of victims of the Khmer Rouge. Some of the bones were recovered from a nearby well while others are the remains of soldiers who died on a nearby battlefield. 500m west of the road to Angkor about 1.5km north of town.
Pagodas & Shrines
Buddhist pagodas are the traditional seat of Khmer culture. Siem Reap, like many Cambodian towns, is a collection of villages, which grew around individual pagodas, later coalescing into the town. To get a true feel for Cambodia, a visit to at least one pagoda is a must.
Shrine to Preah Ang Chek & Preah Ang Chorm Of particular importance to the locals is the small shrine in front of the Grand Hotel D’Angkor containing two standing Buddhas of the names Preah Ang Chek (taller) and Preah Ang Chorm (shorter). They are surrounded by stories of power and indestructibility. Visitors are welcome to make offerings and take photos. The reverence of local pilgrims is palpable.