Cambodia is, without a doubt, the number one country in South-east Asia for history buffs.
In addition to tropical beaches and serene temples, the country is famous for being the home of Angkor Wat, widely regarded as one of the best historical sites in the world.
But this world-renowned temple is just the tip of the iceberg, as the small nation of Cambodia is filled to the brim with historical places. You could spend weeks here, seeing a new ancient ruin every day, and still not see it all.
Its rich history is mostly thanks to the mighty Khmer Empire, which ruled over south-east Asia for centuries and built amazing works of architecture like Angkor Wat and so much more.
In addition to its extensive ancient ruins, Cambodia is also known for an extremely dark period of its modern-history: the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge. Several of its most popular historical sites are confronting & disturbing reminders of their atrocities.
So, Angkor Wat is obvious, but what about all the other amazing places the country has to offer? Don’t worry, because in this post I’ve compiled a list of the absolute best 12 historical places in Cambodia.
Read more on Cambodia:
Table of Contents
A Very Brief History of Cambodia
To get the most out of the many historical places in Cambodia, and understand why they matter, it helps to have some context. The country’s history is long and rich, with many significant events throughout both its ancient and modern history, too much to cover in detail here.
So here’s a quick rundown of Cambodia’s most important historical events; the bare essentials to know before visiting.
Angkor Period
While Cambodia’s history goes back thousands of years, it really takes off in the 9th century with the founding of the Khmer Empire.
The Khmer Empire was founded by Jayavarman II after he declared independence from Java (Indonesia). During his reign he conquered several neighbouring kingdoms until the Khmer Empire was the largest that South-east Asia had ever seen, stretching west to east from the border of what is now Myanmar all the way to the Mekong Delta, and stretching north to south all the way from what is now Phuket, up to Southern China.
The Empire’s capital would move around a lot initially, but several of them were within close proximity in the area north of Tonle Sap (the massive lake in central Cambodia). These cities would eventually grow into one massive metropolitan area known as Angkor, becoming the largest city in the world in terms of land area, with a population equal to that of ancient Rome at its peak.
It was here that they built the famous Angkor Wat, one of the most famous historical sites in the world today.
The Khmer Empire ruled over South-east Asia from the 9th to 14th century, having a long lasting impact on its culture and politics in much the same way Rome did over the Mediterranean.
The Empire would enter its decline from the early 13th century, some say due to the sudden change of its state religion from Hinduism to Buddhism. This coincided with the rise of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (the precursor to modern day Thailand), which only cemented their fall.
French Colonial Period
The next major shake up in Cambodia’s history comes with the arrival of the French.
In 1863 the French pressured King Norodom to sign away Cambodia as a ‘protectorate’ of France, which on paper allowed the Cambodians to retain their self autonomy. But this was a lie, and within 20 years the king was little more than a symbolic title and the French were in full control.
Cambodia would become part of French Indochina, along with what is now Laos and Vietnam. France would have a major impact on Cambodia, and which can still be seen today, particularly in the architecture.
After France fell to Germany in 1940, their hold over Indochina started to loosen, beginning a long and bloody series of events that would ultimately lead to their withdrawal. They tried hard to take Indochina back after WW2 ended, in what would be known as the First Indochina War, but the locals were determined to have their independence and eventually the UN stepped in and forced them to give it up.
The years after the French withdrawal were a chaotic time for Cambodia. Formerly, power had been handed over to King Sihanouk, but multiple militant groups were vying for control and foreign powers like the US and Soviet Union were interfering by supporting one group or another.
This would trigger a civil war and lead to the darkest period in Cambodian history: the Khmer Rouge.
Khmer Rouge
In 1975 Cambodia fell under the control of a militant communist group calling themselves the Khmer Rouge (rouge being French for ‘red’ – the symbolic colour of communism).
This regime, led by a guy named Pol Pot (a name you might have heard in the same sentence as Hitler or Stalin), in their efforts to turn Cambodia into a classless, agrarian communist utopia, started a process of ‘social engineering’ and a rapid reorganisation of its entire society.
Over the next 4 years they committed numerous atrocities and crimes against humanity, the details of which would make you sick to your stomach. Over their short reign, through both famine and mass genocide, they caused the deaths of 25% of Cambodia’s population, around 2 million people.
Even though the regime didn’t last long, they wiped out a huge portion of the population, executed anyone who was educated, and caused absolute economic collapse. This dark period of Cambodia’s history still hangs over it today. It’s part of the reason Cambodia is a lot poorer than its neighbours, like Thailand and Vietnam, and the government is still working to educated new generations to make up for the mass genocide of its educated citizens.
The Khmer Rouge is a very significant and eventful part of Cambodia’s modern history, and there’s too much to cover here, but you can learn more about it in the following article:
Read More: A Complete Guide to S21 and Choeung Ek – Cambodia’s Killing Fields
In summary, this long and storied past has led Cambodia to be the top historical travel destination in South-East Asia. So, lets get into it. Here are the absolute 12 best historical places in Camboda…
The 12 Best Historical Places in Cambodia
1 | Angkor Archeological Park
The ruins of the Angkor Archeological Park need no introduction.
The world famous Angkor Wat is on Cambodia’s national flag and among the top tourist destinations in Asia. If you search up any list of the world’s best historical sites, Angkor Wat is on there. So it should come as no surprise that it’s the first thing on this list.
This massive complex contains the ruins of several of the Khmer Empire’s former capitals between the 9th and 14th. Over time these cities merged into one massive metropolitan area, becoming one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of up to 1 million and a land area larger than modern-day Paris.
The name ‘Angkor Wat’ is commonly used to refer to this place, but the Wat, while certainly the highlight, is one of hundreds of temples spread out over a large area. The Archeological Park is a treasure trove of remarkably well-preserved ancient ruins, which you can spend days exploring.
Not only is Angkor Wat one of the best historical places in Cambodia, it’s also one of the top historical travel destinations in the world.
Where | Siem Reap
Costs | $37 (1 Day Pass), $62 (2 Day Pass), $72 (7 Day Pass).
- Read More: A Complete Guide to Visiting Angkor Wat
2 | S21 (Tuol Sleng Museum)
Due to its dark history, it feels wrong to say that a place like this is one of the ‘best’ historical places in Cambodia but the Tuol Sleng Museum is an essential visit for all visitors to the country, and covers a very significant period in its modern history.
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime took power in Cambodia, beginning a very dark era in the nation’s history. Over the short 4 years that they were in power, they led a systematic genocide that killed up to 2 million people, which was almost 25% of country’s population.
This building, which was previously a school, was one of between 150 to 196 (no one knows for certain) prisons used to torture and execute thousands of people. Between 1976 to 1979 this place, named Security Prison 21 (S21), imprisoned an estimated 20,000.
Today the prison is a museum that serves as a brutal reminder of the regime’s atrocities. Many of the rooms are kept in the exact same condition they were when it was liberated in 1979, while others hold exhibits on the things that took place here, and tell the story of many individuals who experienced it.
Tuol Sleng Museum is a confronting experience, but essential. The memory and consequences of this regime still hangs over the country and its people, so if you’re going to visit the country I’d recommend you learn about this important part of its history.
It may be an uncomfortable experience, but its significance makes it among the top historical places in Cambodia.
Where | Downtown Phnom Penh
Costs | $5 USD
3 | Choeung Ek (Killing Field)
After you’ve visited the Tuol Sleng Museum and learned about the dark history of the S21 Prison, there’s one other site in Phnom Penh that I’d consider a confronting but essential visit.
After victims were interrogated and tortured at the S21 Prison, they would then be carted off in the back of trucks to this place, which was previously a quiet orchid outside the city, to be executed.
The Khmer Rouge attempted to keep many of their brutal practices secret from the general populace, and so founded approximately 300 ‘killing fields’ like this across the country. Between 1975 & 1979, around 9000 people were executed here, before being buried in mass graves.
Choeung Ek is an uncomfortable experience, perhaps more so than Tuol Sleng museum. Here you’ll walk around the former mass graves (which still contain some human bones), learn the specific & brutal details of the executions and, in the centre of the site, see a monument displaying the skulls of over 5000 of the victims.
Like Tuol Sleng, it’s a confronting experience but an important thing to learn about if you’re visiting Cambodia.
Where | Southern outskirts of Phnom Penh, about 17 km from the city centre.
Costs | $6 USD
4 | Bokor Hill Station
Kampot is a popular tourist hotspot on Cambodia’s southern coast, known for its relaxed backpacker vibe and outdoor adventure, but only a short day trip away are remnants of its French Colonial past.
Bokor Hill Station, located in the hills west of Kampot and overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, was established in 1921 as a resort for French colonial officials, where they built a hotel, casino, church and post office; essentially a small town.
Once a thriving retreat for those wealthy enough to afford it, the town was abandoned in 1940 after France was invaded by Germany, before being restarted and abandoned again when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1972.
After the Khmer Rouge were overthrown by the Vietnamese in 1979, the last remnants of the regime took refuge at Bokor Hill Station and it was one of the last strongholds all the way up until the 1990s.
So, despite being only a century old, this former resort has had an interesting history.
Now, with the roads being developed, the abandoned ruins are easily accessible and are becoming a popular day trip from Kampot for those who want to see a bit of Cambodia’s French colonial history.
Where | Kampot Province, about 35km west of Krong Kampot.
Costs | Free
5 | Royal Palace
Cambodia’s royal family traces its origins all the way back to the 1st century CE, having seen multiple dynasties come and go.
For a long time its monarchs lived at Angkor, but after the great city fell the royal family moved its capital from place to place before settling in Phnom Penh in the 19th century. In 1866 they built this grand palace which you can now visit today.
Made up of several temples, residences and administrative buildings around a central courtyard, the large palace complex accompanies its own space in the chaotic downtown area of Phnom Penh, yet somehow, with its peaceful atmosphere, feels like it’s far from the city.
The palace is beautiful, elegant, and its traditional Khmer architecture is second to none. Exploring the palace grounds is a great way to escape the city and gain an insight into Cambodia’s royal family.
Because the palace is still used today, there are certain restrictions when visiting. Firstly, it’s only open for visitors for a select few hours in the morning and afternoon, which you can see below. Secondly, certain areas of the grounds are off limits, but are clearly signed so there’s no confusion. Lastly, there is a dress code in effect, similarly to visiting a temple, requiring your shoulders and knees to be covered.
Where | Phnom Penh
Costs | $10 USD
6 | Phnom Kulen
Phnom Kulen is a true lost city, and has some of the oldest, yet most recently discovered, ruins in Cambodia.
In 802 CE, in the mountains north of modern-day Siem Reap, Jayavarman II declared Cambodia’s independence from Java, which marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire. He declared this site its capital, and founded the city of Mahendraparvata.
As such, this site, which is now part of the Phnom Kulen National Park, is the symbolic birthplace of the mighty Khmer Empire, the site of its first capital, and pre-dates Angkor by about 350 years.
The ruins were mostly lost to nature for centuries, and have only recently been rediscovered in 2012, using LIDAR technology to find them under the thick jungle. Because of this, these ruins are less preserved and harder to access than those at Angkor.
Some sites within Phnom Kulen National Park are popular and easily accessible tourist sites. There’s the 1000 Lingas, a series of 11th century rock carvings along a 150m stretch of river, and Preah Ang Thom, a 16th century statue of the reclining Buddha.
But the ruins of the ancient city itself, some of which rival the temples at Angkor, are somewhat hidden. While they are accessible, they are unmarked, dispersed over a large area and even some local guides may not be aware of them.
Finding the ruins is going to take a little bit of effort. You’ll need to find a local guide who actually knows where to find them, and probably speak to some locals in the national park for directions.
Over time the ruins of Phnom Kulen, as they become more widely known, may become more accessible for visitors, but for now they’re the definition of a hidden gem.
Even if you’ve seen the ruins at Angkor, visiting those at Phnom Kulen is a completely different experience and worth the effort.
Where | Near Siem Reap
Costs | $20 USD for entry to Phnom Kulen National Park.
7 | Phnom Sampeau
The serene Buddhist temples and caves of Phnom Sampeau hide an unsuspecting dark side.
A place of pilgrimage with an amazing view, this limestone outcrop has long been considered a holy place, but once you (quite literally) look below the surface you’ll be reminded of a very dark time in Cambodia’s history.
Along with Choeung Ek (another entry on this list) and almost 300 other sites, these caves were a ‘killing field’ used by the Khmer Rouge regime in their genocide of almost 2 million Cambodians between 1975 to 1979.
With ammo in short supply, victims were generally killed by other means. The caves at Phnom Sampeau offered a convenient alternative, with victims simply being thrown into the caves, falling almost 100m to their death.
When the caves were liberated after the regime fell, a mass grave and towering pile of bones was found at the bottom. No one knows the exact number of victims that were killed here, but it’s estimated to be around 10,000.
When you arrive at Phnom Sampeau, 700 stairs lead you to the temples at the summit, and from here you can climb down into the caves themselves, where you’ll also find a memorial displaying the skulls & bones of some of the victims: a confronting reminder.
Visiting sites like this in Cambodia, of which there are many, are never a pleasant experience, but, just like places such as Auschwitz, they serve as an important reminder.
On a more positive note, the caves at Phnom Sampeau are also popular for another reason: bats. Every day around 5:30pm people gather at the base of the outcrop to witness the spectacle of millions of bats pouring from one of the caves, as they head out for the night to feed.
Where | Near Battambang.
Costs | $3
8 | Prasat Preah Vihear
A temple with a view, the ancient temple of Preah Vihear boasts some of the best real estate of any of Cambodia’s ancient ruins.
This Hindu temple, built during the Angkor period in the 9th century CE, sits atop a 500m high cliff in the Dangrek Mountains near the Thai border, providing an amazing view over the flat plains of central Cambodia.
While still constructed in the traditional Khmer style, Prasat Preah Vihear has a unique shape, being stretched out 800m along a north-south axis, with the cliff at the far end.
Preah Vihear’s remote location, a 3 hour drive from Siem Reap, makes it a rarely visited tourist site. It’s really only for hardcore history buff’s who want to see everything Cambodia has to offer.
Due to its location, Prasat Preah Vihear is best visited via a booked tour, which will cover not only transportation to the site, but also your entry ticket and a ride from the information centre to the top of the hill.
It may be a little out of the way, but its beautiful architecture and scenic location makes it undoubtedly one of the best historical places in Cambodia.
Where | Northern Cambodia, near the Thailand border. About a 3hr drive from Siem Reap, it is best visited as a day trip from the city.
Costs | $10 for entry
9 | Banteay Chhmar
In the far north-west of Cambodia, right on the border with Thailand, is the little known UNESCO World Heritage site of Banteay Chhmar, a Hindu temple constructed during the reign of one of the Khmer Empire’s most renowned rulers, Jayavarman VII, during the early 13th century.
The artwork of Banteay Chhmar is centred around a central theme: the conflict between the Khmer and the Champa Kingdom (central Vietnam). The temple was built in honour of one of Jayavarman’s sons, and some of his companions, who fought in an invasion of Champa in the late 12th century.
As such, the reliefs and inscriptions around the temple depict the conflict in various ways, providing an insight into how people of this era thought of these events.
The ruins of Banteay Chhmar don’t compare to Angkor, but if you can’t get enough of Cambodia’s amazing ancient ruins, then it’s worth a visit.
Banteay Chhmar is best visited as a day trip from Siem Reap, or even a stopover on your way to Thailand (only really possible if you reach the border by hiring a driver).
Where | North-west Cambodia, near the Thailand border.
Costs | $5
10 | National Museum
Of course one of the best ways to learn about a country’s history is to visit a museum, and the best one in Cambodia is its National Museum in Phnom Penh.
Despite being a tiny country, Cambodia was once the centre of the largest empire in South-East Asia’s history, so its national museum has quite a lot to offer.
The museum building itself is a beautiful example of traditional Khmer architecture, and inside is the country’s largest collection of artefacts and archeological treasures, which unsurprisingly focuses heavily on the Khmer Empire,
The exhibits are separated into 4 main areas, prehistoric, pre-Angkor, Angkor and post-Angkor with items such as bronze/wood sculptures, ceramic, ethnographic tools and stone articles.
If you’re interested to learn more about Cambodia’s rich history, and want to see a massive collection of Khmer artefacts, then the National Museum is worth your time.
Where | Phnom Penh
Costs | $10 USD
11 | Koh Ker Pyramid
Did you know there are pyramids in Cambodia too?
In 928 CE, Jayavarman IV inherited the throne of the Khmer Empire and chose to move the capital away from Angkor and instead to Koh Kor, presumably because it’s where he grew up.
Here he began an ambitious building program in an attempt to turn the settlement into something worthy of a capital. He built a number of temples similar to those at Angkor, but something unique: a pyramid.
Sure, it may not be as big as pyramids in Mexico or Egypt, but it’s the only architecture of its kind in South-east Asia and makes Koh Ker stand out among the many ancient ruins across Cambodia.
The full ruins of the ancient city at Koh Ker are spread out over a massive area of almost 81 square kms, but most of them are inaccessible, due to either being covered in jungle or because the area is still being de-mined. What you can explore are around 2 dozen stone temples centred around the pyramid.
The ruins at Koh Ker are far less maintained than those at Angkor, and have been the victim of looting, with some of its sculptures being stolen and sold on the black market.
This, and being situated away from the normal tourist hotspot, make it among the most rarely visited historical places in Cambodia, but for those willing to hire a driver to take them there will just about have the place to themselves and avoid the type of crowds seen at Angkor Wat.
Where | Northern Cambodia, about 120km north-east of Siem Reap. At the time of writing there are no public buses from Siem Reap to Koh Ker, and the only way to reach it is to hire a driver for the day.
Costs | $15 for entry to Koh Kor. Hiring a driver for the day will cost around $70, although a shuttle bus tour can be as low as $30.
12 | Beng Mealea
If you’re making the 2.5 hour journey from Siem Reap to the pyramid at Koh Ker, there’s another ancient ruin along the way that you’ll want to check out.
Beng Mealea, which means ‘Temple of the Lotus Pond’ is a Hindu Temple built presumably in the 12th century, although its exact origins remain a mystery. While smaller than the massive Angkor Wat, this temple was among the largest that the Khmer Empire ever constructed, with a moat stretching 1.2km around its exterior.
These days Beng Mealea is swallowed up by the jungle and looks exactly like a kind of ‘lost city’ you’d expect to see in an Indiana Jones movie, which is only added to by the fact that so little is known about it.
It’s only recently started growing in popularity among tourists, and a wooden walkway has been built through the dilapidated ruins to make it easier to explore.
Despite being among the best historical places in Cambodia, this rediscovered lost city has not yet been noticed by the mainstream tourist industry, allowing you to have the ancient ruins almost entirely to yourself.
Where | About 40km east of Siem Reap. Best visited on a day trip to Koh Ker.
Costs | $5
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