Beyond Angkor, in five days
Five days for people who came for the archaeology rather than the photograph: two days at Angkor, then Beng Mealea collapsed into forest, the tenth-century pyramid at Koh Ker, and Preah Vihear on its cliff above the plain.
At a glance
- Days
- 5 days, 4 nights
- Group
- Maximum 8
- Start
- Siem Reap
- End
- Siem Reap
- Effort
- Moderate to hard
- From
- USD 480 per person
Who this is for
For people who have read about Khmer architecture and want to see the arc of it rather than the highlights: pre-Angkorian brick, the tenth-century experiment at Koh Ker, the classical peak at Angkor Wat, and a mountain temple built along a cliff over three reigns.
It is a harder trip than it looks. Two of the five days involve four to eight hours in a vehicle, the sites are unrestored and unshaded, and Koh Ker and Preah Vihear have no facilities to speak of. It is also the trip our guides most want to be on.
Day by day
Angkor Thom, the Bayon at dawn, and the small circuit
Pick-up at 05:15 into Angkor Thom through the south gate, and the Bayon at first light with its fifty-odd towers of carved faces. Then the Baphuon, the terraces, and Preah Khan, a monastic city of collapsing corridors.
Back by 11:00 for the heat. Out again at 15:30 for Ta Som, Neak Pean and Pre Rup, finishing on Pre Rup's upper terrace at sunset.
Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Banteay Srei
Sunrise at Angkor Wat from the north causeway rather than the reflecting pools, then inside at 06:20 for two hours in the bas-relief galleries while the sunrise crowd goes to breakfast. Ta Prohm at 07:15, when it is the temple people imagine.
Long midday break. Out at 15:00 to Banteay Srei, 37 km north-east: small, pink sandstone and carved to a depth that nothing else at Angkor reaches. Late afternoon is the second-best hour there and the first is taken.
Beng Mealea and Koh Ker
Out at 07:30. Beng Mealea first, 65 km east: a twelfth-century temple of roughly the same plan as Angkor Wat, never restored, collapsed into forest and left that way. Wooden walkways cross the worst of the rubble and you can get in among it. It is covered by the Angkor pass.
Then two hours north-east to Koh Ker, 120 km from Siem Reap on sealed road and then red laterite. Koh Ker was the imperial capital for about twenty years in the tenth century, when a king moved the court out of Angkor, and it was inscribed by UNESCO in 2023. Prasat Thom's seven-tier pyramid is 36 metres high and looks like nothing else in Khmer architecture.
Two and a half hours among the outlying prasats, most of them empty. Entry to Koh Ker is a separate USD 15 in cash and is not covered by the Angkor pass; it is included in your price. Back in Siem Reap by 18:30.
Preah Vihear
The long day, and the reason people book this trip. Out at 06:00 for three and a half to four hours north to the Dangrek escarpment on the Thai border.
Preah Vihear is not a temple mountain in the Angkor sense. It is a linear sanctuary running 800 metres along a spur, built and rebuilt across three reigns, climbing through five gopuras to a cliff edge with a 500-metre drop and the whole Cambodian plain below it. The last stretch of the climb is by shared 4x4 or moto and is included.
It has been contested between Cambodia and Thailand for a century and there is a military presence on the site. We check conditions in the week you travel and we will move the day or substitute Koh Ker without argument if we are not satisfied.
The Roluos group, and out
A gentle last morning. The Roluos group, 13 km east of town: Bakong, Preah Ko and Lolei, built in the ninth century, two hundred years before central Angkor, and the first Khmer temple mountain in durable stone. Almost nobody visits and it is the right note to finish on, because it shows you where the whole thing began.
Back by 11:30 for a late checkout, or straight to the airport, 45 km east.
Prices
| Party size | Simple | Comfortable | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travellers | USD 695 | USD 1,070 | USD 1,925 |
| 3 - 4 travellers | USD 560 | USD 885 | USD 1,710 |
| 5 - 8 travellers | USD 480 | USD 775 | USD 1,580 |
What is included
What the price includes
- Four nights in Siem Reap at the level you choose, one hotel throughout
- Private air-conditioned vehicle and driver on all five days, including two very long ones
- Licensed English-speaking guide throughout, chosen for the archaeology
- Koh Ker entry, USD 15, and Preah Vihear entry
- The shared 4x4 or moto up the Preah Vihear escarpment
- Lunch on days 3 and 4, where there is nowhere sensible to buy one
- Both airport transfers, and cold water on every day
What it does not include
- The Angkor pass, USD 62 for three days, bought for you at cost
- International flights, visa and insurance
- Lunches on days 1, 2 and 5, all dinners and all drinks
- Sambor Prei Kuk, if you add it
- Tips
Photographs
Who this tour is not right for
- Anyone who found Angkor enough. This trip adds two very long days for three temples, and if the third day of carvings is already blurring, do not book the fourth and fifth.
- Travellers who cannot manage steep climbs, uneven laterite and long periods without shade. Preah Vihear in particular has a real climb and almost no cover.
- Anyone travelling in April, unless you accept 06:00 starts. Koh Ker and Preah Vihear have no shade and no facilities.
- Trips in the deep wet season, July to September, when the laterite roads to Koh Ker become slow and Preah Vihear is often inside cloud.
- Families with young children. Two days in this itinerary involve five to eight hours in a vehicle.
A note on Preah Vihear
The temple sits on the border and its ownership was disputed for a century, with the International Court of Justice ruling in Cambodia's favour and periodic armed incidents since. There is a military presence on the site and the access road is controlled.
We check the security situation in the week you travel, we take advice locally rather than from a headline, and if we are not satisfied we move the day or replace it with a second Koh Ker day at no cost. We would rather refund an excursion than take you somewhere we are unsure about.
Questions travellers ask most
Is Koh Ker covered by the Angkor pass?
No. Koh Ker charges a separate USD 15, cash only at the gate, and it is included in your price. Beng Mealea is covered by the Angkor pass. This catches people out every week.
How hard is Preah Vihear?
Eight hours of driving and a climb of around four kilometres along the spur with little shade. The last stretch up the escarpment is by shared 4x4 or moto, which is included. It is the hardest day we run in northern Cambodia and it is worth it.
Is Preah Vihear safe to visit?
It is open and visited regularly, with a military presence on site because of the long-running border dispute. We check conditions in the week you travel and will substitute a second Koh Ker day at no cost if we are not satisfied.
Could I do this in four days instead?
Yes, by dropping the Roluos morning, and we would rather you dropped Preah Vihear and kept five. Squeezing that day into a shorter trip is how it becomes eight hours of driving that you resent.
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