Secrets of Angkor Overview

Tour Siem Reap and explore the temples of Angkor, beginning with Angkor Wat - easily the most famous of the temples. Move on to Angkor Thom to see the Bayon with its 216 smiling stone faces. Stop for pictures at the photogenic South Gate before lunching Khmer-style in a village surrounded by rice paddies. After lunch, visit the beautiful Ta Prohm temple, made famous by the Tomb Raider film. If time permits, finish the day climbing one of the oldest buildings in the Angkor complex, the brick temple of Pre Rup.

From Siem Reap, take a trip through the countryside to the small village of Kbal Spean and see rural Cambodian life in action. Embark on an easy jungle trek to the River of a Thousand Lingas. See Hindu sculptures carved into the river's granite banks more than a thousand years ago. Next up is the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity, home to various animals that have been saved from trafficking including gibbons, anteaters and the bright-eyed loris. After enjoying a tasty Khmer lunch, head to the Cambodian temple of Banteay Srei and, if time permits, explore Cambodia's former monastic complex of Banteay Kdei to enjoy sunset at the picturesque reservoir of Sra Srang.

Tour Siem Reap by remork before heading out of town to Tonle Sap. Take a boat trip around the lake to see floating villages and get a taste of life ruled by monsoonal rains and water-based agriculture. Take the back roads on your return to town, stopping at a local village to pick up Khmer snacks and paying a visit to a modern Cambodian Buddhist monastery.