Siem Reap Attractions and Informations
Introduction: Siem Reap Informations & Places of Interest
Siem Reap Town is where you will stay during your visit to the Angkor Wat Temples. Lying just six kilometres south of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat, Siem Reap is a city that attracts an ever-growing number of tourists to the Cambodia’s largest religious construction in the world. Its nice to know that if "Temple Fatigue" sets in; there are lots of things to do here in Siem Reap! 

Most visitors to Siem Reap have a very positive experience here and Siem Reap and Angkor are stress-free destinations. Here are just a few things to do away from the Angkor Wat Temples:

• Enjoy the old French Colonial atmosphere in and around the restaurants and bars and the Psar Chas Market
• Wander along the riverfront and absorb the semi rural atmosphere to the east of the river
• The Cambodia Cultural Village, a new Theme Park in Siem Reap
• Take a look at many of the hundreds of butterfly species in the Butterfly Garden
• Visit the Silk farm and enjoy the unspoiled countryside on the way
• Cruise on the Tonle Sap Lake and see the fascinating life of the boat people in Choc Kneas floating village
• Relax on the small beach on the Western Baray
• Try some kayaking in the Flooded Forest around Kampong Pluk
• the Preak Toal Bird Sanctuary
• the Flooded Forest around Kampong Phluk
• The Angkor National Museum
• Dr. Beat "Beatocello" Richner Concerts at the Jayarvaman Children's Hospital

Jayarvaman Children's Hospital: This hospital provides very high standards of care. It is a charity and welcomes support. Dr Beat Richner plays weekly concerts of Bach on cello and talks about the wonderful work done here and at the other similar hospitals around the country.

The area that surrounds Siem Reap is interesting as many attractive villages and farms are worth a sight. The Hill Temple of Phnom Krom is only 12Kms away. This is the gateway the Tonle Sap Lake

Free Silk Farm Visit 16 kms to the west of Siem Reap
There is a Silk Farm 16 kms to the west of Siem Reap; This silk farm is a worthwhile place to see a slice of Cambodian rural industry. Set amongst fields of mulberry trees, the silk farm is a working factory farm, producing some of the finest silk in the country. Entry is free of charge.

The Tonle Sap Lake
The Tonlé Sap, i.e., large body of water, is a combined lake and river system of huge importance to Siem Reap and Cambodia. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia.

The Tonle Sap Lake and its surrounding provinces are part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. This fascinating ecosystem fills with the water from the Mekong each year bringing vast numbers of fish and irrigation during the dry season. Without it the building of the Angkor temples could not have been sustained.

Cooking on a boat in the Tonle Sap lake

Cambodian Cultural Village

The Cambodia Cultural Village is a new Theme park opened in 2003. The Cambodia Cultural Village houses a Cultural Exhibition Centre set in pleasant gardens. Here you can discover models of the famous sights of Cambodia.

Nice miniatures, small and ok wax museum, and the traditional dance shows telling about Cambodian culture are really worth seeing. Change your plans, spend one day less at the temples and instead at the Cambodian Cultural Village.

 Air balloon flight over the Angkor Temples
Located just west of Angkor Wat the air-balloon ride offers an amazing view of Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng, the West Baray, and for miles around you can see flat rice paddies and palm trees dotted around, in the distance Angkor Thom and the Bayon, and beyond that the Kulen Mountains, certainly something to do. For the best sunlight on the front of Angkor Wat, it is best to go on the balloon in the afternoon

A very spectacular way of appreciating the vastness and splendour of Angkor is to take an air-balloon flight.

 The Angkor National Museum

The Angkor National Museum is a profound cultural landmark in Siem Reap.

With an area of 20,000 Sq.m, this world-class museum reveals the legend of Golden Era of Khmer Kingdom. Angkor National Museum takes pride in revealing the royal historical path of this Golden Era of Khmer Kingdom through the state of the art multimedia technology to provide visitors a full picturesque story of the legend in an easy understanding.

The Western Baray
The Western Baray is vast man made reservoir. This Baray is the largest baray at Angkor. Its waters are contained by tall earthen dikes. In the center of the baray is the West Mebon, a Hindu temple built on an artificial island.

The western Baray forms a vast rectangle of 8 kilometres by 2.5 and was built by hands around 800 years ago.
The photo shows the small dock and beach resort, where you can get boats to the small Island Temple at the centre of the Western Baray.

Preak Toal Bird Sanctuary
The 'bird sanctuary' at the Prek Toal core area of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve covers 31,282 hectares at the northwest tip of the Tonle Sap Lake and plays host to species including Greater and Lesser Adjuncts, Black-headed Ibis, Painted Stork, Milky Stork, Spot-billed Pelican, Grey-Headed Fish Eagle and many more species. Of the three Biosphere core areas on the Tonle Sap Lake, Prek Toal is the most accessible from Siem Reap and the most popular with birdwatchers. You can discover these unique species during a 1 Day Tour to Prek Toal area. 

Flooded Forest around Kampong Phluk

Kampong Phluk is a cluster of three villages of stilted houses built within the floodplain of the Tonle Sap about 16 km southeast of Siem Reap. The villages are primarily Khmer and have about 3000 inhabitants between them. Flooded mangrove forest surrounds the area and is home to a variety of wildlife including crab-eating macaques.