Trace Khmer civilisation in the order it unfolded. Begin in today's capital, travel back to the forest capital that came before Angkor, and finish among the temples of the great Khmer Empire. Two nights with a village host family open a side of Cambodia most visitors never see.
Cradle of the Khmer is an 8 day, 7 night private tour from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. It covers the Royal Palace and the capital's museums, two nights in a community homestay near Sambor Prei Kuk - the UNESCO-listed capital of the Chenla kingdom, built about 200 years before Angkor - and a full Angkor circuit including sunrise at Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei. It suits travellers who want the history in sequence and are happy with simple village accommodation for two nights.
Phnom Penh, then seventh-century Ishanapura, then Angkor. Seeing Sambor Prei Kuk before Angkor makes the later temples legible: the octagonal towers and lintels you meet in the forest are the vocabulary Angkor Wat was built from.
The homestay near Sambor Prei Kuk is run by the community. Meals are cooked by your hosts, the money stays in the village, and the temples are a walk or a short ride away at the hours nobody else is there.
Sunrise entry, the small circuit while the crowds are still at the reflecting pools, and Banteay Srei in the afternoon when the pink sandstone is at its warmest.
More than a hundred brick temples stand in forest 30 km north of Kampong Thom town - the royal capital of the Chenla kingdom under Ishanavarman I, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017. Rare octagonal towers and flying-palace carvings.
Rice farming, palm sugar making, weaving or basketry in season, a home-cooked Khmer dinner and a farewell breakfast. Simple rooms, shared bathrooms, and an evening that belongs to the village rather than to a tour.
A 4:40am start for sunrise at Angkor Wat, then Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Bayon. The following day, Banteay Srei - the "Citadel of Women" - and Banteay Samre.
Every timing below is a starting point, not a rule. Tell us your flights and we rebuild the shape of the trip around them.
A soft landing in the capital, with the evening on the water.
Your driver meets you inside the terminal and transfers you to your hotel.
Out where the Mekong and the Tonle Sap meet, with the city skyline behind you.
Your first Khmer meal, chosen to suit your taste.
The royal city, its museum and its markets, at a walking pace.
The working royal residence and the pagoda floored with silver tiles.
The pre-Angkorian collection, which sets up everything you will see at Sambor Prei Kuk.
The hill the city is named after, then the Art Deco dome of Phsar Thmei.
The memorial sites, with your guide setting the context. Tell us in advance and we make the space for them.
North on National Road 6, with two stops that break the drive properly.
Rice country, market towns and sugar palms.
An 11th-century temple standing beside the highway.
A sacred hill of pagodas and reclining Buddhas.
A traditional welcome and a home-cooked Khmer dinner with your hosts.
The first great capital in the morning, the village in the afternoon.
The north group, then the central "Lion Temple".
The south group, with its octagonal towers and flying-palace reliefs, and lunch under the trees.
Rice farming, palm sugar making, weaving or basketry, depending on the season.
Dinner, and a village night that is properly dark and quiet.
A farewell breakfast, then three hours north-west to the temple town.
With the family, before you leave.
Where the craftsmen who restore the temples learn their trade.
Check in, swim, and rest before the early start tomorrow.
The classical dance of the Khmer court, with dinner.
The big day, started at 4:40am for the light and the temperature.
In before the gates fill, with breakfast once the light is up.
The strangler figs and the temple they are slowly taking back.
The Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.
Two hundred stone faces, and the rest of the day yours.
The finest carving in Cambodia, then the town itself.
The pink sandstone "Citadel of Women", and Banteay Samre nearby.
The shrine at the heart of the town.
Painted pagoda murals, then silk, stone and lacquer being worked by hand.
Home, or onward.
Timed to your flight.
5 days / 4 nights
The full arc of Cambodia — the capital's difficult history, the countryside between, and sunrise over Angkor Wat.
3 days / 3 nights
Two golden hours a day, a long rest in between, and no 4am alarm. Angkor at a human pace.
2 days / 1 night
Travel that puts more into a place than it takes out — a day with the people, a day with the temples.
7 days / 6 nights
Four days of temples, markets and lake life, then slow island days on Koh Rong.
7 days / 6 nights
Jungle-wrapped Beng Mealea, the remote pyramid of Koh Ker, and Cambodia's relaxed second city.
6 days / 5 nights
Rare river dolphins on the Mekong, then three nights on a working farm in the Bunong highlands.
5 days / 4 nights
The essential Cambodia in five days - the royal capital, Angkor at sunrise and life on the great lake.
7 days / 6 nights
Pepper farms, salt fields, Kep crab and the misty Bokor plateau, ending on Koh Rong.
12 days / 11 nights
The complete Cambodia in one journey - capital, homestay, Angkor, Koh Ker, Battambang and the islands.
Send your dates and group size. We come back with a costed version of this trip, reshaped around you.
Plan Cradle of the Khmer