Phnom Penh Sights

Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

#3 of 216 things to do in Phnom Penh

#181 of 21665 things to do in Asia

2 reviews | Write a review

  • Address
    • SW of Central Phnom Penh
  • Price
    • admission US$2
  • Hours
    • 07:00-17:30

Correct these details

Lonely Planet review for Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Rising above the 129 mass graves in the Killing Fields is a blinding white stupa (religious monument, often containing Buddha relics) that serves as a memorial to the approximately 17,000 men, women and children who were executed here by the Khmer Rouge between mid-1975 and December 1978.

Encased inside the stupa are almost 9000 human skulls found during excavations here in 1980. Many of these skulls still bear witness to the fact that they were bludgeoned to death for the sake of saving precious bullets.

 

Traveller reviews for Killing Fields of Choeung Ek (2)

  • Avatar
    To write a review sign in, register or   Connect_light_large_long
    Recommend
     
    Add your experience “ ”
    Say more…
  • Avatar

    A good insight into the khmer rouge cruelty

    jazzjac recommends this,

    of
    Previous image Next image Enlarge Close

    Take a audio guide where you can plug in headphones and listen to the stories and history as you walk down the killing fields. It is unimaginable how a dictator could kill a total of 3million cambodian during his reign. What was even more surprising was that the UN regconize him as the leader of cambodia.

    Loud communist music were played in the fields at night to disguise the screams and cries of dying men. Women were stripped of their clothes before being killed and thrown into 5 metres deep graves. babies were smashes against tree trunks to break their skulls. it was a trully horrifying sight with the paintings on display to illustrated what happened during the Khmer Rouge.

    8000 skulls are on display with broken bones fragments and bits of clothings at the memorial in the center of the killing fields now. Monks were brought in to pray for these souls that were so brutally murdered. this is a important place to visit to understand the history of cambodian history.

    Do visit the Zoo not to far away after this to lighten up your mood after this tour to the killing fields.

    report
  • Avatar

    An indispensable companion site to Tuol Sleng

    monojussi recommends this,

    of
    Previous image Next image Enlarge Close

    Choeung Ek was the terminus for most of the prisoners of Tuol Sleng (Prison S-21). The central stupa with its thousands of skulls is one of the most poignant memorials I remember seeing. The quietness and non-descriptness of Choeung Ek truly underlines the arbitrariness and banality of total evil.

    Best visited right after Tuol Sleng to get a full understanding of the scope of the Khmer Rouge madness.

    report