Sights in Phnom Penh
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Tuol Sleng Museum
S-21 has been turned into the Tuol Sleng Museum, which serves as a testament to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. Entry is on the western side of St 113.
reviewed
-
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.
reviewed
-
B
Wat Phnom
Set on top of a 27m-high tree-covered knoll, Wat Phnom is on the only ‘hill’ in town. According to legend, the first pagoda on this site was erected in 1373 to house four statues of Buddha deposited here by the waters of the Mekong River and discovered by Madame Penh. The main entrance to Wat Phnom is via the grand eastern staircase, which is guarded by lions and naga (mythical serpent) balustrades.
reviewed
-
C
Royal Palace
With its classic Khmer roofs and ornate gilding, the Royal Palace dominates the diminutive skyline of Phnom Penh. It is a striking structure near the riverfront, bearing a remarkable likeness to its counterpart in Bangkok. Hidden away behind protective walls and beneath shadows of soaring ceremonial buildings, it’s an oasis of calm with lush gardens and leafy havens.
reviewed
-
Phnom Tamao
Spread out as it is, Phnom Tamao feels like a zoo crossed with a safari park. The way things are developing, it is set to become one of the region's best-run animal sanctuaries in the coming years.
Popular enclosures include huge areas for the large tiger population, and there are elephants that sometimes take part in activities such as painting. There is also a walk-through area with macaques and deer and a huge menagerie, including some rare birds from around Cambodia.
The centre is home to the world's largest captive collections of pileated gibbons and Malayan sun bears, as well as other rarities such as Siamese crocodiles and greater adjutant storks. Wherever possible …
reviewed
-
D
Silver Pagoda
Within the Royal Palace compound is the extravagant Silver Pagoda, the floor of which is covered with five tons of gleaming silver. You can sneak a peek at some of the 5000 tiles near the entrance - most are covered to protect them. Rivalling the floor, an extraordinary Baccarat-crystal Buddha sits atop an impressive gilded pedestal. Adding to the lavish mix is a life-sized solid-gold Buddha, which weighs 90kg and is adorned with 2086 diamonds, the largest weighing in at 25 carats.
The staircase leading to the Silver Pagoda is made of Italian marble. Inside, the Emerald Buddha, said to be made of Baccarat crystal, sits on a gilt pedestal high atop the dais. In front of th…
reviewed
-
Chet Dey Mak Proum
At the northwestern extremity of the ridge stand four large stupas. The first is the cement Chet Dey Mak Proum, the final resting place of King Monivong (r 1927-41). Decorated with garudas (mythical half-man, half-bird creatures), floral designs and elephants, it has four faces on top.
The middle stupa, Tray Troeng, is decorated with coloured tiles; it was built in 1891 by King Norodom to house the ashes of his father, King Ang Duong (r 1845-59). But some say King Ang Duong was in fact buried next to the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh. The third stupa, Damrei Sam Poan, was built by King Chey Chethar II (r 1618-26) for the ashes of his predecessor, King Soriyopor. The fourth …
reviewed
-
E
French Embassy
Located at the northern end of Monivong Blvd, the French embassy played a significant role in the dramas that unfolded after the fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975. About 800 foreigners and 600 Cambodians took refuge in the embassy. Within 48 hours, the Khmer Rouge informed the French vice-consul that the new government did not recognise diplomatic privileges and that if all the Cambodians in the compound were not handed over, the lives of the foreigners inside would also be forfeited. Cambodian women married to foreigners could stay; Cambodian men married to foreign women could not. Foreigners wept as servants, colleagues, friends, lovers and husbands were escorted out …
reviewed
-
Phnom Chisor
The main temple stands on the eastern side of the hilltop. Constructed of laterite and brick with carved lintels of sandstone, the complex is surrounded by the partially ruined walls of a 2.5m-wide gallery with windows.
Inscriptions found here date from the 11th century, when this site was known as Suryagiri. The wooden doors to the sanctuary in the centre of the complex, which open to the east, are decorated with carvings of figures standing on pigs. Inside the sanctuary are statues of Buddha.
Curiously the USaround US$3 charge is not levied at the bottom of the hill, but at the temple, so it is technically free to visit if you pass on the old brick structure.
reviewed
-
Sen Thmol, Sen Ravang & Tonlé Om
On the plain to the east of Phnom Chisor are the sanctuaries of Sen Thmol, just below Phnom Chisor, Sen Ravang and the former sacred pond of Tonlé Om. All three of these features form a straight line from Phnom Chisor in the direction of Angkor. During rituals held here 900 years ago, the king, his Brahmans and their entourage would climb a monumental 400 steps to Suryagiri from this direction.
There is a spectacular view of the temples and plains from the roofless gallery opposite the wooden doors to the central shrine of Phnom Chisor. Near the main temple is a modern Buddhist vihara that is used by resident monks.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Vihear Preah Ath Roes
The larger ridge, Phnom Preah Reach Throap (Hill of the Royal Fortune), is so named because a 16th-century Khmer king is said to have hidden the national treasury here during a war with the Thais. The most impressive structure on Phnom Preah Reach Throap is Vihear Preah Ath Roes. The vihara and the Buddha, dedicated in 1911 by King Sisowath, were blown up by the Khmer Rouge in 1977.
Only sections of the walls, the bases of eight enormous columns and the right arm and part of the right side of the Buddha remain. The Buddha has been reconstructed and the roof is currently being rebuilt.
reviewed
-
Vihear Preah Ko
About 120m northwest of Vihear Preah Ath Roes is a line of small viharas. The first is Vihear Preah Ko, a brick-roofed structure that contains a statue of Preah Ko, the sacred bull; the original statue was carried away by the Thais long ago. The second structure, which has a seated Buddha inside, is Vihear Preah Keo. The third is Vihear Prak Neak, its cracked walls topped with a thatched roof. Inside is a seated Buddha who is guarded by a naga (serpent). (Prak neak means 'protected by a naga'.)
reviewed
-
Documentation Center of Cambodia
Behind many of the displays at Tuol Sleng is the Documentation Center of Cambodia. DC-Cam was established in 1995 through Yale University’s Cambodian Genocide Program to research and document the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. It became an independent organisation in 1997 and researchers have spent years translating confessions and paperwork from Tuol Sleng, mapping mass graves, and preserving evidence of Khmer Rouge crimes.
reviewed
-
Phnom Vihear Leu
The smaller ridge has two structures and several stupas on top. Ta San Mosque faces westward towards Mecca. Across the plains to the south of the mosque you can see Phnom Vihear Leu, a small hill on which a vihara stands between two white poles. To the right of the vihara is a building used as a prison under Pol Pot's rule. To the left of the vihara and below it is a pagoda known as Arey Ka Sap.
reviewed
-
F
Wat Moha Montrei
Situated close to the Olympic Stadium, Wat Moha Montrei was named in honour of one of King Monivong’s ministers, Chakrue Ponn, who initiated the founding of the pagoda (moha montrei means ‘the great minister’). The cement vihara, topped with a 35m-high tower, was completed in 1970. Between 1975 and 1979, it was used by the Khmer Rouge to store rice and corn.
reviewed
-
G
Independence Monument
Modelled on the central tower of Angkor Wat, the Independence Monument was built in 1958 to commemorate the country’s independence from France in 1953. It also serves as a memorial to Cambodia’s war dead (at least those that the current government chooses to remember) and is sometimes referred to as the Victory Monument. Wreaths are laid here on national holidays.
reviewed
-
H
National Library
The National Library is in a graceful old building constructed in 1924, near Wat Phnom. During its rule, the Khmer Rouge turned the building into a stable and destroyed most of the books. Many were thrown out into the streets, where they were picked up by people, some of whom donated them back to the library after 1979; others used them as food wrappings.
reviewed
-
I
Wat Ounalom
This is the headquarters of the Cambodian Buddhist patriarchate, founded in 1443, comprising 44 structures. The head of the country's Buddhist brotherhood lives here as do some monks. See the statue of Samdech Huot Tat, fourth patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism, who was killed by Pol Pot. Behind the main building is a stupa containing an eyebrow hair of Buddha.
reviewed
-
memorial
At the base of the ridge, close to the road, is a memorial to the victims of Pol Pot that contains the bones of some of the people who were buried in approximately 100 mass graves, each containing about a dozen bodies. Instruments of torture were unearthed along with the bones when a number of the pits were disinterred in 1981 and 1982.
reviewed
-
J
National Museum of Cambodia
Located just north of the Royal Palace, the National Museum of Cambodia is housed in a graceful terracotta structure of traditional design (built 1917–20), with an inviting courtyard garden. The museum is home to the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture – a millennia’s worth and more of masterful Khmer design.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Olympic Stadium
Known collectively as the National Sports Complex, the Olympic Stadium is a striking example of 1960s Khmer architecture and includes a sports arena and facilities for boxing, gymnastics, volleyball and other sports. Turn up after 5pm to see countless football matches, pétanque duels or badminton games.
reviewed
-
L
Wat Ounalom
This wat is the headquarters of Cambodian Buddhism. It was founded in 1443 and comprises 44 structures. It received a battering during the Pol Pot era, but today the wat has come back to life. The head of the country’s Buddhist brotherhood lives here, along with a large number of monks.
reviewed
-
Choeung Ek
Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 men, women, children and infants who had been detained and tortured at S-21 were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek. They were often bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets.
reviewed
