Must-see attractions in Southeast Asia

  • Throne Hall building at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

    Royal Palace

    Phnom Penh

    With its classic Khmer roofs and ornate gilding, the Royal Palace once dominated the skyline of Phnom Penh. It's a striking structure near the riverfront,…

  • Agung Rai Museum of Art

    Agung Rai Museum of Art

    Ubud

    If you only visit one museum in Ubud, make it this one. Founder Agung Rai built his fortune selling Balinese artwork to foreigners in the 1970s, and…

  • Kelimutu

    Kelimutu National Park

    Flores

    Kelimutu National Park is a Nusa Tenggara must. Its centrepiece is Gunung Kelimutu, crowned by three startling lakes that shift colour thanks to…

  • Shwethalyaung Reclining Buddha in Bago, Myanmar.

    Shwethalyaung Buddha

    Myanmar (Burma)

    Following the destruction of Bago in 1757, this huge reclining buddha was overgrown by jungle and not rediscovered until 1881, when a contractor unearthed…

  • Prasat Hin Phimai(Phimai Historical Park)

    Phimai Historical Park

    Nakhon Ratchasima Province

    Prasat Phimai is one of the most impressive Khmer ruins in Thailand, both in its grand scale and its intricate details. Though built as a Mahayana…

  • Yeak Lom lake, Banlung, Cambodia.

    Boeng Yeak Lom

    Eastern Cambodia

    At the heart of the protected area of Boeng Yeak Lom is a beautiful, emerald-hued crater lake set amid the vivid greens of the towering jungle. It is one…

  • Phra Nakhon Khiri Historical Park.

    Phra Nakhon Khiri Historical Park

    Phetchaburi

    This national historical park sits regally atop Khao Wang (Palace Hill), surveying the city with subdued opulence. Rama IV built the palace and dozens of…

  • Dragon's head at Wat Phra Sing.

    Wat Phra Singh

    Chiang Mai

    Chiang Mai's most revered temple, Wat Phra Singh is dominated by an enormous, mosaic-inlaid wí·hăhn (sanctuary). Its prosperity is plain to see from the…

  • Skull Pagoda at The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

    Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

    Phnom Penh

    Between 1975 and 1978, about 20,000 men, women, children and infants who had been detained and tortured at S-21 prison were transported to the…

  • Stalactite cave Tham Lot in Thailand.

    Tham Lot

    Mae Hong Son Province

    About 9km northeast of Soppong is Tham Lot (pronounced tâm lôrt and also known as tâm nám lôrt), a large limestone cave with impressive stalagmites,…

  • Shittaung Paya

    Rakhine State

    Shittaung means ‘Shrine of the 80,000 Images’, a reference to the number of holy images inside. King Minbin, the most powerful of Rakhine’s kings, built…

  • Entrance to Angkor National Museum, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

    Angkor National Museum

    Siem Reap

    Looming large on the road to Angkor is the Angkor National Museum, a state-of-the-art showpiece on the Khmer civilisation and the majesty of Angkor…

  • Hoa Lo Prison, an infamous prison built by French colonists where American POW were kept during Vietnam war.

    Hoa Lo Prison Museum

    Hanoi

    This thought-provoking site is all that remains of the former Hoa Lo Prison, ironically nicknamed the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ by US prisoners of war (POWs) during…

  • Tarsier in a tree at Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary.

    Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary

    Bohol

    In Canapnapan, a barangay of Corella, you can see saucer-eyed tarsiers in the wild at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. Over 100 of these territorial…

  • Sunset view over the city from Mount Phousi, a sacred mountain located in the heart of the former capital of Laos.

    Phu Si

    Luang Prabang

    Dominating the old city centre and a favourite with sunset junkies, the 100m-tall Phu Si (prepare your legs for a steep 329-step ascent) is crowned by a…

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    Agop Batu Tulug

    Sabah

    This hill, 2km north of the Batuh Putih bridge, features three caves housing the ancestors of local Orang Sungai (People of the River). Because the…

  • Wat Chang Rob temple in Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park.

    Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park

    Northern Thailand

    A Unesco World Heritage Site, the Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park features the ruins of structures dating back to the 14th century, roughly the same time…

  • High-angle view of Sekumpul waterfall.

    Sekumpul Waterfall

    Singaraja

    Sitting 18km southeast of Singaraja, some six or seven separate waterfalls – all fed by upland streams – pour up to 80m over cliffs in a verdant bamboo…

  • Museum Nasional

    Merdeka Square & Central Jakarta

    The National Museum is the best of its kind in Indonesia and an essential visit. The enormous collection begins around an open courtyard of the 1862…

  • Flowers and a lake in National Kandawgyi Botanical gardens in Pyin Oo Lwin, Myanmar.

    National Kandawgyi Gardens

    Pyin Oo Lwin

    Founded in 1915 and carved out by Turkish prisoners captured by the British during WWI, this lovingly maintained 435-acre botanical garden features more…

  • Tan Ky House in Hoi An.

    Tan Ky House

    Hoi An

    Built two centuries ago by an ethnically Vietnamese family, this gem of a house has been lovingly preserved through seven generations. Look out for signs…

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    Talat Warorot

    Chiang Mai

    Chiang Mai's oldest public market, Warorot (also spelt Waroros) is a great place to connect with the city's Thai soul. Alongside souvenir vendors you'll…

  • Exterior of Pura Besakih, the black temple.

    Pura Besakih

    East Bali

    Perched nearly 1000m up the side of Gunung Agung, this is Bali's most important Hindu temple. The site encompasses 23 separate but related temples, with…

  • Giac Lam Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

    Giac Lam Pagoda

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Believed to be the oldest temple in HCMC (1744), Giac Lam is a fantastically atmospheric place set in peaceful, garden-like grounds. The Chinese…

  • Indonesia, Jakarta, Merdeka Square, National Monument Monas

    Merdeka Square

    Merdeka Square & Central Jakarta

    It is here that Jakartans come to take a breather from the traffic. The figurative centre of Jakarta, Merdeka Square (merdeka means independence) is…

  • Khao Yai National Park

    Nakhon Ratchasima Province

    Cool and lush, Khao Yai National Park is an easy escape into the primordial jungle. The 2168-sq-km park, part of a Unesco World Heritage site, spans five…

  • The entrance hall of Saddan cave.

    Saddan Cave

    Hpa-an

    This football-stadium-sized cave is simply breathtaking, its entrance dominated by dozens of buddha statues, a couple of pagodas and some newer clay wall…

  • Gate in Pura Luhur Uluwatu temple on Bali, Indonesia

    Pura Luhur Ulu Watu

    Bukit Peninsula

    This important temple is perched precipitously on the southwestern tip of the peninsula, atop sheer cliffs that drop straight into the ceaseless surf…

  • Japanese covered bridge

    Japanese Covered Bridge

    Hoi An

    Emblematic of Hoi An, this beautiful bridge was first constructed in the 1590s by the Japanese community to link it with the Chinese quarters. Over the…

  • Main gate of Fort Santiago in Manila, Philippines.

    Fort Santiago

    Manila

    Guarding the entrance to the Pasig River is Intramuros' premier tourist attraction: Fort Santiago. Within the fort grounds is an oasis of lovely manicured…

  • The statue of Statue of King Anawratha and the exterior of National Museum of Myanmar.

    National Museum (Yangon)

    Yangon

    Even though the museum's collection is poorly labelled and often badly lit, the treasures that lie within this cavernous building deserve a viewing. The…

  • People praying at the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino in Cebu, Philippines.

    Basilica Minore del Santo Niño

    Cebu City

    Cebu's holiest church houses a revered Flemish statuette of the Christ child (Santo Niño) that dates to Magellan's time. The church is no stranger to…

  • Similan Islands Marine National Park

    Phang-Nga Province

    This beautiful 70-sq-km marine national park is known to divers the world over. Lying 70km offshore from Phang-Nga Province, it has smooth granite islands…

  • Thai Buddhist temple Wat Suthat.

    Wat Suthat

    Banglamphu

    Other than being just plain huge and impressive, Wat Suthat also holds the highest royal temple grade. Inside the wí·hăhn (sanctuary for a Buddha…

  • Mae Fah Luang Art and Culture Park in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

    Mae Fah Luang Art & Culture Park

    Chiang Rai

    In addition to a museum that houses one of Thailand’s biggest collections of Lanna artefacts, this vast, meticulously landscaped compound includes antique…

  • South East Asia, Thailand, Bangkok, Samphanthawong district, Chinatown, Wat Traimit temple which houses the Golden Buddha

    Wat Traimit (Golden Buddha)

    Chinatown

    The attraction at Wat Traimit is undoubtedly the impressive 3m-tall, 5.5-tonne, solid-gold Buddha image, which gleams like, well, gold. Sculpted in the…

  • The heart shaped lake of Rih Dil at Rikhawdar, Myanmar.

    Rih Lake

    Chin State

    This small, heart-shaped lake has huge spiritual significance for the Mizo people, who inhabit both sides of the nearby Myanmar–India border. Rih Lake…

  • Soft corals

    Komodo National Park

    Komodo & Rinca Islands

    Established in 1980, this national park is one of Indonesia's – if not the world's – greatest natural treasures. Within its 1817 sq km area are Komodo,…

  • Prasat Muang Tam, an ancient Khmer-style temple complex built in Buriram Province, Thailand.

    Prasat Muang Tam

    Buriram Province

    In the little village of Khok Meuang, the restored Khmer temple of Prasat Muang Tam is an ideal bolt-on to any visit to Phanom Rung, which is only 8km to…