5-Day Siem Reap Heritage Tour with Angkor, Tonle Sap and Koh Ker

• Your tour guide and driver will meet you in the hotel lobby at 5 am and take you to Angkor Wat. A stunning sunrise at the west wing moat of the temple will give you one of the most beautiful sunrise photos, with fewer tourists around and nature all around you. Watch the temple reflect in the water, hear the birds singing at sunrise, touch the first stones on the moat steps, and learn how the temple was built from the moat to the main sanctuary. You will also hear about the 17 m-deep base of the temple, the artificial sun used to light the site at night for work, and why this temple was built. It is the most significant religious temple in the world ever built.
• After sunrise, cycle to Ta Prohm temple, where the film Tomb Raider was shot. It is recognised as a jungle temple. Your tour guide will take you through the village so that you can see the lives of local people and their homes as you loop toward the temple.
• Take a break for breakfast, which has been packed from the hotel.
• Continue cycling along the wall to see the hidden ancient entrance to the city of the famous four faces of Buddha.
• Head towards the Terrace of Elephants, the Royal Plaza of Phimeanakas, and Baphuon temple, which has a pyramid layout. Keep climbing to the top of the temple to enjoy the beautiful landscape and then continue to Bayon temple, which has 216 faces of Buddha.
• Take a break for lunch with a set menu of traditional Khmer dishes, and then return to explore Angkor Wat, the biggest religious temple ever built.

Included: Temple pass, AC transportation, cool water, lunch, and an English- or French-speaking tour guide.

• Get picked up by the guide from the hotel at 8.00 am and then drive to the mountains.
• Stop midway to see beautiful paddy rice fields, walk a little to visit the local countryside market, and taste Khmer noodles in one of the most famous villages in Siem Reap.
• Reach the mountain and begin exploring the sites on foot, with walking and commentary from your guide.
• Once there, you will see around 1,000 Hindu lingams on the riverbed, dating back to 802 AD.
• Continue walking along the riverbank to see the sacred holy well and the biggest Reclining Buddha from the 16th century AD.
• After this, walk a bit more through the local villages, where you will see the daily life of the people who live on top of the mountain.
• When you reach the waterfall, feel free to dip and swim. A changing room is available, and you can bring your spare clothes. Local people do not wear swimming suits there because they prefer not to show their bodies.
• Have lunch at a local restaurant near the waterfall site and then return to the hotel.

Included: Temple pass, AC transportation, cool water, lunch, and an English- or French-speaking tour guide.

• The guide and driver will meet you at 9 am at the hotel and take you straight to a Buddhist monastery in the countryside.
• Meet the monk and offer him the donations.
• You will change into a traditional sarong and sit to receive the holy water blessing. The monk will recite prayers and pour water over you. It will be one of the most beautiful photo moments of your trip, and this cultural ceremony is not against any religion because Cambodia's water blessing is a cultural tradition.
• Attend the ceremony, during which the monk will give you water, flowers, and a lucky sacred thread to tie around your wrist.
• After the water blessing ceremony, return to the city for a city tour.
• Visit Wat Prah Promroath Buddha Hall, where you can learn the history of Buddha, and then visit the most famous fine art school in Cambodia. There, you can see stone and wood carving, silk weaving, lacquerware, painting, and silver making.
• Return to the hotel and relax.
• You will be picked up again at 7.30 pm for the beautiful evening event at the Cambodia Phare Circus. This is unmissable - young Cambodian performers flawlessly present juggling, jumps, stretches, and dance with classical music and storytelling. Return to the hotel after the performance.

Included: Monk offerings, lunch, cool water, AC transportation, an English- or French-speaking tour guide, and a circus ticket.

• Today, the tour introduces you to the local life of the people in the community settled on the banks of the Great Lake of Tonle Sap, which is fed by the Mekong River. Cambodia is listed as the 152nd poorest country out of 172 countries in the world. Eighty percent of people are still living in poverty, and many live on two meals a day. Tonle Sap is the biggest freshwater lake in Cambodia, and fishing is the source of income for the people who depend on the lake. They catch about 10 tonnes of fish per day.
• Leave the hotel at 8 am and drive to the community on the shore of Tonle Sap Lake.
• Stop at a village where people cook bamboo cakes and see how the cakes are prepared inside bamboo tubes.
• Stop at a small local market, a very interesting place where you can see people trading products such as fish, crab, snakes, snails, vegetables, and more.
• Continue walking and board the large private boat provided. The boat will take you through the community to see the floating village, where the houses float on the water.
• See the vast surface of the lake, meet the local host, and learn to cook fish, a traditional dish called Tek Krerng, and fish sour soup with morning glory.
• Enjoy lunch with the family on a veranda on stilts 14 m high, with a view of the canal. Even with their hardships, the people are amicable and happy, and you can become friends with them immediately.
• After this, return to the hotel.

Included: Lunch, AC transportation, cool water, boat ticket, tax, and an English- or French-speaking tour guide.

• Leave the hotel at 8 am and drive to the north of Cambodia. Arrive in Preah Vihear province and explore the hidden jungle temples away from the tourist crowds. Koh Ker was the ancient capital city of King Jayavarman II in 928 AD. The king built the richest city over about 29 years across an area of 80 sq. km, and UNESCO has listed it as one of the world's cultural heritage sites.
• Apart from the temples, you will also see a huge pyramid temple with many smaller temples surrounding the site.
• Continue driving until you arrive at the national park area, where you can explore Prasat Bram temple, Prasat Chen temple, Prasat Neang Kmoa, and the pyramid-like main temple of Prasat Thom.
• Take a break for lunch in front of the temple.
• After lunch, explore more temples in the Lingam temple area, including the Teak Tree Temple, and then drive back to the city.

Included: Lunch, cool water, AC transportation, temple pass, and an English- or French-speaking tour guide.