Cycling, Siem Reap Adventure

📍 Transfer from airport to hotel: 40 minutes

Arrive today at Siem Reap International Airport. A guide and driver await to provide transport to the hotel in the evening. Take a few hours at leisure before enjoying an early dinner and an evening show from Phare. 

Despite being known around town as the Cambodian Circus, Phare anything but a traditional big top. A nonprofit school for the arts, Phare is a demonstration of the graduate students’ acrobatic abilities. Exceptionally talented players act out everything from Cambodian folklore to the very real history of the Khmer Rouge; a must see for anyone in Siem Reap.

Dinner tonight is included at the Phare Café. 

Overnight in Siem Reap.
 

Inclusions:

🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from Angkor Complex to hotel: 20 minutes Cycling distance up to 40km Difficulty: Easy

Meet the Adventure cycling guide in the morning and get into the saddle directly from the hotel for a trip through the jungles of Angkor Wat.

Begin with a visit to Ta Prohm temple (a setting of one of the Tomb Raider films), built in the mid-12th to early 13th centuries in dedication to Jayavarman VII’s mother. Ta Prohm is unique in that it has been left largely as it was found: overgrown by jungle, trees and vines, with many parts of the temple crumbling to the ground. This makes Ta Prohm one of the most picturesque and memorable of the Angkor temples.

From Ta Prohm, dive back into the jungle and pedal through hidden passages to the ruins of Ta Nei (Grandfather Nei) and Preah Khan (dedicated to Jayavarman VII’s father) before heading to Angkor Thom. This was the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII. An eight meter high wall draws a perfect square around the city ruin. Enter through the ancient East Gate. On each side of the entrance path a row of fifty-four gods and demons hold the sacred Naga snake of Hindu lore.

From the walls of Angkor Thom, head inward for Bayon Temple in the exact center of the city. This 12th century masterpiece is a study in grandeur and is well-known for its fifty-four towers with enigmatic faces representing the fifty-four provinces of the Great Khmer Empire. The Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King are also must-visits as they are both known for their intricate bas-reliefs.

Southward now, through Angkor Thom to the famous Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple of god Vishnu gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century.  Built during the reign of King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat is constructed following the model of the temple mountain symbolizing Mount Meru, the home of the gods. Inside the temple, the walls are covered with stone carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign. Angkor Wat is well known for the more than 2,000 Apsara dancers decorating the temple. Construction is thought to have taken around thirty years of intensive labor. Today, Angkor Wat is figured on Cambodia's national flag as the temple symbolizes the soul of the Khmer people.

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of." 

Dinner tonight is included at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Siem Reap.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from hotel to staring point: 10 minutes Transfer from Kampong Phluk to hotel: 30 minutes Cycling distance up to 34 km Difficulty: Easy

After breakfast, start the day with a ride to Tonle Sap. The tour passes through the many small villages that sit on the outskirts of Siem Reap city. Enjoy the pleasant atmosphere and the sound of the breeze in the trees, or the occasional shout from local children who are eager to practice their English. 

Stop at a local market for a walkthrough en route to Kampong Phluk, just one of many floating villages in the area. Locals here have learned to adapt to the amazing rise and fall of Tonle Sap (up to 9 meters throughout the year in some areas!). Stop at a local home and enjoy a packed lunch before returning back.

The tour then runs from the boat docks to Roluos Group, a series of Pre-Angkor temples about fifteen kilometers east of Siem Reap. While these temples display clear differences from the Angkor Complex in their construction and build, there are many similarities as well that can be recognized in the younger temples at Angkor.

After visiting these temples return to Siem Reap.

In dry season, when the water is too low to traverse by boat, we will instead cycle to the temple of Chau Srei Vibol, a ruin that is often skipped by most visitors to Siem Reap. It’s possible to cycle back to town or transfer back by vehicle.

Dinner tonight is included at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Siem Reap.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from hotel to starting point: 15 minutes Transfer from Kbal Spean to Banteay Srei: 20 minutes Transfer from Bantey Srei to hotel: 45 minutes Cycling distance up to 61km Trekking distance: 3km Difficulty: Easy

Leave the busy streets of Siem Reap behind and head for the deep countryside around the city. The route today meanders through rice fields and quiet dirt paths filled with farmers and locals going about their daily business. Pass through the small village and market of Pradak, which sits in the middle of the ancient (and dry) East Baray, an old Angkorian reservoir. Turn down quieter roads leading to the distant temple of Banteay Samre. After visiting, push further away from the city around the small mountain of Phnom Bok into the deep countryside. Ahead loom the massive ridges of Phnom Kulen, birthplace of the Khmer Empire. Nestled into a gap in the ridge lies Kbal Spean, one of the earliest Hindu pilgrimage sites in Cambodia. A moderate 3 km trek up a gentle incline through dense jungle leads to the “River of 1000 Lingas”. Carved into the very riverbed are images from Hindu scripture and small stone lingas used for religious purposes. 

The last stop of the day is Banteay Srei, the so-called “Citadel of the Women”, which remains the best preserved temple in Cambodia. It displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art; its remarkable fine bas-reliefs are also of note. Banteay Srei is also unique in the fact that it was constructed of pink sandstone, which is seen nowhere else in Angkor.

Transfer back to the hotel.

Dinner tonight is included at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Siem Reap.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Transfer from hotel to airport: 20 minutes

Enjoy the day at leisure. The guide will provide pick up in morning and for a transfer to the airport for the onward flight. 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast