Top 10 Places to Visit in Cambodia in 2026

Cambodia’s top places to visit are Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and the Bayon, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Tonlé Sap Lake, Koh Rong, Battambang’s bamboo train, and Kampot. Cambodia welcomed 6.7 million international tourists in 2024, up 22.9% from 2023 and slightly above 2019’s pre-pandemic 6.6 million arrivals, generating $3.6 billion in tourism revenue — still short of 2019’s nearly $5 billion — according to Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism.

1. Angkor Wat — Built between 1113 and 1150 CE by King Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, UNESCO World Heritage-listed since 1992, and recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest religious monument in the world at 162.6 hectares.
2. Angkor Thom & the Bayon — Jayavarman VII’s fortified capital, built in the late 12th century around the Bayon temple at its center, whose roughly 200 carved stone faces rise from towers across a walled city nine square kilometers wide.
3. Ta Prohm — Commissioned by Jayavarman VII starting in 1186 as a monastery honoring his mother, largely left unrestored so its sandstone walls remain wrapped in silk-cotton and strangler fig roots; it appeared as the “Tomb Raider Temple” in the 2001 film.
4. Banteay Srei — A 10th-century temple consecrated April 22, 967 CE, built from red sandstone carved with some of the most intricate bas-reliefs in Khmer art; rediscovered in 1914 and restored through the 1930s.
5. Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh — The palace was built by King Norodom between 1866 and 1870 and largely rebuilt between 1912 and 1932; its Silver Pagoda compound houses a Maitreya Buddha statue set with 9,584 diamonds.
6. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum — A former high school converted by the Khmer Rouge into the S-21 prison and interrogation center in 1976; an estimated 20,000 people passed through it before the regime fell in 1979.
7. Tonlé Sap Lake — Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, shrinking to about 2,500–3,000 square kilometers in the dry season and expanding to roughly 16,000 square kilometers in the wet season, acting as a natural flood buffer for the entire Mekong basin.
8. Koh Rong — An island roughly 25 kilometers off Sihanoukville with about 43 kilometers of beach across 23 distinct stretches; its Long Beach was ranked among the world’s top 10 beaches by The World’s 50 Best Beaches in 2026.
9. Battambang’s Bamboo Train — A tourist-run version of the norry, an improvised bamboo-and-steel rail cart that once ran across the region at speeds up to 50 km/h; the current attraction covers a roughly 4-kilometer stretch near Wat Banan.
10. Kampot — A riverside town built around 19th-century French colonial architecture, known worldwide for its pepper as well as its fish sauce, sea salt, and durian; it became Cambodia’s only international seaport after King Ang Duong opened it to trade upon his rise to the throne in 1840.

Planning note

Angkor’s temples, Tonlé Sap, and Battambang cluster around Siem Reap in the northwest, while Phnom Penh, Kampot, and Koh Rong sit in the south — the two regions are a domestic flight or a half-day drive apart, so plan them as separate legs rather than day trips from a single base.

Sources

• Cambodianess — Cambodia Welcomes 6.7 Million Tourists, Generates $3.6 Billion in 2024
• Wikipedia — Angkor Wat
• Wikipedia — Bayon
• Wikipedia — Ta Prohm
• Wikipedia — Banteay Srei
• Wikipedia — Royal Palace, Phnom Penh
• Wikipedia — Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
• Wikipedia — Tonlé Sap
• Wikipedia — Koh Rong
• Wikipedia — Bamboo train
• Wikipedia — Kampot, Cambodia

Read the Top 10 Countries to Visit in 2026 roundup for how Cambodia compares globally.