12 DAYS, PHNOM PENH – KRATIE – STUNG TRENG – RATANAKIRI – SIEMREAP

Itinerary

ITINERARY IN DETAILS:

DAY 1: PHNOM PENH – ARRIVAL  
Transfer from Phnom Penh International Airport to the hotel (rooms may not be ready until the afternoon).
Afternoon, Phnom Penh city tour: Visit the Victory Monument and the National Museum, also called Musee des Beaux-Arts. A French archaeologist and painter, Georges Groslier, designed it in Khmer style in 1917. The museum contains a collection of Khmer art - notably sculptures – from throughout the ages. Visit the Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866 on the site of the old town, and the Silver Pagoda. Located within the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda is so named because of its floor, which is made up of 5000 silver tiles. The treasures found inside include a solid gold Buddha encrusted and weighing 90 kilograms, and a small 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha. End your afternoon with the visit to Wat Phnom Temple, Phnom Penh’s namesake. Overnight in Phnompenh.

DAY 2: PHNOM PENH   (B,L)
Breakfast at hotel.
Depart Phnom Penh for Udong. Visit the various temples and the three large stupas where the ashes of three former kings are preserved. Next, visit the most impressive structure of the site, the "Vihara of the 18-Cubit Buddha".
Picnic lunch will be served. En route back to Phnom Penh, stop to visit the silversmith village of Kampong Luong. Sunset cruise on the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers. Overnight in Phnompenh.

DAY 3: PHNOM PENH – KOMPONG CHAM – KRATIE (B,L,D)
Breakfast at hotel.
Depart to Kompong Cham. On arrival, short tour of Kompong Cham to view examples of colonial architecture. Visit Wat Nokhor with its ancient temple (12th C.) and modern style pagoda.
Lunch at local restaurant.
Afternoon, drive to Chhup, the biggest rubber plantation in country, established during the French colonial time by the French tire maker Michelin. On the way to Kratie stop at Chhlong, a small and peaceful village on the Mekong River Bank with both Khmer and Colonial architecture. Arrive in Kratie and continue to the site of the rare river dolphins to observe them. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at Udom Sambath hotel (2-star, best available).
 
DAY 4: KRATIE - STUNG TRENG (B,L,D)
Breakfast at a local restaurant.
North of Kratie, visit Wat Phnom Sambok to see the Buddhist monasteries and to enjoy the magnificent views of the surrounding countryside from the hilltop. Continue to Sambor district (45 km from Kratie) to visit the “Hundred Pillar” pagoda of Wat Trasor Muoy Roy and visit also Wat Vihear Kork.
Lunch at local restaurant in Stung Treng.
Stung Treng is located 50 km south of Laos, on the banks of the San River, just off the Mekong.  It is a very quiet provincial city, showing the authentic and remote “face” of Cambodia. Visit the small village of Thala Barivat on the other Mekong River side, crossing the river by speedboat. Dinner at local restaurant and accommodation at Sok Sambath Hotel (2-star, best available).

DAY 5: STUNG TRENG-RATANAKIRI (BANLUNG)   (B,L,D)
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure by road to Banlung, capital of Ratanikiri nicknamed “The Red City” because of the omnipresent laterite.
On arrival in Banlung, lunch at Terres Rouges Lodge (superb house made of precious wood located by a lake and in the middle of one acre of garden), to have lunch. Then we leave in a jeep on a bumpy road to discover the surrounding waterfalls. Teuk Cha Ong is the most impressive of them. Next is the waterfall of Okatchagn. Dinner and accommodation at Terres Rouges Lodge (14 rooms only).

DAY 6: BANLUNG    (B,L,D)
Breakfast at the lodge.
Direction northwest today, we cross bamboo forests before reaching the village of Voeune Saï located on the left bank of the Sé San river; the view on the Chinese village on the other side of the river is quite pretty. Besides, this place is nearly a Chinese enclave in Cambodian territory, most villagers, who are there the thirties, don’t even speak Khmer. Upstream of the Se San are a certain number of Tampoun villages that practice funeral statuary; if it is possible, we will rent a boat to go to the village of Ka Choan that has superb totems, if not we will reach it by jeep. Dinner and accommodation at Terres Rouges Lodge.
 
DAY 7:  BANLUNG        (B,L,D)
Breakfast at the lodge.
Full North today, in direction of Laos and the village of Taveng. We first cross the curious extent of volcanic rocks of Veyrum Plâng: a lava field in the forest with a small waterfall nearby (only in the wet season though) and what locals call tiger caves. As we go north to Taveng, we cross different types of landscapes: primary forest, clear forest, bamboo forest and “african” bush. We stop at a few nice Kroeung villages located quite far away in the forest. The Kroeung people have the particularity of erecting bachelor houses standing on very long bamboo poles, these houses will remain so till the young man finds a wife, then, they are destroyed. The right time to see them is usually from February to august. We have lunch at small waterfall lost in the forest and we go on to visiting villages. Dinner and accommodation at Terres Rouges Lodge.

DAY 8:BANLUNG - PHNOM PENH   (B)
Breakfast at the lodge.
Early shopping in Banlung market, then a little trip to the volcanic lake of giant Loam,  superb place surrounded by pristine rainforest. Swim or take a walk around the lake before leaving for the airport. Flight from Banlung to Phnom Penh. Arrive in Phnom Penh and transfer to hotel.
Time at leisure with car and guide at Russian Market (Psah Tuol Thom Pong), a lively outdoor market where you will find antiques, silver and gold jewelry, gems, silk, karmas, stone and wood carvings, as well as T-shirts, CDs and other souvenir and visit the Central Market, another landmark in the city of Phnom Penh.Overnight in Phnompenh.

DAY 9: PHNOM PENH - SIEM REAP(B)
Breakfast at hotel.
Transfer to Phnom Penh’s International Airport and departure by Siem Reap Airways International or similar to Siem Reap. Arrive at Siem Reap International Airport, welcome by your local guide and direct transfer to Angkor Complex. Visit the Roluos Group. The monuments of Roluos, which served as the capital of Indravarman I (reigned 877-89), are among the earliest large, permanent temples built by the Khmers and mark the beginning of Khmer classical art. Preah Ko erected by Indravarman I in the late 9th century dedicated by the King to his ancestors in 880. Bakong the largest and most interesting of the Roluos group temples, with his active Buddhist monastery just to the north of the east entrance. Lolei built on an islet in the center of a large reservoir (now rice fields) by Yasovarman I, the founder to the first city at Angkor.
In the afternoon, continue your temple tour. See the unique interior brick sculptures Prasat Kravan, the Srah Srang reservoir (known as "The Royal Baths" and used for ritual bathing), Banteay Kdei (surrounded by 4 concentric walls), Eastern Mebon (guarded at its corner by stone figures of harnessed elephants, some of which are still in a reasonable state of preservation) and the mountain-temple of Pre Rup until sunset.Overnight in Siem Reap .

DAY 10: SIEM REAP   (B)
Breakfast at hotel.
In the morning, visit the most famous of all the temples on the plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat’s five towers symbolize Meru’s five peaks - the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat, the ocean beyond.
Visit the South Gate (with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk), the ancient capital of Angkor Thom (12th century), Bayon Temple (unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara), the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Sunset at Angkor Wat. Overnight in Siem Reap .

DAY 11: SIEM REAP  (B)
Breakfast at the hotel
Transfer to Banteay Srei temple (10th c), regarded as the jewel in the crown of Classical Khmer Art. Continue to Ta Prohm, one of the area’s most beautiful temples. Ta Prohm has been relatively untouched since it was discovered and retains much of its mystery.
In the afternoon, you continue your temple visits to Preah Khan. Built by the King Jayavarman VII, Preah Khan is, like Ta Prohm, a place of towered enclosures and shoulder hugging corridors. Unlike Ta Prohm, however, the temple of Prea Khan is in a reasonable state of preservation and ongoing restoration efforts should maintain and even improve this situation. Neak Pean, a fountain built in the middle of a pool (representing the paradisiacal Himalayan mountain-lake), Ta Som and Banteay Samre, built in the third quarter of the 12th century. It consists of a central temple with four wings preceded by a hall and accompanied by two libraries, the southern example remarkably well preserved. Two concentric walls enclose the ensemble. Overnight in Siem Reap .

DAY 12: SIEM REAP – DEPARTURE   (B)
Breakfast at hotel.
Visit the floating village of Chong Khneas, located 10 kilometers south of Siem Reap.  Visit the village and take an excursion in a traditional wooden boat on the Tonle Sap Lake, the “Great Lake” of Cambodia, one of the wonders of Asia.
Afternoon, visit to “Les Artisans d’Angkor - Chantiers Ecoles” and time at leisure at a local market (if time permits). Transfer to Siem Reap International Airport for departure flight to the next destination.