Travel guideline to Cambodia from Australia

For Australians, Cambodia is known as the “Temple Country”, the birthplace of Khmer culture, an attractive destination with wild beauty, scenic landscapes for those wishing to explore ancient temples and spectacular monuments. This is a brief guideline for your perfect trip to Cambodia.

Angkor Wat is hidden deep in the forest and facing the West, so every morning when the sun rises the Angkor Wat temple is shining like a beautiful picture. Perhaps the sunrise is the most spectacular moment in this historical shrine that many people expect and desire once to admire.

Many travelers have shorten their sleep to catch this moment. You should get up early in the morning and prepare the camera carefully. From 5 AM, when the darkness is still spread around the entrance and corridors of the temple, visitors came to admire the sunrise in Angkor Wat. Everyone is trying to find a convenient location to enjoy and take pictures to save this beautiful moment.

Quiet space is only broken when the sun gradually up with yellow and blue violet, five majestic towers show up on the background of clear sky. Many people could not control the emotions as well as the surprise seeing the beauty of Angkor Wat at dawn. The echoes of excitement, the rush clicks of the camera to catch up this wonderful moment. After an hour of admiring the sun rising from the top of the tower and shining brightly down the temple.

For those who have experienced they would desire to do it more. With travelers have not not been through this moment, they would desire to experience once in a lifetime.

Angkor Archaeological Park, located outside Siem Reap City in north western Cambodia, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. The 400 square kilometer area contains the dozens of Hindu-Buddhist temple complexes and hundreds more were swallowed by the jungle. Most of the temples were constructed between the 9th and 15th century and they truly display of an­cient Khmer architecture, art and civilization. Angkor Archaeological Park was registered as UNESCO world heritage site in 1992 and this is a home of the most temple such as Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Prohm. Because the Angkor Archaeological Park is very large, so biking is a good idea for travelers to experience the architecture in here.

Angkor Wat is the most famous temple in Cambodia, built in the 11th century by King Suryavarman II. Initially, the temple was built for the Hindis, but when the Khmer dynasty went under the Buddhist influence, Angkor Wat temple became a place of worship of Buddhists. Angkor Wat is also one of the oldest monuments in the world. The most famous sculptures are Hindu legends and the Apsara dancers. Nowhere else in the world we can find the sculptures of this vivid Cambodian dancers and detailed as in the walls of Angkor Wat. The smooth lines of the body of the dancers as well as the movements are meticulously carved, though on the rock but not rigid, express the humanity and beauty of the ancient Khmer.

Angkor Thom means the “Great City”, the last and longest capital of the Khmer empire. Angkor Thom was to be built by King Jayavarman VII in the late 14th century on a large area of 9 square kilometres. Inside the temple there are many temples and relics of belief made of bee material on a large scale. Highlights located in the gate with the tower-shaped architecture, on the roof has 4 portraits, lines of compassion like the Buddha. These faces are said to represent the king, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and the guardian gods of the kingdom.

Ta Prohm temple is a popular destination for visitors to Cambodia. This is a very unique Buddhist temple was built in 1186 for only mother of King Jayavarman VII. The temple was home to more than 12,500 people including monks and Khmer people. They were ordered to live here to sustain the temple's life. Sadly, since the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, the temple has been abandoned and almost devoured by the huge trees of the rainforest. Especially, the temple was featured in the movie “Tomb Raider - The Secret of the Ancient Tomb” with the participation of famous actor Angelina Jolie, this event contributed to the temple become more special and become one of the the few temples attract the most visitors.

Australians especially love adventure activities that should not definitely miss the Zipline - a popular sport game in Siem Reap and in Asia. Angkor Zipline has built its famous zipline courses in the most remote and beautiful real rainforest locations in Thailand and Cambodia. This organisation is developed from a team of experts with over 20 years experience in constructing safe and exciting zipline eco-adventures which also leading Zipline eco-adventure canopy tour operator in Asia.

The course features 21 platforms high in the treetops, 10 thrilling ziplines, 4 sky bridges spanning hundreds of meters, spiral staircases circling trees, a 50ft abseil finish and nature trail where visitors will learn about the flora and fauna in this unique environment. Taking this challenge you will have a chance to soar on ziplines, traverse suspended sky bridges, abseil from towering trees. Moreover, you can explore the pristine 1,500-year-old rainforest from the high in the treetops. This is definitely will be memorable adventure in rain-forest inside the Angkor Archaeological Park.

Get away from the chaos of big city, choose a horse riding tour through the fields, enjoy the fresh and beauty of the village in Cambodia. Horse is also a means of transport that used to carry heavy-weight agricultural products that people couldn’t carry. In the countryside area in Cambodia, horses are still a traditional means of transportation with a strong local culture.

Today, as tourism develops, this type of vehicle is also transformed into a means of recreation for visitors. Riding a horse will be an enjoyable experience when visiting the Cambodian countryside. The ideal time to experience riding is in the afternoon, when the sun is down and the temperature is cooler, riding horse through the fields watching the sunset bring to the heart of visitors a peaceful countryside picture.

Later, you will learn about the history of wet rice agriculture in the village. Talking with local people will help you learn more about the cultural heritage that exists here. This will be the activity that brings you the most exciting experience of your Cambodia journey.

Cardamom mountain trekking will take you into the remote forests of Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains that is largely unexplored. This is a tour designed for nature and trekking lovers, including night camping and sleeping in hammocks under mosquito nets.

The highest mountain, Mount Aural, overlooks this vast forest and its fauna. There are many types of trekking tour for travelers. The easy trekking for beginners that you will have a short time around 4 hours’ trek on the Ta Kiev Mountain, have a picnic in the jungle, and kayak your way back to the accommodation. The hard trekking for those have experienced to have an in-depth exploration of the jungle on a longer 7 hours’ trek.

This wide mountainous range situated in the South West of Cambodia also currently are home of more than 70 types of mammals, many threatened or endangered species. These include the Indochinese Tiger, the Pileated Gibbon, the Clouded Leopard, the wild cat, and the Malayan Bear. 400 bird species tweet around the trees, some endemic only to these forests.

Ratanakiri is a remote province in northwestern Cambodia, the name Ratanakiri is derived from two words in the Khmer language as "pearl" (ratana) and "mountain" (kiri). Ratanakiri has a diverse range of terrains, including rolling hills, mountains, highlands, lowlands and volcanic lakes. The area is characterized by thick forests with rich foliage and rich wildlife. Ratanakiri is an ideal destination for those who love nature and want to enjoy the jungle trekking tour. There are some attractions destinations for trekking that not to be missed:

Virachay National Park: Covering an area of 332,500 hectares in the conservation area of Ratanakiri province, it has tropical jungle and many different animal species such as 30 species of ants, 35 species of reptiles, 26 species of amphibians and 15 species animals.

Norng Kabat Forest: This is a dense tropical forest in Cambodia. You also have the opportunity of trekking to explore the wildlife in the forest and learn about the culture of other ethnic groups other than the Khmer are living here.

Kachang Falls: Waterfalls impress the visitors by the magnificent landscape and always covered with a virtual mist. In particular, elephant riding around the area will give you a great experience.

Yeak Laom: This is a natural lake that formed from a volcano and surrounded by a jungle of green forests, where the village of Yeak Laom is inhabited by indigenous people. This 700,000-year-old lake covers an area of about 800 square meters, with a diameter of 47 meters and is surrounded by a 2.5 kilometer long trail. Along this way visitors can take a short trek to watch the beautiful scenẻry of large lake in the green jungle and enjoy the fresh air and peace in here.