Khmer Hidden Charm: Cambodia’s Temples, Highlands and Mekong in 21 Days

Begin at the National Museum, a red pavilion holding more than five thousand objects, from Angkor-era statues to lingas and bronzes. Next comes the Royal Palace, still home to the King and his family and laid out like a small royal town. In the same grounds, the Silver Pagoda guards national treasures, including a 90-kilogram gold Buddha set with more than two thousand diamonds. End at Wat Phnom, the hilltop pagoda founded in 1373 that gave the city its name.

Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L

Today is given to Cambodia's recent history, with time to reflect. Drive 15 kilometers south to the memorial at Choeung Ek, then return to the city for Tuol Sleng Museum, a former school used as the S-21 prison under the Khmer Rouge. Your guide handles both visits with care. In between, stop at the Independence Monument and the art deco Central Market. Later, browse silk, silver and carvings at the Russian Market, then end the day with a sunset cruise where the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers meet.

Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L

Leave the capital for Battambang, about 290 kilometers and four to five hours by road, with stops that make the journey. Visit a silversmith village, watch clay pots being shaped by hand in Kampong Chhnang and walk through a lively fish market. In Battambang, check in and stroll the riverside streets lined with French-era shophouses. Late in the afternoon, ride the bamboo train, a simple wooden platform that rattles along the rails past rice fields.

Overnight: Battambang · Meals: B, L

Follow the Sangker River to Wat Slaket, seat of the province's senior monk, and on to Ek Phnom, an 11th-century temple ruin. Stop at a market where prahok, Cambodia's famous fermented fish paste, is made. In the afternoon, climb to Phnom Banan, five sandstone towers on a hilltop with sweeping views over the plains. Finish at Phnom Sampeau, a hill of legends, pagodas and caves, including a quiet memorial. At dusk, watch from the foot of the hill as millions of bats pour out of a cave into the evening sky.

Overnight: Battambang · Meals: B, L

Drive to Siem Reap, around three hours by road, and check in. In the afternoon, hop in a tuk-tuk to Artisans d'Angkor, a school and workshop where young Cambodians train in stone carving, woodwork, lacquer and silk painting, keeping traditional crafts alive. In the evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant with a performance of Apsara dance, the graceful classical art whose gestures you will soon recognize on the temple walls.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, D

Rise early to watch the sun come up behind Angkor Wat, its towers reflected in the ponds, then return to the hotel for breakfast. Later, enter Angkor Thom through the South Gate, lined with giant stone faces, and explore the Bayon with its many smiling towers, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas and the Terrace of the Leper King. In the afternoon, take your time at Angkor Wat itself. Built in the 12th century, it is the largest religious monument in the world, with long galleries of carved stories to read with your guide.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L

Head out through the countryside to Banteay Srei, a small temple of pink sandstone with some of the finest carving in the Khmer world, stopping in Preah Dak village on the way. Continue to Banteay Samre, with reliefs showing the legends of Vishnu and Krishna. After lunch, explore Ta Prohm, where giant fig trees and creepers wrap around the stones as if the forest is taking the temple back. If time allows, your guide adds a few smaller temples nearby.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L

Visit the Roluos Group, site of the first royal capital in the Angkor region in the late 9th century. Preah Ko was built by King Indravarman I for his ancestors, Bakong is the grandest of the group, with an active monastery beside it, and Lolei once stood on an island in a great reservoir now turned to rice fields. In the afternoon, drive to Beng Mealea, an 11th-century temple in the style of Angkor Wat, sprawling over a square kilometer and largely overgrown by the forest.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L

Drive to Chrieve village for a gentle look at rural life. Ride an oxcart along the lanes, visit family home gardens, lend a hand with the vegetables if you like and share seasonal fruit at a village house. In the afternoon, travel 18 kilometers to the Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. A private boat takes you to a fishing village where houses, schools and even the police station float on the water and move with the seasons.

Overnight: Siem Reap · Meals: B, L

Enjoy a free morning in Siem Reap for a swim, a massage or a last coffee in town. Then begin the long drive northeast to Stung Treng, a quiet river town where the Sekong joins the Mekong. Close to Stung Treng, if time permits, stop at Sopheakmit waterfall for photos and a stretch. Check in on arrival and rest for the evening. This is a long road day, so your guide plans plenty of breaks along the way.

Overnight: Stung Treng · Meals: B, L

Drive about an hour and a half north, close to the Lao border, then continue by boat into a wide, rocky stretch of the Mekong full of deep pools and powerful falls. Walk close to the falls and visit a small fishing village where people still use plant remedies for fever and other illnesses. Look out for rare Irrawaddy dolphins in the deep pools before lunch and a rest. In the afternoon, kayak through a flooded forest in a Ramsar-listed wetland, where trees have grown bent by the current, then return by longtail boat.

Overnight: Stung Treng · Meals: B, L

Cross the river to Thala Barivat, about four kilometers from Stung Treng, home to some of the earliest temples of the Khmer kingdom. The main temple, with six towers and fine details, dates from the 7th to 8th century, and smaller weathered shrines stand nearby. After lunch, drive east to Ban Lung, the red-earth capital of Ratanakiri province. If time allows, walk through the local market to see daily life in this frontier town before checking in.

Overnight: Ratanakiri · Meals: B, L

Travel to Veun Sai and board a traditional wooden boat along a river edged with forest, passing villages where life follows the water. Stop to visit traditional villages of Lao and other ethnic minority communities and see an authentic minority cemetery, then return to Veun Sai by boat for lunch. In the afternoon, follow a narrow path to Cha Ong, the largest and most beautiful waterfall around Ban Lung. In the dry season you can swim beneath it, though the flow is smaller than in the rains.

Overnight: Ratanakiri · Meals: B, L

A day of water and forest. Start at Ka Tieng, a 10-meter fall in the jungle, and Kachanh, which drops about seven meters into a broad pool. Continue on an unpaved road, one to two hours, to Bai Srok, a seven-tier waterfall with deep pools, for a picnic lunch. In the afternoon, see how local miners search for gemstones in narrow, deep shafts. End at Yeak Laom, a round volcanic crater lake ringed by forest, in the soft late-afternoon light.

Overnight: Ratanakiri · Meals: B, L

Set off on a long, scenic drive south to Sen Monorom, capital of Mondulkiri and one of the least visited corners of Cambodia. Few travel companies include this stretch, and the forested hills show what they miss. Along the way, stop at the pagoda of Koh Nhek, where Buddhist monks offer a blessing for happiness and good fortune on your travels. Check in on arrival and relax for the rest of the day in the cool highland air.

Overnight: Mondulkiri · Meals: B, L

Spend an unhurried day around Sen Monorom. In the morning, visit a Bunong village with your guide to learn how this indigenous highland people farm and live, and walk past family plots of cassava, chili, lemongrass, pineapple and cashew trees. Later, drive out into the open grassy hills that roll away from town, then walk to the Sen Monorom waterfall nearby. In the late afternoon, climb to Wat Phnom Doh Kromom, a hilltop temple on the edge of town, to watch the sun set over Mondulkiri.

Overnight: Mondulkiri · Meals: B, L

Drive through forest and farmland to Bou Sra, a wide, three-tier waterfall tens of meters high whose pools are perfect for a dip. There are no marked trails, so take your time to explore and enjoy a picnic lunch by the falls. In the afternoon, visit a coffee plantation to learn how beans are grown in Cambodia's northeast and enjoy a fresh cup in its small cafe, furnished with coffee-wood tables. On the way back, stop at Samot Cheur, the Sea of Trees, for a view over endless emerald forest.

Overnight: Mondulkiri · Meals: B, L

Drive down from the hills to Kratie, an easygoing town on the Mekong. At Kampi, board a small boat to look for the rare Irrawaddy dolphins that live in this stretch of river, now strictly protected. Visit Wat Sasar Muoy Roy, the 100-pillar pagoda, rebuilt in 1997. Then take the ferry across to Koh Trong, a car-free island of villages and orchards in the middle of the river, where your hotel waits for the night.

Overnight: Kratie · Meals: B, L

Return to Phnom Penh by way of Chhlong, a peaceful Mekong village where Khmer wooden houses stand beside colonial buildings. Its best-known landmark is a 19th-century wooden house raised on a hundred columns. Arrive in the capital in the afternoon and enjoy a final evening in the city, perhaps with dinner on the riverside to toast three weeks on the road together.

Overnight: Phnom Penh · Meals: B, L

Enjoy breakfast and a free morning, with time for a riverside coffee or some last-minute shopping. At the right time, your guide and driver take you to the airport in good time for your departure flight. We hope you leave with a full camera and a real feel for Cambodia beyond the temples, from its river towns to its quiet highland corners.

Meals: B