Hotels in Siem Reap

Siem Reap exists because of what lies eight kilometres to its north: Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire and the largest religious complex ever built. The town has grown from a village into Cambodia's tourism capital, but the temples remain the reason almost everyone comes.

Angkor Wat gets the sunrise crowds, but the archaeological park covers 400 square kilometres and includes the faces of Bayon, the strangler figs of Ta Prohm and dozens of outlying temples that see almost no one. Passes are sold for one, three or seven days, and most visitors need at least three to do it justice.

The town itself has Pub Street and the night markets at its centre, but also good restaurants, spas and the Angkor National Museum. Out on the Tonlé Sap lake, floating villages such as Kampong Phluk sit on stilts that rise several metres above the dry-season waterline.