CAMBODIA – Khmer traditions and local communities.

Departure from Italy by scheduled flight.

Arrive at Phnom Penh International Airport, transfer to hotel.
Rooms will be at your disposal from 2 p.m.
The city of Phnom Penh still retains its traditional Khmer and colonial charm. French villas along tree-lined avenues remind the visitor that the city was once considered the pearl of Southeast Asia. Recent political changes have triggered an economic boom with new hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs springing up in various parts of the city.
Today’s day will be free, meals not included and overnight stay at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel and depart along National Road Number 04 along the southern coast from Phnom Penh to Sihanouk Ville (Cambodia’s renowned seaside resort) and then on to Koh Kong near the Thai border, from here detour to the Kirom Mountains in the direction of Chambok. Hike through the forest to view wildlife and reach a waterfall rarely visited by tourists. Arrival in Chambok, welcome by the people and the Mlup Baitong Organization, a local organization that aims to find a new job for the people who previously lived from logging and hunting wildlife. One of the ways of creating sustainable work was to have organized this welcome center for responsible and ecological tourism with services such as: house-stay for tourists, bicycle rental, etc…
Walk about 7 km to reach another waterfall in the area and observe wildlife.
Picnic lunch at the base of the waterfall and return to the village in time to prepare dinner together with the villagers.
After-dinner at the village in the company of local people and overnight stay in rural houses.

Breakfast and morning spent in the company of the village community where it will be possible to learn more about these people, their culture and traditions and tell about their travel experiences and knowledge. Free time to play with the children and departure for the return journey to Phnom Penh.
Free dinner and overnight stay in Phnom Penh.

Breakfast at the hotel and morning dedicated to sightseeing which includes:
Royal Palace-whose full name in Khmer is Preah Barom Reachea Vaeng Chaktomuk, comprising a complex of buildings built in 1866-has always been inhabited by the royal dynasty and court except during the period of the Khmer Rouge regime;
the Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morokat Silver Pagoda-which owes its name to the 5,329 silver tiles covering its floor, is one of Cambodia’s most revered Buddhist sites as well as the king’s official temple; National Museum-built between 1917 and 1920 in the Khmer style with French-influenced stylistic elements; Independence Monument-built in 1958 to celebrate independence from France.
In the afternoon visit Phnom Penh University for a cultural exchange with teachers and students who are very eager and curious about Western lifestyle and different cultures. In small groups of two people maximum we will visit the city from a different perspective accompanied by one student each.
Dinner with the family and overnight stay in a private home hosted by the family.

In the morning, breakfast with the family at the home of the student you are staying with. Rest of the morning spent in the company and then being driven back to the hotel by the student himself around noon.
Continued sightseeing in Phnom Penh including the Tuol Sleng Museum a former high school converted into a security prison (the infamous S-21 prison) during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979, in Cambodian tuol sleng means “hill of poisonous trees”;
continuation to visit the former Choeung Ek concentration camp, now turned into a museum, where between 1975 and 1978, more than 17,000 people, including many women and children, found their deaths.
You cross the riverfront and continue on to Wat Phnom Hill. Wat Phnom Penh Daun is the name of the pagoda that stands on top of the hill built in 1372 at the behest of Daun Penh, a wealthy woman who, after a particularly heavy flood, found a tree on the banks of the Mekong with four Buddha statues hidden inside. At the end of the visit return to the hotel.
Free lunch and dinner. Overnight at hotel in Phnom Penh.

Breakfast at the hotel and depart by car to Battambang with your guide. Along the way stop to visit the Muslim village of Cham with its various temples and the three stupas where the ashes of the three kings are kept.
You will continue your journey on the same road through various villages and rice fields with stops at Kompong Chang, famous for its ceramic works, and Pursat, famous for its marble sculptures.
Upon arrival in Battambang follow the Stung Sanke River to the ancient village of Wat Kor. Here, after settling into local dwellings and freshening up, you can take a ride on a horse-drawn carriage with the local villagers to visit the surrounding fields.
Have dinner with the villagers and stay overnight in private homes. Free lunch during the day.

After having breakfast with the villagers, you will set off in the direction of Phnom Banan where, after climbing the 358 steps, you will reach the ancient sandstone and laterite temple with its 5 towers that was built between the 11th and 12th Centuries. Continuing in the direction of Battambang, you will visit a local vineyard where you can see winemakers at work in the various stages of wine production and taste their products.
Upon arrival in Battambang, visit the Damrey Sor Pagoda, also known as the White Elephant Pagoda. You will experience the quaint bamboo train as you pass through a stretch of countryside interspersed with rural villages and rice paddies and bamboo forests.
The train is very simple and spartan; it is a simple platform driven by a motor and is widely used by locals as a means of transportation between villages.
Dinner with villagers and overnight stay in local homes. Free lunch during the day.

After breakfast we leave Battambang to travel to Banteay Chhmar via Sisaphon. Upon arrival you will be greeted by the local community who will usher you into their dwellings where they will host you. These dwellings are wooden houses on stilts in the Khmer style, without electricity and with outdoor toilets. After some relaxation a village guide will take you to explore the ruins of the old Banteay Chhmar temple, on the western wall you can still see the remains of intricate carvings depicting daily life, during the Angkor period and the spectacular reproduction of the thirty-second army of the God Avalokiteshvara. Picnic lunch will be served at the temple.
Return the village and have dinner with the local community. Overnight stay in local dwellings.

After having breakfast with our host family, you will be able to visit the village and its surroundings to see how daily life is carried out in this community and visit a local organization that is helping to revive the silk weaving industry. Depending on the time of year, you can also help the various families with agricultural work.
Packed lunch. In the afternoon visit the wonderful ancient temple of Banteay Top. En route to Siem Reap stop at Pouk village to visit a farm and one for spinning and silk. Upon arrival in Siem Reap free time at leisure and free dinner. Overnight stay at the hotel.

Very early in the morning wake up and depart to watch the sunrise from the top of Angkor Wat. Continue on foot to the nearby pagoda to offer rice and food to the monks who come out in procession for the morning quest. Free time to be able to chat with the monks and nuns for a very interesting cultural and knowledge exchange from those who have embraced such a profound, peaceful and tolerant religion as Buddhism.
Return to the hotel for breakfast and continue with classic visits to the wonderful temples in the Angkor area.
We begin at Banteay Srei – a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, the name means “The Temple of Women.” It was built in the 10th Century most of the temple is constructed of sandstone and the interior columns and walls have an incredible number of accurate decorations that can still be admired today, outside the temple one can see a few ruins of what must have been a small town that grew up around the temple named Isvarapura. The small size compared to other Angkor temples, the fine bas-reliefs have made the temple extremely popular among Cambodians and tourists and it is also nicknamed “precious gem “or the “jewel of Khmer art.”
Continue on to Banteay Samré – built during the reigns of Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th Century, it is a Hindu temple built in the Angkor style;
visit Ta Prohm – Ta Prohm is the modern name for a temple built in the Bayon style between the late 12th Century and early 13th Century and originally called Rajavihara, founded by Khmer King Jayavarman VII it also served as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most temples in Angkor, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same state as it was rediscovered. The photogenic and special atmosphere surrounding this temple, in combination with the centuries-old trees that shroud its ruins, have made it one of the most distinctive and visited temples in the entire Angkor area; it has become well known for being the natural setting for the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
continuation to Prasat Kravan – rebuilt in the 19th Century by a French team, it consists of five brick towers on a raised platform, the central tower bears characteristic bas-reliefs of Vishnu in his Vamana form;
Srah Srang – a baray built in the mid-10th Century and later modified in the 12th or 13th Century;
Banteay Kdei – built in the late 12th Century and early 13th Century during the reign of Jayavarman VII, this is a Buddhist temple in the Bayon style, similar in plan to Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, but less elaborate and smaller. Its structures are contained within two enclosure walls, and consist of two concentric galleries from which towers emerge preceded on the east by a cloister.

Breakfast at the hotel and sightseeing starting in the magnificent city of Angkor Thom, starting at the South Gate and then proceeding to the Bayon – built in the late 12th Century and early 13th Century as a Mahayana Buddhist temple by King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon is exactly in the center of the capital city of Angkor Thom and served as a state temple. After Jayavarman’s death it was modified and later expanded, it was used as a Hindu and Theravada Buddhist temple in accordance with the religious preferences of successive rulers. The most distinctive feature of the Bayon is the multitude of large stone faces depicted on the four sides of the many towers that make up its central structure. The temple is also known for its two impressive series of bas-reliefs, which present a unique combination of mythological, historical characters and scenes from the mundane life of the court of the time; visit of the Baphuon – built in the mid-11th Century, it is built on three levels and belongs to the mountain temple series, was used as a state temple by King Udayadityavarman II and is dedicated to Shiva, it also became the archetype of the so-called Baphuon style; Phimeanakas – “Celestial Temple” a Hindu temple in the Khleang style. Built in the late 10th Century during the reign of Rajendravarman II (941 to 968), it was later rebuilt as a Hindu temple by Suryavarman II in the shape of a three-tiered pyramid;
visit the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. The former is part of the city wall of the fortified city of Angkor Thom and was used by King Jayavarman VII as a pulpit from which he watched his victorious army return to the city after battles and military campaigns.
The second terrace, the one known as the Leper King’s Terrace, was built in the Bayon style under Jayavarman VII. Its current name comes from a 15th-century sculpture depicting the Hindu god Yama, the god of death. The name leper king apparently comes from the moss that grew on the statue; another version tells the legend of a Khmer king actually afflicted with the disease.
Lunch at a local restaurant and in the afternoon visit the magnificent Angkor Wat temple-built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th Century as a state temple and new capital in place of Angkor Thom. It is the best-preserved temple in the entire archaeological area and is the only one that has remained a significant religious center since its founding, Hindu at first and dedicated to Vishnu, later becoming a Buddhist site. At the center of the temple are five towers. Angkor Wat is composed of two main features of Cambodian architecture: the mountain temple, which stands within a moat and symbolizes Mount Meru (the mountain of the gods in the Hindu religion, and in fact the temple is consecrated to Vishnu), and the later gallery temples.
At sunset visit to Bakheng Hill from where Angkor Wat can be seen shrouded in the striking light of dusk, visit Phnom Bakheng Temple a Hindu temple, built in the form of the mountain temples. Dedicated to Shiva, it was built in the late 9th Century, during the reign of King Yasovarman. Built more than two centuries before Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng was the main temple in Angkor at that time, considered the centerpiece of the ancient capital Yasodharapura built after the abandonment of Hariharalaya near the present Roluos Group.
Free dinner and overnight stay in hotel.