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Tours

Cambodian Adventure 2022

£1,425.00

TOUR REF: MC22
TYPE: Mountain Biking
LEVEL: Regular
DATES:
13 Oct – 21 Oct 2022 
DURATION: 9 days
ACCOMMODATION LEVEL: Mixed
 
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    • 275 £

Cambodia – Angkor Explorer

Journey to the incomparable Angkor Wat, sleep overnight in floating villages and camp near ancient temples. This wonderful tour is for people who want much more from a trip to Angkor than ruins.

With this great bike adventure we want to show you much more of Cambodia than just Angkor Wat. For most visitors, Angkor Wat, an awesome temple of soaring towers and intricate carvings just a short ride from Siem Reap, is the chief reason to visit Cambodia. The first glimpse of its breathtaking sanctuaries will linger in your memory forever. However there is so much more to Cambodia!

We will take you camping near some more remote temples that few visitors get a chance to see. Riding there we will go through the Kulen Mountains – sacred to the Khmer people. Where ever we encounter the Khmer people you will be greeted by smiles and their mischievous good humour. You will also get to spend a night on the unique Tonle Sap, the massive freshwater lake that dominates central Cambodia and glimpse the distinctive way of life led by floating communities.

Other nights will be spent in Siem Reap, which boasts restful cafés, elegant restaurants and buzzing bars. This adventure biking holiday is an amazing opportunity to get to places and meet people that the normal tourist to Cambodia simply doesn’t get.

While Ankor Wat is incredible, we explore many more temples, in normally inaccessible areas and head out into the stunning countryside to explore this amazing place and its people.

Itinerary in brief:

Day 01 Arrive Siem Reap
Day 02 First discovery and Small Circuit
Day 03 Banteay Samre, Rolous and Tonle Sap
Day 04 Tonle Sap Foating Village
Day 05 The big ride – Beng Malea
Day 06 Kulen Mountain & River of 1000 Lingas
Day 07 Banteay Srei & the Grand Circuit
Day 08 Puok silk farm, Western Baray & Chantiers Ecoles
Day 09 Farewell to Angkor

Detailed Itinerary:

Day 01 Arrive Siem Reap
We pick you up in the airport and take you to the hotel. The rest of that day is free to put your bike together (if you brought your own) and just take a little walk or ride around town at your own leisure.

Day 02 First discovery and Small Circuit
Morning – This is an easy first day where we will ease into riding but see a lot of temples. We start the ride from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat early in the morning following small countryside trails and then the paved road of the small circuit. We spend the rest of the morning exploring the world’s grandest temple and have lunch before heading on.

Afternoon – An afternoon of temples, we cycle on from Angkor Wat on the paved roads of the small circuit. We visit the Death Gate, Victory Gate, Terraces of Elephants and of the Leper King. Then we cycle on to Srah Srang and Phnom Bakeng. A little before sunset we will make our way back to Siem Reap.

Day 03 Banteay Samre, Rolous and Tonle Sap
Morning – This is a great ride to get to know rural Cambodian life as we cycle through small farming villages on little trail through the countryside, where surely we will be meet by lots of friendly people. We start the day riding west out of Siem Reap towards Banteay Samre, a unique temple with two moats, which has been superbly restored. Because it is not easy to reach, this temple doesn’t attract a lot of visitors and we can explore this site undisturbed. From here we continue to the intimate temples of Chau Srei Vibol (Wat Trak), here we will have lunch and relax.

Afternoon – After lunch we head on the Rolous group or Bankong as it also called via the little town of Rolous where we can have a look at the local market. We explore the temples of Rolous and then cycle on to the Tonle Sap Lake, where we will be spending the night in a local floating village or in a boat.

Day 04 Tonle Sap Foating Village
Morning – We spend the morning on this massive freshwater lake which dominates the map of Cambodia. The lake is at once a reservoir, flood-relief system, communication route, home, and larder to the people who live on and around it. After exploring on the lake we head back to land and cycle through the country side to Siem Reap where we will have lunch.

Afternoon – After lunch we will have an optional tour to some of the local pagodas, like Wat Athvea and Wat Bo. We will also go to one of the local markets and explore a bit of the country side around town. For those who need a rest, there are plenty of nice cafés to hang out in and read a book or just observe life.

Day 05 The big ride – Beng Malea
This full day ride will take us far away from the normal tourist spots around Siem Reap. We ride on mostly unpaved roads and small trails through the country side all day and will have lunch somewhere nice on the way. When Maurice Glaize’s wrote his popular – The Angkor Guide – in 1944, he described Beng Malea like this; A trip to Beng Mealea, can be combined with a hunting party, since the region is rich in both small and large game and wild animals; – tigers, panthers and elephants, herds of oxen and wild buffalo inhabit the forest. We don’t have a hunting party but will still have a great adventure sleeping in this remote spot, after exploring this huge temples complex, we will be spending the night in a local pagoda.

Day 06 Kulen Mountain & River of 1000 Lingas
We go out cycling to the top of Phnom Kulen (Kulen Mountain), which is considered by the Khmer people s as the most sacred mountain in Cambodia. Here we will have lunch in the jungle by a waterfall before we cycle on to Kbal Spean (River of a thousand Lingas). Here we walk for 30 min through the jungle to the river, where crystal clear water washes over sacred lingas carved into the bedrock. After the walk back to the cycles we cycle to Banteay Srei where we will spend the night camping in the little village.

Day 07 Banteay Srei & the Grand Circuit
Morning – Early morning wakeup, so we can visit Banteay Srei before the tourist hordes arrive. Banteay Srei, practically everyone loves this rosy red temple with beautiful carvings of female divinities. After having explored Banteay Srei we cycle on a secondary and mainly unpaved road to Preah Khan. We visit the temple and ride on to have lunch at Neak Pean.

Afternoon – We have a look at Neak Pean amd then continue cycling on the grand circuit to Banteay Kdei and finally Ta Prohm where we will end the ride and have a good look at this moody temple, increasingly in the surreal grip of towering trees as the jungle encroaches. From here we take the small circuit back to Siem Reap.

Day 08 Puok silk farm, Western Baray & Chantiers Ecoles
Morning – We cycle via Angkor Wat and the Western Gate of Angkor Thom on little trails through the country side to the Village of Puok. Here we will see all the stages of the production process, from the cultivation of mulberry trees to the dyeing and weaving of silk. Then we ride to our lunch spot, the Western Baray. This was at one time an enormous 8km by 2,3km reservoir which was excavated all by hand, to provide water for the intensive cultivation of land by the people of Angkor. We will have lunch here.

Afternoon – On our way back to town we stop at the Les Chantiers Ecoles which is a school specialising in teaching wood- and stone-carving techniques to young people from impoverished backgrounds. Back in town we will have a farewell dinner in one of the many great restaurants.

Day 09 Farewell to Angkor
We have this day free of any activities, so you can pack, go shopping and tell tales of the last few days’ great rides before we take you to your departing flight and say goodbye.

What’s included in price:

Airport transfers
4 nights in Hotel Steung Siem Reap on twin share with breakfast https://www.steungsiemreaphotel.com/
3 nights camping with all meals
1 night in homestay at Tonle Sap
1 week pass to the temples
Local guide for temples
Brilliant local leader and bike mechanic
Lunch on rides
Vehicle support on rides

What’s Not included:

International flight to and from Siem Reap
Cambodian Visa fees
Airport taxes
Travel insurance (We insist you have one)
Dinner in Siem Reap
Soft drinks, extra snacks, bar bills and laundry
Optional trips and sightseeing tours
Additional nights at the beginning or end of trip
Tips
Excess baggage charges
Bike hire

Get In Touch

If you have any questions about any of our trips, please call us on 0800 002 9559 or send us a message below.