Battambang

Cambodia's second-largest city, with French colonial shophouses, the bamboo train, bat-cave sunsets and a circus — the most characterful slow-paced city beyond Siem Reap.

Battambang is the capital of Battambang Province in northwestern Cambodia and the country's second-largest city, about 170 km from Siem Reap and 290 km from Phnom Penh. The Sangker River runs through the city: on the west bank lie the French colonial-era shophouse quarter and Psar Nat market, while the east bank is residential with traditional villages. The pace of life is slow, the old streets are full of galleries, cafés and cooking schools, and Phare Circus has made the city Cambodia's arts capital. The surroundings are endless rice paddies and isolated limestone hills: to the south are Wat Banan and the bamboo train; to the southwest, Phnom Sampeau, where millions of bats stream out of a cave at dusk; and to the north, Ek Phnom temple and rice-paper and fish-paste workshops. The best season is the cool season from November to February; March–May is scorching; May–October is the rainy season, when the paddies are greenest and afternoon showers are frequent. Getting there: buses run from Siem Reap and Phnom Penh (about 3–6 hours), and from August to December, when water levels are high, you can travel by boat across the Tonle Sap to and from Siem Reap; the Thai border at Poipet is about 2 hours by road. In and around the city, tuk-tuks are the main transport, at about US$15–25 for a full day, or you can join a countryside cycling tour. A stay of 2–3 days is recommended: one day for the old town and circus, one day for Wat Banan, the bamboo train and sunset at Phnom Sampeau, and half a day for a countryside tour. Note: landmines remain a risk in some outlying areas, so do not leave the road for open land; bring plenty of water when climbing to the ruins, and cover your shoulders and knees when entering temples.

Top sights

• Bamboo Train (Norry) – Norry, a flatbed car made of bamboo slats and old axles, speeds along a single track, and when two cars meet, one is taken apart to let the…
• Phnom Sampov & Bat Cave – A hilltop temple overlooks the plains, the Killing Cave, a Khmer Rouge execution site, is halfway up, and at dusk millions of bats pour out…
• Phare Ponleu Selpak Circus – An art school that grew out of an arts program in a postwar refugee camp, its Khmer contemporary circus blends acrobatics with theater.
• Wat Banan (Prasat Banan) – An 11th-century Angkorian temple with five sandstone towers on a hilltop, nicknamed 'mini Angkor Wat', with views over rice fields from the…
• French Colonial Old Town – Streets 1 to 3 on the west bank of the Sangker River preserve many French colonial arcaded shophouses, ideal for walking or cycling past ol…
• Battambang Museum – A small provincial museum displaying pre-Angkorian and Angkorian stone carvings, lintels and local archaeological finds.
• Wat Ek Phnom – An 11th-century Angkorian sandstone temple ruin beside a giant seated Buddha and a modern pagoda, with rice paper and prahok fish paste wor…
• Phsar Nat (Central Market) – A market building in 1930s Art Deco style with a prominent clock tower, where gold jewelry, fabrics, fish paste and snacks are sold inside.
• Wat Kor Ancient Houses – A village on the east bank of the Sangker River preserving century-old teak stilt houses, whose owners open their compounds to share family…
• Wat Damrey Sor – The 'White Elephant Temple' at the southern end of the old town, with a white elephant statue in its courtyard, next to the museum and easy…
• Ta Dumbong Statue – A giant black statue on a roundabout on the east side of town, holding a magic staff; the name Battambang ('lost staff') comes from this le…
• Battambang Railway Station – A colonial-era railway station from the 1930s whose station clock is stuck at 8:02. Its old tracks and rolling stock are popular with photo…
• Kamping Puoy Reservoir – A dam built by forced labor under the Khmer Rouge, now a lake where locals picnic and go boating on weekends.
• Bahá'í House of Worship, Battambang – A local Bahá'í House of Worship completed in 2017. Its nine white sides blend Khmer roof forms, and a reflecting pool and garden surround i…
• Prasat Phnom Banon Winery – A rare vineyard winery in Cambodia where visitors can taste local wine, brandy and ginger drinks, often stopping on the way to Wat Banan.
• Well of Shadows Memorial – A Khmer Rouge victims' memorial at Wat Samrong Knong, with reliefs recording forced labor and massacres.
• Battambang–Siem Reap Boat – A boat trip down the Sangker River and across Tonle Sap Lake to Siem Reap, passing floating villages and fishing nets, one of Cambodia's mo…

Where to eat

• Jaan Bai Restaurant – A social enterprise restaurant run by the Cambodian Children's Trust, known for shareable small plates of modern Cambod…
• Nary Kitchen – A family-run restaurant and cooking school, best known for fish amok and beef lok lak.
• Coconut Lyly Restaurant – A family restaurant and cooking school in the city center, where the owners shop at the market every day to prepare tra…
• White Rose Restaurant – A long-established budget restaurant on Street 2 with a huge menu, famous for its many fruit shakes and Cambodian home-…

Itineraries

• Angkor to the Coast: Cambodia Grand Loop – Travel from north to south covering Angkor, Battambang, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Kep, and Koh Rong.
• Remote Angkor Temples and Battambang – Three days at Angkor's core sites, then deeper into Kbal Spean, Beng Mealea and Koh Ker, with a final night in Battamba…