What's on in Phnom Penh, Cambodia through the year

Busy — Dry season, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Dry season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Khmer New Year

  13–16 AprWater-festival New YearClosures

  The capital empties as most of it goes back to the provinces, shops and markets shut for three days, and the streets are quieter than at any other point in the year. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Southwest monsoon

  15 May – 31 Oct · usuallyRisk

  Late-afternoon downpours that flood the low streets for an hour and then clear. Mornings are usually workable, which is more than the rainfall figures suggest.

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Pchum Ben

  10 Sep – 10 Oct · usuallyMajor festivalClosures

  Fifteen days of offerings to the ancestors, ending in a three-day national holiday when the city empties for the pagodas back home. Restaurants and shops close with it. Source ↗

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Bon Om Touk, the Water Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  The Tonle Sap turns

  15 Oct – 15 Nov · usuallyHigh water

  At the end of the rains the river stops backing into the great lake and reverses to flow south again — the reason the boat races happen when they do, and visible from the riverfront.

• Festival

  Bon Om Touk, the Water Festival

  25 Oct – 25 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Longboat crews from every province race in front of the palace over three days and something like two million people come into the city for it. Riverside rooms go months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Southwest monsoon (15 May – 31 Oct (usually)), Pchum Ben (10 Sep – 10 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Bon Om Touk, the Water Festival, Dry season

• Season

  Dry season

  15 Nov – 30 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The riverfront is usable in the evening again and the roads out to the provinces are firm. It tips into the hot months from March, when the middle of the day is spent indoors.

Still on: The Tonle Sap turns (15 Oct – 15 Nov (usually)), Bon Om Touk, the Water Festival (25 Oct – 25 Nov (usually))

Busy — Dry season, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually))