What's on in Siem Reap (Angkor), 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))

Peak crowds — Angkor Wat equinox sunrise, Dry season

• Nature

  Angkor Wat equinox sunrise

  18–24 Mar · usuallyDark-sky seasonCrowded

  Twice a year the sun comes up directly over the central tower as seen from the western causeway, and the pond in front of it is three deep from five in the morning. Source ↗

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

Peak crowds — Khmer New Year, Dry season

• Festival

  Khmer New Year

  13–16 AprWater-festival New YearCrowdedClosures

  Siem Reap is where the country comes for it: games on the temple lawns, water and talc in the streets, and the domestic crowd filling the Angkor ticket queue for three days. 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 · usually

  Afternoon rain, empty temples in the mornings and the moats full enough to give the reflections the postcards use. The unpaved roads out to the far temples are the catch.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

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 ending in a three-day national holiday, when the pagodas are full before dawn and much of the town's business closes for it. Source ↗

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

Nothing new starts in October.

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

Busy — Dry season

• Season

  Dry season

  15 Nov – 30 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The temple roads are firm, sunrise at Angkor Wat is reliable and the town is full. From March the middle of the day at Angkor Thom is punishing and everyone is back by ten.

• Festival

  Angkor Wat Half Marathon

  6 DecMajor festivalCrowdedClosuresBook early

  Thousands run a course through the temple complex on the first Sunday of December, which closes the Angkor roads to traffic for the morning. Hotels in town are booked out for it. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Dry season, Angkor Wat Half Marathon

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr (usually)), Angkor Wat Half Marathon (6 Dec)