CMB - T 09: JUNGLE ADVENTURE TOUR, 9 days (L)
Siem Reap – Phnom Penh – Banlung -
Rattanakiri
Day 1 Siem Reap
Arrival in Siem Reap, meeting on arrival at
Siem Reap airport, direct transfer to the hotel. Sightseeing in Angkor, soft
trekking at the Angkor temple grounds a beautiful walk on the wall of Angkor
Thom (about 60 min.) from the north gate to the east gate. Halfway is an
interesting small temple. After that the trail leads inside the temple walls of
Angkor Tom to the hidden temple group of Preah Pitu, which consists of 5
different temple ruins. In the afternoon depending on the available time visit
of some smaller temples by vehicle. Visit Phnom Bakheng for sunset over Angkor
Overnight in Siem
Reap
ANGKOR THOM: a fortified Royal
City (10 square kilometers) built by King Jayavarman VII, who ruled from 1181
to 1201. The city has five monumental gates and is encircled by a moat 100
meters wide. In the center of the walled city are the city’s most important
monuments including Bayon, Baphuon, the Terrace of Elephants, the Terrace of
the Leper King and Phimeanakas with Royal Enclosure.
PREAH KHAN: a temple built by
King Jayavarman VII with towered enclosures and shoulder-hugging corridors in a
jungle setting. Preah Khan covers a very large area but the temple itself is
enclosed within a rectangular wall of around 700 by 800 meters.
THOMMANON: temple, which mirrors Chau Say
Tevoda (just to the north), as it was built around the same time and has a
similar plan. It is also dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu.
BANTEAY KDEI: sprawling,
largely unrestored, monastic complex in much the same style as Ta Prohm. Like
many of Jaravarman VII's works, it is a tightly packed architectural muddle.
Probably originally constructed over the site of an earlier temple. It
functioned as a Buddhist monastery. A restoration project is underway on many
of the towers and corridors.
SRAS SRANG: a basin opposite
of Banteay Kdei measuring 800 by 400 meters with a tiny island in the middle
where only the stone base remains of what was once a wooden temple.
PHNOM BAKHENG: hilltop temple
ruins, which provide one of the best views of Angkor Wat, especially at
sunset.
Day 2 Siem Reap
After breakfast at the hotel, excursion to
Phnom Kulen, Beng Mealea, and visit Banteay Srei Temple
Overnight in Siem
Reap
PHNOM KULEN: historically
revered by all Cambodians as a sacred place of pilgrimage. This was the site, then
known as Mount Mahendraparvata, that Jayavarman II chose in 802 to proclaim
himself a divine universal ruler, marking the beginning of the Angkor period of
Khmer history. It is possible to see some of Kulen’s spectacular riverbed rock
carvings.
BENG MEALEA: a 12th century
temple the size of Angkor about 40 kilometers from the Bayon. Beng Mealea is
enclosed by a moat measuring 1200 by 900 meters. The temple is currently being
reclaimed from the jungle as years of conflict left it neglected and almost
forgotten. It is now one of the most popular remote temples owing to its wealth
of classical bas-relief’s and jungle setting.
BNTEAY SREI: built in the late
10th century, it is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. The temple is square
with entrances on the east and west. Of main interest are the three central
towers, which are decorated with male and female divinities and beautiful
filigree relief work.
Day 3 Siem Reap - Phnom Penh
After breakfast at the hotel, continues visit Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and a local market
Afternoon by local boat from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, watch life go by on the banks of the river as you enjoy your journey south on the Tonle Sap Lake and River, exploring the lake’s many fishing villages.
Overnight in Phnom
Penh
ANGKOR
WAT: a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu by King Suryavarman II, who
reigned between 1131 and 1150. It was constructed over a period of 30 years and
is world famous for its beauty and splendor. Angkor Wat features the longest
continuous bas-relief in the world, which runs along the outer gallery walls
and narrates stories from Hindu mythology. In 1992 the UNESCO declared the
monument and the whole city of Angkor a World Heritage Site.
TA PROHM: one of the most popular
attractions of Angkor as much of the jungle has not been cleared and it looks
very much as most of the Angkor monuments would have appeared when European
explorers first stumbled across them.
LOCAL MARKET: the friendly
locals make visiting a local market an interesting excursion.
TONLE SAP LAKE: the extraordinary
process of the Tonle Sap River reversing its flow during rainy season makes
this lake one of the world’s richest sources of freshwater fish.
TONLE SAP RIVER: a 100-kilometer
long channel linking the Tonle Sap Lake to the Mekong River. Is named after the
lake it flows into and from (depending on the season). From mid-May to early
October (the rainy season), the level of the Mekong River rises, backing up the
Tonle Sap River and causing it to flow northwest into the lake. As the water
level of the Mekong River falls during the dry season, the Tonle Sap River
reverses its flow, draining the waters of the lake back into the Mekong
River.
Day
4 Phnom Penh - Banlung -
Rattanakiri
After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Phnom Penh airport for flight from Phnom Penh to Banlung, transfer to the hotel and continue sightseeing in/around Banlung, visits to Teuk Cha Ong waterfall, Yeak Laom lake, a zircon mine and a pepper plantation and the nearby museum.
Overnight in Rattanakiri
TEUK CHA ONG WATERFALL: a spectacular
waterfall in a jungle gorge. The other attractions in this area are the
isolated ethnic minority villages and a zircon mine.
YEAK LAOM LAKE: a volcanic lake,
which forms a near perfect circle and is surrounded by tropical forest.
Possibility to swim. Visit the nearby museum.
Day 5 Banlung - Rattanakiri
After breakfast at the hotel, visit the
local market at Bar Kaev
Full day excursion by vehicle to several minority
villages such as Andoung Meas. Boat ride to Phoum Dal and another village. On
the way visit a rubber plantation.
Overnight in
Rattanakiri
Day 6 Banlung - Rattanakiri
After breakfast at the hotel, excursion to
Ta Vaeng
Overnight in
Rattanakiri
TA VAENG: Travel by 4WD to Ta Veang and visit
various minority villages in the Ta Vaeng area. The people of these villages
live in the country’s mountainous regions and are known as Khmer Ioeu (upper
Khmer). They number approximately 70,000 and the majorities are located in the
northeastern provinces such as Rattanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, and
Kratie. Groups include the Jorai, Tumpoun, Krung, Kra Chok, and Kavet.
Day 7 Banlung – Rattanakiri
After breakfast at the hotel, excursion by vehicle
and boat to Vuen Sai, boat trip to visit a Lao village, a Chinese village and a
village of the ethnic minority Tompoum with an intesting cemetery. Afterwards
visit a zircon mining field and, if time permits, some more villages.
Overnight in Rattanakiri
Day
8 Banlung - Phnom Penh
After breakfast at the hotel, visit local
market before transfer to Banlung airport for flight from Banlung to Phnom Penh
Arrival in Phnom Penh, transfer to the
hotel and
Overnight in Phnom Penh
Day
9 Phnom Penh
After breakfast at the hotel, sightseeing
in Phnom Penh Cambodia’s capital sits at the confluence of the Mekong, Bassac
and Tonle Sap rivers. Considered the loveliest of the French-built cities of
Indochina, visit Wat Phnom, Royal palace and Silver Pagoda, National Museum,
Central Market and visit Tuol Sleng Museum before transfer to the airport for
departure.
PHNOM PENH: it was founded as a
small monastery in 1372 by a rich Khmer woman called Penh, after she found four
Buddha statues in a tree trunk on the banks of the Mekong. She set up the
monastery on a nearby hill – or ‘phnom’ in Cambodian.
WAT PHNOM: set on top of a
27m-high tree-covered knoll. According to the legend, the first pagoda on this
site was erected in 1373 to house four statues of Buddha deposited here by the
waters of the Mekong River and discovered by a woman named Penh.
ROYAL
PALACE and SILVER PAGODA: stands on the site of the former citadel, Banteay
Kev (built in 1813), fronts Samdech Sothearos Boulevard. Since King Sihanouk's
return to Cambodia, visitors are only allowed to visit the palace's Silver
pagoda and its surrounding compound. The silver pagoda is often called the
Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Preah Kaeo after the statue housed there.
King Norodom originally built the wooden temple in 1892 and inside; its floor
is comprised of more than 5000 silver blocks.
NATIONAL MUSEUM: designed by a
French archeologist and painter, George Groslier, in Khmer style in 1920. The
most significant displays of sculpture include the eight-armed statue of Vishnu
for the 6th or 7th century, the statue of Shiva and the sublime statue of
Jayavaraman VII seated. The museum also contains displays of the pottery and
bronzes dating from the pre-Angkorian periods of Funan and Chenla, the
Indravarman, the classical Angkorian, as well as more recent work. There is a
permanent collection of the post-Angkorian Buddhas, many of which were rescued
from Angkor Wat when the civil war erupted.
CENTRAL MARKET (PSAR THMEI): a covered market
distinguished by its central dome (built in 1937). It is filled with shops
selling jewelry, fabrics, and all kinds of souvenirs. A great place for
browsing.
TOUL SLENG MUSEUM (MUSEUM OF GENOCIDE): in 1975 Toul Svay
Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's security forces and turned into a
prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It soon became the largest center of
detention and torture in the country.
End
of Services **Note: Itinerary
subject to change due to flight schedules.