Fun Facts About Phnom Penh Cambodia

Also called Mount Oudong, it is a small hill 40km from Phnom Penh Cambodia with a great historical significance. The hill and its adjoining town Oudong at the foothill were the capital of Cambodia from 1618 to 1866. As the former capital, the Oudong has seen quite a lot of turmoil throughout its reign which includes ransacking from invading Thai forces, attacks by the Khmer Rouge and even bombings by American troops. While it was once a splendid sprawling city, it has since declined with its once majestic buildings and monuments left to decay. A day trip to Mount Oudong is what you will need to immerse yourself in some Cambodian history and admire some of the ruins that still stand beautiful to this day on the mount.

Mount Oudong’s popular attractions are spread across a few of its neighboring peaks, so there’s plenty of trekking to do to explore them all. In all, you will find a number of shrines and pagodas and statues in various states of preservation scattered all over the hill. The first one you would come across is the Modern Temple built recently with a statue of the Buddha and a few relics inside. Trekking further you will come across many ancient temples and royal burial stupas. The one thing which stands out throughout your trek is the beautiful panoramic views of the town, and agricultural fields adjacent to the mount.

The ideal season to visit is during the dry season between October to April as the onset of monsoon and thundershowers can make trekking harder in the rain. It’s best to hire a taxi to get there and it would cost $40 to $45. A tuk-tuk is cheaper at about $25 but will take close to 2 hours.

The Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot which is also popularly known as the Silver Pagoda was formerly the place where the king worshipped and held royal ceremonies; it has no monks however and is a place where there are about 1650 art objects of high religious and material value. The structure is incredibly ornate and is also locally popular as Wat Preah Keo of the ‘Temple of the Emerald Buddha’. Originally built out of wood in 1892, the pagoda was rebuilt to its present form in 1962 adorned with gemstones and precious metals. It was pillaged during the Vietnamese invasion causing it to lose nearly half of its contents. It is also one of the most sacred pagodas in Phnom Penh Cambodia.

The name Silver Pagoda comes from its 5,000 silver tiles that make up its floors totaling five tonnes of the precious metal spread across its floor. The temple is home to a life-size emerald Buddha statue which is made out of solid gold and Baccarat crystal weighing up to 90 kilos and studded with 9,584 diamonds. The walls are lined with smaller statues of golden Buddha, traditional artistic masks and ancient art. It also houses a collection of gifts and statues given to royalty by heads of state.

The Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot is located within the royal palace complex which is in the middle of the city. One of the fastest ways to get to it is by hiring a tuk-tuk or a taxi. It is open from 8:00am to 11:30am and closed for lunch between 11:30am to 2:00pm, it opens again from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. The admission ticket is $10 and includes a visit to the whole complex. You can also hire a guide for $10 if you’re traveling in a group. There is a strict dress code to visit the temple and ensure you’re in pants and shirt or any dress that covers your shoulders and knees.

The Royal Palace is the residence of the King of Cambodia and also serves as a venue for various national ceremonies and events of political significance in Phnom Penh Cambodia. While the royal residential sections are closed off to the public, other parts are open for locals and tourists to enjoy the splendid architecture of the temples, the beautifully manicured gardens, galleries, libraries, and the palace grounds. There are multiple entrances to the palace starting with the eastern Victory Gate which is reserved for VIPs and royalty during national and international events. The northern gate or funeral gate is opened only after the death of a royalty for the funeral proceedings. The western gate was used to bring prisoners out of the palace for execution and hence called the execution gate. The southern gate is for the commoners and the way for the public to get to the Silver Pagoda.

There are several buildings open to the public starting with the Throne Hall which is on the left of the entrance stands in bright yellow and white reflecting its heritage drawn from both Buddhism and Hinduism. To the north is the Silver Pagoda while the south side has the Royal treasury and Napoleon III villa. Other buildings in the complex include the Phochani Pavilion, the Hor Samrith Phimean, the Hor Samran Phirun, and the Chanchhaya Pavilion.

As a rule of thumb, it’s essential to visit modestly when visiting any royal or religiously significant place and cover your shoulders and knees. You can spend a couple of hours strolling around the complex and admiring its architecture and exhibits or just spend time absorbing the wonderful ambiance of the place. The palace timings are 8:00am to 10:30am and from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. The admissions are stopped one hour before the royal palace closes and the entrance fee is $10.

Standing 184.7m tall at the heart of the city, the Vattanac Capital Tower which is inspired by the structure of a dragon is the tallest building in Phnom Penh Cambodia. Being the tallest skyscraper in all of Cambodia the tower is also a tourist attraction that offers excellent accommodation in its two 5-star hotels and a fantastic culinary experience in its restaurants. The building will also house offices and luxury shops along with the headquarters of Vattanac Bank. The Vattanac Capital Tower

It is located at the center of Phnom Penh’s commercial business district and is at a walking distance from many of the tourist spots.

If dining at the rooftop restaurants at the tower is not an option, there are a number of others in the area who serve a range of cuisines such as Sam Too, Romdeng, The Spoon, Mike’s Burger House, and the exchange. The tower is about 10 km from the Phnom Penh International Airport and only a 20-minute drive away.

The friendship monument built at the Wat Botum Park to the south of the Royal Palace at the heart of Phnom Penh Cambodia is not only a major tourist attraction but also the epicenter of protests and political unrest. On an average day, you will see what looks like a regular park with joggers, aerobics practitioners and people playing games while the tourists pose for selfies in front of the monument. Vietnam invaded the Democratic Kampuchea which is the present-day Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime and ended up occupying the country for nearly 10 years. The Vietnamese built this large monument in 1979 in a particularly communist socialist-realist style that depicts a Vietnamese and a Cambodian soldier protecting a woman holding a baby. Although the monument has an architectural value that’s historically significant, it has been under attack several times by protesters who have vandalized it with hammers, gasoline, and even a bombing. It has been repaired numerous times and stands firm marking an important time in the country’s history.

The monument is located at 25Z Blvd Samdach Sothearos Boulevard and a 5-minute walk from the royal palace. It is open all day.

The independence monument is quite an important memorial in Phnom Penh Cambodia as it was mainly built to commemorate the liberation of the country from the French rule that lasted from 1863 to 1853. This uniquely majestic structure which was built in 1958 and inaugurated in 1962 also commemorates the sacrifices made by the soldiers and people for the welfare of the country. Its strange looking architecture combined with its location on two of the biggest streets in the city makes it a popular tourist attraction where visitors stopover quickly to admire the monument and take photos next to it.

Designed by the Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, the 20- meter tall monument takes on a distinctive shape which resembles the structures at Angkor and other Khmer historical sites. It is shaped in the form of a lotus with multi-headed snakes at each of the 5 ascending levels. To really marvel at the intricate working of the stones, it’s deal to visit the monument during sunset when the shadows make the details stand out or in the night when the monument is illuminated with red, blue and white light symbolizing the nation’s flag.

The monument is at the intersection of Norodom and Sihanouk Boulevards and can be visited all day. However, visitors aren’t allowed to go inside.

The most important temple in Phnom Penh Cambodia, wat Phnom translates to “hill temple” as it’s the tallest temple in the city that’s located on a hill. The story of how the temple came to be is somewhat of a legend and says that in 1373 a wealthy widow named Daun Chi Penh found a floating tree on the Tonle Sap River with four bronze statues of the Buddha inside. Penh along with her neighbors built an 88 ft mound and erected a shrine to hold the statues. This hill is thought to be the point of origin of the city with Phnom Penh literally translating to “Penh’s hill”. The main temple has been rebuilt numerous times by the ruling kings giving it their own unique touch in its 600-year-old history.

Ticket to the temple needs to be purchased before climbing up the hill and it costs $1 for the temple and $2 for the on-site museum. It is open every day from 7:00 am to 6:30 pm and gets pretty crowded throughout the day as worshippers throng for prayers and offerings. Wat Phnom is about 1.5km north of the Royal Palace and can be reached in a tuk-tuk.

Located adjacent to The National Olympic Stadium of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Wat Moha Montrei is a temple and a monastery with homes and even a primary school all within the walls of the compound. Visiting this place is quite an enriching experience as you interact with the residents and watch them in their work and worship while living in harmony. The temple has had an interesting history that is just as wonderful as what it is today. It was built after King Monivong’s defense minister Chakrue Ponn who play the key role in initiating the construction of the pagoda and was eventually named after him with Moha Montrei meaning ‘the great minister’.

The vihara which is the temple sanctuary was built in cement and completed in 1970 and measured 35 meters in height. Interestingly the temple was used as a storage facility for rice and corn between 1975 and 1979 during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. The wall murals of the sanctuary depict the story of the Buddha as he is accompanied to heaven by angels who are dressed as classical Khmer dancers and the officials in white military uniforms. The Wat Moha Montrei is open every day from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The Wat Ounalom located next to the Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh Cambodia is one of the most important temples in the city as the main complex has a stupa that contains a single strand of the eyebrow which is believed to be of the Buddha’s. A visit to this wat is a great way to delve into the philosophies, spiritual teachings and history of Buddhism. Being the center of Cambodian Buddhism, it is also the home for the Mahanikai School of Buddhism’s patriarchs. The temple had been home to more than 500 monks and the institute’s library with 30,000 titles. During the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979) much of the library and temple’s cultural artifacts were sabotaged and lost to history. The Buddha’s hair survived miraculously and is today the main attraction of the temple.

Wat Ounalom despite having 44 buildings is quite a peaceful place to spend your time exploring the history of the place of in spiritual contemplation. You can also have a look at a collection of paintings and relics in the main temple which was built in 1952. The temple is open every day from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm and the entry is free.

While visiting the city, your accommodation can make all the difference between great travel experience and time wasted commuting to all the attractions. Here are some of the best hotels in Phnom Penh Cambodia closest to all the best places.

Palace Gate Hotel & Resort: One of the most highly recommended resorts in the city, it is located just 330m away from the grand palace and 100m away from the center of the city. All amenities included rooms and high demand for exceptional locations. Address- #44 St. Sothearos Blvd. Corner St. 240 Chey Chumneas, Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 12206.

Sun & Moon Urban Hotel: Located 500m from the city center, this is one of the highly-rated boutique hotels in the city offering fully furnished properties and even airport transportation. The airport is 9.1km and all the major attractions are within 1km. Address- # 68, corner of street 136 and 15 Phsar Kandal1, Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 12000

The Bale Phnom Penh: For a resort experience at a calm place away from the bustling city. It is located 15km from the city center and 17.4km from the airport. The resort features fully furnished suites with riverfront views. Address- National Highway 6, Preaek Lieb, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 17252.

Harmony Phnom Penh Hotel: A great hotel located 1km from the city center and 9.4 km from the airport. Fully furnished rooms with all amenities offered at a great quality. Address- #25, st 148, Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Whether you’re visiting Phnom Penh Cambodia during the peak season or the offseason, there are plenty of things to do and explore. All you need is the right accommodation at the right place and you can enjoy your visit to the city without much hassle. When you book your flight tickets with us, ensure you also book the hotel tickets to some of the best ones in the city to get cheap deals on your travel and stay. Book early and avail early bird offers with excellent service and 24-hour customer support.