Tonlé Sap

Floating villages on huge lake

Tonlé Sap lake South of Siem Reap town is a taste of rural Cambodia, a scenic place with floating villages and fishermen working on the lake. The best time to visit Tonlé Sap is towards the end of the rainy season, when the lake is at its largest.

Although it is possible to get there on your own, taking a day trip from Siem Reap is easier and more comfortable.

Largest lake in Cambodia

Tonlé Sap is Cambodia’s largest freshwater lake. Its size and depth vary greatly with the seasons. During the rainy season the lake is much larger and deeper than in the dry season. At the end of the rainy season late October to early November the lake is 250 kilometers long and a hundred kilometers wide.

A man navigating his boat on Tonlé Sap lake

Boat in a floating village

Fishing & farming

Most people living on Tonlé Sap lake make a living from fishing. In the dry season, when the lake is smaller and land falls dry, local people turn to agriculture, growing chillies and vegetables.

Floating houses

People live in floating houses or houses on high stilts.

Some villages actually float on the water. As the water level varies greatly with the seasons, the villages move up and down the lake with the changing seasons.

Other houses are built on high stilts. The stilts are almost completely submerged by the end of the rainy season, while in the dry season they stand on dry land.

Floating village trips

Several floating villages can be visited from Siem Reap town.

Take a boat trip on the lake and see the floating villages and houses on high stilts. Watch fishermen mending their nets and fishing on the lake, children playing in the water or taking a boat to school. Enjoy the beautiful sunset at the end of the day.

The floating villages closest to Siem Reap are the most touristy. For a more authentic experience, visit a village farther away from town.

Boats in the water at one of the villages on Tonlé Sap lake

Boats on the lake at one of the villages

Floating villages

There are four floating villages near Siem Reap town that can be visited on a half day or full day trip.

Chong Khneas
The nearest floating village is Chong Khneas, about 17 kilometers from the center of Siem Reap city.

Tickets for the boat ride are US$ 20 per person. The trip starts on the muddy river and includes a stop at a floating restaurant in the lake. Usually you will be charged another US$ 20 per person to go into the floating village on a smaller boat, although they usually don’t tell you this in advance. Many boat drivers ask for donations for various purposes and for tips.

Chong Khneas is the least authentic floating village. Poverty and pollution are in plain sight.

Kompong Khleang
At about fifty kilometers from Siem Reap town, Kompong Khleang is the largest and most authentic floating village on Tonlé Sap lake.

It takes at least an hour to get there. Kompong Khleang is much quieter and less crowded than Chong Khneas. A boat trip on the lake costs US$ 20 per person. You can also take a canoe ride in the flooded forest. At the end of the rainy season only the top of the trees are above the water. The canoe trip takes about 30 minutes and costs US$ 5 per person.

Kompong Phluk
Kompong Phluk floating village is located about thirty kilometers from Siem Reap. It will take nearly an hour to get there. In the dry season the ride is very dusty if you take a tuk tuk.

The boat trip starts in the village on the Tahas river where people live in houses on high stilts and continues on the lake where you can have lunch at one of the floating restaurants. The boat trip costs US$ 20 per person. An optional canoe ride in the mangrove forest costs an additional US$ 5 each and takes about thirty minutes to an hour.

Mechrey
Mechrey floating village is nearly thirty kilometers from town. The boat trip (US$ 20 per person) starts at the canal, then takes you out on the lake. Usually you will be charged another US$ 15 for a smaller boat to get into the village.

Houses on stilts

Pressured into paying more

There is a good chance that during the trip you will be asked to buy things, make a donation or pay a tip. Many travellers feel pressured to buy things at very high prices.

Some boats make a stop at a local school, where you will be asked to buy a pack of pencils and books for the students at a high price. As soon as you have paid, a second pack will be handed to you to buy as well. Often visitors get pressured into buying a bag of rice for up to US$ 50 for an orphanage or for a school.

To do & see in Cambodia