The Floating Villages Of Tonle Sap Lake

After visiting the temples of Angkor, a visit to a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake is the most popular thing to do when visiting Siem Reap.

There are a few different villages you can choose from and your experience will vary depending on whether it's the wet or dry season. During the wet season, Tonle Sap Lake swells and is one of the largest lakes in all of Asia, stretching over 7,400 square miles. It serves as the home, livelihood, and source of food for countless Cambodians.

In fact nearly half the fish consumed in Cambodia come from the freshwater of Tonle Sap Lake, which holds over 200 different species and various types of exotic birdlife.

There are a number of villages that you can visit, but most tours and tuk-tuk drivers will generally take you to Kompong Phluk or Chong Kneas - because they’re closer to Siem Reap. However, Kompong Khleang Floating Village is also a viable option, which has fewer visitors and where you will have a more authentic experience - but is a little further out from town.

CHONG KNEAS FLOATING VILLAGE

Chong Khneas is the closest and most accessible floating village from Siem Reap (approximately 11 kilometres / 7 miles), but unfortunately it's not the best option. Run by a private company, little of the entrance money goes to the locals. The village includes a floating Korean restaurant and a pond with a few crocodiles. You will usually see a fair amount of begging children carrying watersnakes and it's common for boats to stop so tourists can be encouraged to buy $60 bags of rice for local children.

Chong Khneas is a tourist trap that gets terrible reviews from previous travellers. Uninformed travellers often end up here if they ask a tuk tuk driver in town to take them to the floating village.

KOMPONG PHLUK FLOATING VILLAGE

If you're short on time then Kampong Phluk is a good option. 16 kilometers from Siem Reap, the village is home to an interesting flooded forest and a visit will include a scenic boat trip.

Kampong Phluk is still an authentic and interesting place to visit but due to its location it is a popular attraction so you will be sharing the experience with a lot of other travellers in high season.

Kampong Phluk, which translates as “harbour of the tusks” is in fact a cluster of 3 villages built on a floodplain. It has approximately 3,000 inhabitants and their houses are on 6-meter stilts, which accommodates the rising water during the wet season. Most people earn a living from shrimp and fishing as well as growing crops on land during the dry season.

The village makes an easy half day excursion from Siem Reap but the boat trip is short and some travelers feel it does not justify the $20 entrance fee.

KOMPONG KHLEANG FLOATING VILLAGE

Our favorite, Kompong Khleang is 45 km from Siem Reap, the journey takes about an hour but if you want a truly authentic Cambodian floating village experience then this is the place to come, Kompong Khleang is a beautiful village that is genuinely untouched and sees relatively few tourists. Tuk tuk drivers will bring you hear but it wont be a comfortable ride, taking a tour or private taxi is recommended.

Kompong Khleang is a big village, in fact more of a town, It is the home to about 1,800 families (approximately 6,000 people).The view is quite stunning with stilted houses stretching as far as the eye can see. there are both stilted and boat house sections of the village as well as 3 pagodas, schools an interesting market and numerous shops and restaurants.

Unlike the other 2 villages the boat here is operated by the locals meaning the villagers benefit more from ticket sales.

If you would like to truly immerse yourself in village life then there are a couple of home-stay options where you can stay in a stilted house overnight with a family and try activities such as fishing trips.