Angkor without the crowds

Most guides recommend Angkor Wat at sunrise, which is why the reflecting pool is crowded by 05:30. It is still worth doing, but there are better places to do it from and a better day to do it on.

What the crowds actually do

The crowd at Angkor is predictable, and that is what makes it manageable. It moves in one wave:

• 05:00-07:00 - Angkor Wat, for sunrise.
• 07:30-10:00 - Angkor Thom and the Bayon, as the same buses move on.
• 10:00-12:00 - Ta Prohm, because it is the one from the film.
• Afternoon - thinning out fast. By three it is genuinely quiet.

Run that sequence backwards and you have most of the site to yourself.

A three-day order that works

Day one - afternoon only. Start at two in the afternoon at Angkor Wat, when the morning crowd has gone and the light on the western face is better anyway.

Day two - the far circuit. Banteay Srei, Preah Khan, Neak Pean. These are further out, and the day-trip crowd rarely reaches them.

Day three - sunrise, but at Srah Srang. A fraction of the people, water in the foreground, and you are ten minutes from Ta Prohm as it opens.

A three-day pass costs more than a one-day pass but removes the pressure to see everything before dark, which is what causes most of the crowding.

Practical notes

• Buy the pass the evening before - it is valid from 17:00 that day, which buys you a free sunset.
• Hire a car, not a tuk-tuk, if you are doing the far circuit. It is an hour each way and the road is dusty.
• Shoulders and knees covered at Angkor Wat’s upper level, or you will be turned away at the stairs.

When to go

November to February is dry, cool and busy. Late September into October is quieter. There is still rain most afternoons, but the moats are full and the crowds have not arrived.