ONE-DAY BIRDING AT ANGKOR WAT COMPLEX

Best Season: October – April (dry season for easier bird sightings)

Location: Siem Reap and Battambang Province, Cambodia

Duration: 1 Day

About: 15 minutes from Siem Reap Town.

🐦 Birdwatching at Angkor Wat: A Hidden Gem for Nature Lovers

Angkor Wat isn’t just Cambodia’s most iconic temple—it’s also a fantastic spot for birdwatching! If you’re short on time, a half-day morning birding tour around the temple grounds is ideal. In just a few hours, you can spot up to 45 different bird species, including some truly unique forest and garden birds that thrive in the temple’s ancient moat, trees, and open fields.

Whether you’re a passionate birder or simply enjoy nature, this experience offers a peaceful escape with a stunning backdrop of ancient ruins.

Angkor Wat birds Species

Angkor Wat is not only Cambodia’s most iconic temple but also a hidden hotspot for birdwatching. If you’re short on time, a half-day morning tour is perfect to explore the temple’s rich avian life — with up to 45 species spotted in a single trip.

The forested areas inside the temple complex are especially rewarding during migration seasons, attracting a variety of migrant and resident birds. Look out for beautiful species like:

Hainan Blue Flycatcher
Taiga Flycatcher
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Forest Wagtail
White-throated Rock Thrush
Asian Barred Owle, …and many other fascinating forest species! This rich diversity makes Angkor Complex and the surrounding the Temple a fantastic destination for both casual birders and serious listers.
“See newly found bird species at the Angkor Complex.”: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L920991?yr=curM

Day Trip to Angkor Wat Temple Complex – Birding & Temples

🕔 5:00 AM – Your Bird Guide and Temple guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel in Siem Reap.
🦅 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM – Birdwatching around Angkor Wat Temple. Discover up to 45 bird species, including migratory and forest species in the peaceful morning hours.
🏛️ 9:00 AM – 11:30 PM – Explore the ancient wonders of Angkor Thom, including Bayon Temple, the Terrace of the Elephants, and the Terrace of the Leper King.
🍽️ 12:00 PM – Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant near the temple area.
🌿 2:00 PM – Continue your exploration with a visit to Ta Prohm (the jungle temple) and nearby smaller temples.
🕔 5:00 PM – End of the tour. Your guide and driver will drop you off at your hotel or another destination in Siem Reap town of your choice.
12.30 PM: Have lunch near the temple area
2:00 PM: Continue to Ta-phrom temple and others
5.00 PM: Finish the tour, the guide and driver will either take you back to your hotel or to another destination of your choice in the town

Tour Details

Tour Cost: $ per person

Included in the tour cost: All transport including airport transfers, road tolls, national park and all reserve entry fees, all accommodation in Cambodia, including on the final night of the tour, all meals from dinner on the first night to breakfast on the day of departure, bottled drinking water, boat trips, services of English-speaking birding guide and Temple Tours guide.

Not included in the tour cost: International flights, travel insurance, entry visa, alcoholic and soft drinks, tips, laundry, hotel mini bar, phone calls, and any other items of a personal nature.

Physical effort: This trip does not require any great physical effort in terms of long uphill hikes, but does require that participants are fit enough to walk, sometimes for 3-4 kilometres in hot conditions. The walking is mostly on a flat landscape, but some walking on even ground is needed to search for some key species. The physical effort required is well within the capabilities of most healthy people with the ability to deal with tropical climates.

Weather: Hot and dry weather is expected throughout this tour. There is always the possibility of a shower or two, given the world’s changing climate, but it is likely to be dry most, if not all, of the time. Midday temperatures are likely to be very hot, but most of the woodland sites we visit have low humidity. Wetland sites, however, can be fairly humid by their very nature. The tour has been paced so that we have plenty of time and are not forced to be birding throughout the heat of the day to see most of the birds.

Food: Khmer cuisine is similar to most Southeast Asian cooking, but rather less spicy. The traditional cuisine of the country is recovering after much of the knowledge being lost through the years of war here, but staff at the lodges we visit cook a wide variety of good local food. The former French influence manifests itself in the fact that good bread is available in many areas, and for those who like beer, there is a surprisingly wide range of local brews to try.

Note: Other things to bring: hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, and binoculars.