The stilt village of Kompong Phluk

Ride a wooden boat to a village of houses on stilts six metres high, through a flooded forest and out onto the endless water of the Tonle Sap.

Area

Lake & countryside

Start from

Siem Reap town

Distance

about 30 km south-east of town

Time needed

half a day

Best season

August – December when the water is high

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Tuk-tuk or car to the boat landing, then boat

Tickets & rules

Boat ticket at the landing, which includes the village fee

Why go

Kompong Phluk is the most interesting of the lake villages near Siem Reap, and if you come in the high-water season it is also the most beautiful. Houses perch on stilts so tall that they seem to be walking, and in the wet season the water rises almost to their floors. Children paddle to school in tubs and dogs jump between boats.

After the village, the boat continues into a flooded mangrove forest, where women paddle small canoes through the trees, and finally out onto the Tonle Sap, an open lake stretching to the horizon like a brown sea.

In the dry season the village is just as impressive, but in a different way: the stilt houses tower over dusty lanes, and you can walk among them, watching people mend nets and dry fish.

The story

The Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, and one of the most remarkable in the world. In the dry season it covers around two and a half to three thousand square kilometres. When the monsoon swells the Mekong, the flow of the Tonle Sap river actually reverses, pushing water back into the lake, which can grow to four or five times its size.

This pulse makes the lake extraordinarily rich in fish, which have fed the Khmer for centuries. Villages like Kompong Phluk adapt to the water rather than fight it: houses on tall stilts, floating gardens, fish traps and boats instead of bikes. The bas-reliefs of the Bayon show similar fishing scenes, which have changed surprisingly little.

Kompong Phluk itself is a community of several thousand people, mostly Khmer fishing families, and it remains a working village where tourism is just one part of life.

Getting there

The drive to the boat landing takes about forty-five minutes, partly on dirt roads. Boat tickets are sold at the landing, and boats seat several people. Most visitors go in the afternoon to see sunset on the lake.

In the dry season, the boat landing may move, and some of the trip may be done on foot or by tuk-tuk.

A suggested plan

1. 14:00Leave town and drive through the countryside to the boat landing.
2. 15:00Boat through the stilt village, stopping at the pagoda or a school.
3. 16:00Paddle by canoe through the flooded forest (optional extra fee).
4. 17:00Boat out onto the open lake for sunset.
5. 18:30Return to town.

Where to stay

Stay in town. A few homestays in the area offer a deeper experience; ask locally for a reputable contact.

Good to know

• Go in the late afternoon for the light and sunset.
• Combine with Roluos, on the way.
• Bring cash for the canoe ride and drinks.
• Respect privacy; ask before photographing people in their homes.