Banteay Srei: the half-day trip from Siem Reap

Why Banteay Srei needs its own half-day

Phnom Dei marks the spot: the temple was consecrated here on 22 April 967 AD, some 25 km out to the north-east of the main Angkor group. Both park loops miss it. The figures for those loops explain why, about 17 km (10.5 miles) for the small circuit and about 25 km (15.6 miles) for the grand one, both of them closed routes that stay in the central park. The drive from Siem Reap runs about 35 km by road, which is why this is an outing of its own rather than a stop.

Gates open at 7:30 AM according to the official temple page, and close at 5:30 PM. The Bayon, the Baphuon and Ta Prohm share that 7:30 AM opening, while Angkor Wat alone admits visitors at 5:00 AM, which is why there is no dawn version of this trip. One wrinkle: the official site prints different hours on the page for the ticket counter at the temple, so confirm the time on the day before you hand a whole morning to the drive.

Entry works as it does elsewhere in the park. Staff scan the pass at the checkpoint, and Angkor Enterprise keeps a staffed counter at Banteay Srei, one of five alongside Apsara Road, Angkor Pavis, Beng Mealea and Koh Ker.

Getting to Banteay Srei from Siem Reap

Most of this half-day is road: about 35 km out and the same back. Visitors here are generally driven rather than self-driving, and a car with driver suits this run better than it does the central loops. Stay on main routes and marked paths around the rural temple areas out this way, and avoid night driving between sites by shaping the day so you are back before dark.

A 6-7 hour private day is about the right window for a run this far out plus a monument or two closer in. Read the itinerary first: plenty of day tours never leave the circuits, so confirm Banteay Srei is in yours before you check availability.

Monsoon weather sits between June and October, bringing storms that damage roads, set off landslides and cause flash flooding, and a long run out of town is more exposed to all of that than the central loops are; the dry months make this drive the straightforward version. There is a way round a bad forecast. On a 3-day pass a washed-out afternoon costs you nothing, because the official site states the pass expires in 7 days and the three visit days can sit anywhere inside that window.

• Morning run: leave town early enough to reach the gate for the 7:30 AM opening, while the light is still low on the reliefs, and be back in Siem Reap by lunch.
• Afternoon run: head out after the middle of the day and use the hours before the 5:30 PM closing, driving back while there is still light on the road.
• Park entry starts at 5:00 AM and the gates shut at 6:30 PM, which leaves room for a central monument at whichever end of the day the drive does not take.

Why the carving here looks different

The stone explains it. Banteay Srei is built largely of reddish sandstone, which takes and keeps unusually fine carving, and that is why a temple this small sits on so many itineraries. The colour of the blocks also gives it the name pink temple of Angkor.

Low sun is what you want on the reliefs. Arrive for the 7:30 AM opening and the first hour gives you the most raking light of the day, with the deepest shadow sitting in the cut lines; late afternoon, before the 5:30 PM close, does the same job from the other side. Midday is the one to skip, because the light goes flat on the stone and the reddish tone washes out.

The code of conduct applies here as at every monument in the park. Do not touch the carvings, do not sit or lean on the structures, and leave the tripod behind, since tripods are among the items discouraged inside the temples. Shoulders and knees stay covered for the whole visit: foreign-office advice is that revealing clothing can get you refused admission at religious sites, Angkor Wat among them.

If the carving is the reason you came, the Angkor Wat Photography Tour gives you 8-10 hours from $105 with an English-speaking guide and private superior air-conditioned transport, rated 5.0 ★ (2 reviews). The 1-day entrance fee of $37 per person is built into that price, which no other tour listed here does. Its standard route does not include Banteay Srei, so ask whether it can be added before you book.

What else goes on the same run

Kbal Spean, Beng Mealea and Koh Ker each carry their own one-day ticket and open later than Angkor: entry from 6:00 AM instead of 5:00 AM, with the same 6:30 PM closing. Kbal Spean, the river carvings, is the natural companion here.

Phnom Kulen is a different shape of day. Kulen is a national park in its own right, about 50 km from Siem Reap and just over an hour by road, with the final 15 km climbing a steep toll road, and your Angkor pass is not accepted at its gate. The mountain road runs one way: vehicles go up only between about 7:00 and 11:00 AM, reopening for descending traffic around 11:45 AM, so Kulen has to come first and the outing stops being a half-day.

Beng Mealea and Koh Ker each have their own ticket and their own staffed counter. Give each a separate day rather than stacking it behind a 7:30 AM start at Banteay Srei.

Which pass to hold for the half-day

Take the 3-day pass at $62 if this trip is in the plan. The official site states it expires in 7 days, so the half-day out to the north-east slots between two park days without costing you an entry, and you keep a spare day for weather. Buy two one-day passes instead and you have spent $74 for fewer days of access than the $62 ticket gives you.

With one morning and nothing more, stay central on the $37 day pass: Angkor Wat from the 5:00 AM opening, then the Bayon once it opens at 7:30 AM. The $72 seven-day pass earns its difference only at four or more temple days, or if the week takes in sites outside the Angkor pass.

At purchase, the 3-day and 7-day tickets are issued with a photograph of your face printed on them, so each traveller carries a ticket of their own. The pass is then scanned at every checkpoint, including the one at Banteay Srei, and it stays with you all day. A tour guide counts as one of the five official channels for getting hold of a pass, alongside the website, the official app, a kiosk and a staffed counter, and the kiosks hand out the 1-day pass only.

Questions people ask

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