Full day: Cycle tour – $20

This full day cycle tour requires a reasonable level of fitness but affords views of Angkor Thom not often seen by tourists. The day begins with mountain bike hire and from there we cycle past Angkor Wat towards the ancient city gates of Angkor Thom. Most tours simply pass through the gates and take in Bayon before continuing on the small or grand tour. At the gates, however, we will leave the crowds behind and take the pathways along the tops of the city walls with the moat on one side and the jungle on the other.

This pathway is generally only used by locals and provides an oasis of calm, far from the crowds which can throng the temples at the busier times of day. We will cycle around half of the citadel before joining the small tour route briefly on the tarmac road. While others continue along this, we take a small jungle path and wind our way through the sandy paths of the forest to the secluded rear gate of Preah Khan.

Lunch is taken at a local restaurant, after which we again climb the gates of the ancient city to rejoin the pathway along the walls. The total distance around the ancient walls themselves is 12 kilometres. At the end of the tour, the road is rejoined at the same gate through which we entered and we return to Siem Reap after a quiet yet adventurous day, far from the crowds.