Angkor Wat: Small-Group Tour with Balloon Ride and Lunch

Start your day with a pick-up from your hotel at 8:00 AM where you will be transferred to the Angkor Wat ticket office to purchase your Angkor Pass (at your own expense), before setting off to Angkor Wat, one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. Spend the day exploring the temples of Angkor National Park. Begin with the Angkor Wat Temple, considered as one of the seven wonders of the world. Explore the massive Angkor Wat and be captivated by its complexity, intricately carved walls, columns, and chambers. With the help of your professional guide, discover the symbolic meanings of its carvings and architecture, and gain a deeper appreciation of Khmer culture. Next, you will be driven to the fortified city of Angkor Thom. Enter through the South Gate as you walk in the middle of a causeway flanked from side to side by symbolic statues of demons and gods. The entire length of the causeway contains a total of 108 mythical creatures serving as guards to the fortified city. Then, visit the majestic Bayon Temple, one of the most popular temples within the Angkor Thom Complex. Be mesmerized by over 200 large faces carved on 54 towers, which at that time represented the 54 provinces of the Khmer Empire. Continue your exploration at the Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King. In the afternoon, proceed to the ethereal Ta Prohm Temple, built in AD 1186 by King Jayavarman VII and witness how the trunks of trees seem to devour the temples. After your tour of the temples, and weather permitting, you’ll have the opportunity to rise 200 meters over the site by a tethered helium balloon to admire the sun setting over the temple and jungle. This tour concludes with drop off at your hotel in the city.