Cycling through Angkor Wat was an amazing experience and easily one of our favorite adventures in Cambodia. We started the day super early, renting mountain bikes in Siem Reap and hitting the road just as the sky started lighting up. Even though most travel blogs say motorcycles aren’t allowed inside, we saw plenty of people cruising around on scooters, so it seems that’s actually fine.

Built in the early 12th century by King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat started as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu and later became a Buddhist complex. It’s huge—covering over 400 acres—and famous for its stunning architecture and detailed carvings depicting myths and historical events. As the largest religious monument in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s a truly breathtaking sight.

The ride from the city to Angkor Wat was about 7 km and incredibly peaceful, with only a quick ticket check halfway. We didn’t quite make it for the famous sunrise, but watching the sun slowly illuminate the temples was still magical. Angkor Wat was already getting crowded, so we decided to leave it for later and tackle the quieter temples first along the “big circuit.”

We arrived at Pre Rup around 7 AM, a bit too early as it wasn’t open yet. So we chilled out and had sandwiches for breakfast while enjoying the gorgeous orange hues the stones took on in the early sunlight. It quickly became one of our favorite spots—beautiful and super calm.

After breakfast, we continued biking through stunning rice fields, visiting lots of smaller, less crowded temples. This part was awesome because most of the time we had these temples practically to ourselves, making it feel even more special.

We had hoped that taking bikes would give us access to some smaller, off-road trails, but park rangers stopped us whenever we tried. Turns out there’s no real advantage over motorbikes after all! But cycling was still super fun and gave us a slower pace to appreciate everything around us.

Next up was the smaller circuit, where the temples were equally impressive but definitely busier. One memorable moment was at Bayon Temple, known for its hundreds of stone faces. While we were busy admiring the amazing carvings, a sneaky monkey stole our lunch—pretty funny, but we missed our sandwiches!

Bayon Temple, Angkor Wat

We ended the day with a visit to Angkor Wat itself, finally getting to explore the iconic temple. By the time we cycled the 65 kilometers back to our hotel, we were completely exhausted.