Angkor Wat & Siem Rap

Angkor Wat & Angkor Thom Main Temples

A run around Angkor Wat & Ankor Thom is a scenic and memorable expoerience. There are several distance and loop options, so here we provide some guidance. The roads between the temples generally have a decent shoulder. It’s most crowded around Angkor Wat — especially around sunrise.  The requires admission, but it opens at 4:30 a.m. for tickets, or you can buy tickets the day before.

Angkor Wat Main Temple Complex. A memorable run is the approach to Angkor Wat from the east or west, along wide paved paths with great views of the Temple. It’s 0.6 km approaching from either the Rainbow Bridge or the East Gate. One can run along other ‘inside the moat’ paths for a route of 4-5 km. There are also 2 km of paths along the outside perimeter of the moat — but only on the east side, north of East Gate and along the north side of the moat. It’s also possible to run on the road around the entire 5.8 km perimeter.

Path in Angkor Thom. Google Street View

Angkor Thom Area. From Angkor Wat, it’s 1 km along the road that connects to the Angkor Thom temple complex (or, 1.7 km running using the side path by the Phnom Bakheng temple). There’s a decent shoulder. Within Angkor Thom, there are wide paths approaching the Bayon Temple & Terrace of the Elephants, from any direction. It’s 3.2 km either north-south or east-west (a perfect square!). Much of it is forested.

There’s also a path around the entire perimeter of the 13 km square of Angkor Thom, just inside the moat. This is more of a wooded trail run with a lush tree canopy, and there aren’t really any views of the temple complex. The trail is fairly flat and the footing decent, but there are some narrow sections. ROUTE MAP

Combining Angkor Wat & Angkor Thom. There are many ways to mix and match the two main areas, as seen in this ROUTE MAP. A route combining the main paths inside Angkor Wat, then connecting to Angkor Thom, and then within Angkor Thom could easily be 20 km. It’s also possible to run one-way and then hire a tuktuk for the return.

Paths Along West Baray. About 3 km west of Angkor Thom West Gate, there are dirt paths/roads around the perimeter of West Baray — a large lake with the West Mebron site sitting on an island at the lake’s east end. A full loop would be 21 km, from the West Gate. A good option is to run some portion of the 6 km along the north side. It’s mainly a dirt road with some lake views.

Essentials
  • Can put together routes of 4-5 km within Angkor Wat or up to 20 km combining the two complexes
  • Angkor Wat East or West Gate

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Essentials
  • Can put together routes of 4-5 km within Angkor Wat or up to 20 km combining the two complexes
  • Angkor Wat East or West Gate