48 Hours in Battambang, Cambodia

Battambang is a sleepy city in western Cambodia. Most tourists in Cambodia head straight for Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, with far less opting to stop in Battambang.

Battambang is the third largest city in Cambodia, with nearly 200,000 residents. The city certainly feels like a much smaller town, lacking the traffic and noise found in nearby Siem Reap or coastal Sihanoukville.

Travelers that choose to stop in Battambang are rewarded with a less-touristy experience than in other parts of Cambodia, especially the likes of Siem Reap. The city has plenty to do for a few days’ visit. Here are some highlights and tips to fill your time for 48 hours in Battambang:

Prasat Phnom Banan Winery

Cambodia’s first and only winery is a few minutes outside Battambang. The grounds are open to the public and admission is free. The vineyards produce red wine, grape juice and Cambodian brandy.

Although admission is free, if you’re checking it out, go ahead and at least try a glass to support their efforts. The wine is the absolute best wine produced in Cambodia. As the only winery in the country, it’s fair to say it’s also the worst.

Truthfully, the wine is not very good. It is incredibly sweet, too sweet. The brandy is interesting, but the grape juice is phenomenal.

Excluding rice wine, which is plentiful in Southeast Asia, local wines are few and far in between. Winemaking in Southeast Asia is so uncommon that it is really a novelty. But the Banan Winery outside Battambang is growing more popular, and is a unique activity that gives travelers a different look at how Cambodia is developing.

Phnom Banan

Phnom Banan is an ancient Khmer site that dates back nearly 1000 years. Sitting atop a hill (“phnom” means “hill” in Khmer) in the jungle, the ancient temple is an interesting warm up before you visit the world famous Temples of Angkor.

Phnom Banan is not as well preserved as Angkor, but it is an interesting look into local culture as well as history. The surrounding area is a popular day retreat with locals, and there are few tourists around.

Cost of admission to Phnom Banan is only about $2 USD, but additional payment in sweat is the due on the walk to the top – I lost count somewhere around 300 steps. At the top, there is a smattering of crumbling and leaning ruins, a few curious onlookers and Buddhist monks paying respects.

Wat Ek is another ancient Khmer site in the Battambang area that is also fairly empty.

Again, visit Phnom Banan on your day exploring the area outside Battambang, and do so before going to Angkor. Otherwise, you’ll be sorely underwhelmed. It is a cool site of ruins set atop a jungle hill, and is absolutely worth a short visit.

Food in Battambang, Cambodia

In a sense, food in Battambang stands out from elsewhere in Cambodia. Local Cambodian favorites are aplenty, but there is also a considerable amount of high quality foreign and fusion food.

Battambang has maintained the French colonial influence more than other areas of Cambodia, similarly to expat-friendly Kampot, evident in the several French restaurants in town. In addition to French food, the historical center of town has several cheap local restaurants, western food and several bars.

There is also a movement in Battambang to support local orphans that have, essentially, been kidnapped and forced into labor. Several restaurants in Battambang aim to help the orphans by providing English lessons and job training, with most or all profits going toward providing for orphans. Make sure to verify the claims and do some background research on the restaurant beforehand.

My recommendations for good places to eat in Battambang:

Jaan Bai – expensive, but great food and supports a good cause

The River – cheap local food, located (you guessed it) riverside

The Lonely Tree Cafe – delicious American Asian fusion with mediocre prices; sit on the balcony!

Local Cambodian – I don’t read Khmer, but this cheap place serving Cambodian food is located on the corner of Street 106 and Street 115

Madison Pub – great bar for people watching on a busy street, cheap drinks

Creperie Battambang – perfect spot for a cheap, sweet treat

Cafe Eden – another place supporting Khmer people, in a trendy setting with good food

Choco L’Art Cafe – the only artsy hipster vibe in Battambang, and maybe all of Cambodia, in this comfortable little spot with good cocktails and desserts

Phnom Sampov

Another exhausting hike is in order to reach this temple complex. The winding route up and around takes about 30 minutes. Motorbikes and trucks can also speed visitors to the summit for a small charge.

At the top of Phnom Sampov, there are a few temples and a lot of monkeys. Hold on to your stuff. These monkeys are cute until they snatch your camera or sunglasses. The easiest way to stave off the monkeys is with a banana.

There are several small temples and Buddha statues around, as well as one shrine with a large reclining Buddha. Allot plenty of time for visiting Phnom Sampov. The hilltop has temples to explore, natural springs, good views and important history.

There are hundreds of stairs that are a quicker, more grueling route to the top of Phnom Sampov. This route also passes closer to the Killing Caves, a site of Khmer Rouge executions, where people were pushed off the cliff to their deaths. It is a humbling site and yet another reminder of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.

Bat Cave

After a few hours spent checking out Phnom Sampov, head back down to the bottom. There will be hundreds of chairs set up, with vendors selling food and drinks. The object of the gathering is is the nightly exodus of bats from one of the caves in the hillside. Millions of bats fly out for a feeding every night before sunset.

The Bat Cave near Battambang is one of the coolest natural scenes in Cambodia. For what seems like an hour, a constant fleet of bats flies out for their daily feeding. The bats are very small and act as a natural pesticide, dropping a lot of guano and eating a lot of insects in the area.

Claim a good seat at least an hour before sunset. After a long day exploring ruins and hiking, the wait is the perfect time to rest and throw back a few beers. Prices are inflated at this tourist attraction, but beers and soft drinks will cost no more than $1 USD each.

Somehow, despite seeing very few tourists anywhere in or around Battambang, this is a hotspot for visitors in Cambodia. Hundreds of tourists appear out of nowhere to witness the nightly bat show. Take a seat early.

Battambang Bamboo Train

The Bamboo Train is a popular tourist attraction just outside of Battambang. The trains run on old rail tracks using makeshift vehicles fit to the track. These rail vehicles are lightweight and were a way for locals to utilize the train tracks for their own purposes, then easily pick up the carts when a normal train was approaching.

After the rail industry disappeared in these parts, the track continued to be used by locals to to transport goods. They soon became a tourist attraction.

Today, the Battambang Bamboo Train is one of the biggest wastes of time for a tourist in Cambodia.

A few years ago, the government decided to renovate the area, turn it into an official tourist attraction and really squeeze the money out of it. The result is a completely manufactured experience. Instead of old tracks and makeshift carts with bamboo platforms, the new area has shiny tracks on fresh cement and sturdy carts with cushions, complete with a big visitor center.

Having fun on a rickety, old rail cart as a weird, unique tourist activity is no more. Presently, the Bamboo Train in Battambang is one of the most overhyped, inauthentic tourist traps in Cambodia.

Do not waste your time or money.

Transportation in Battambang

Battambang can be reached from Phnom Penh, Siem Reap or Bangkok.

If you’re coming from Sihanoukville, the only practical option is to backtrack to Phnom Penh, and take another bus the next day to Battambang. Long night buses that travel the full distance are available, but operation has been careless in recent years, and this is not recommended. Transportation in Cambodia is tedious, and there is no way to avoid it.

Various reports online claim that Battambang has a recently restored passenger train station. However, having seen this rail station with my own eyes, I can confirm this is not the case. The station appears as if someone was considering renovations and quit a day later. It is dilapidated and in disrepair, but it is perfect for photographers in search of abandoned buildings.

There is a boat that travels along the Sangkae River each day to and from Siem Reap. However, in the dry season of Cambodia, forget about any possibility of boat travel from Battambang. The river becomes more of a ditch, barely fit for a canoe.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in Battambang during the rainy season, take the boat. It takes a little longer, but is surely a more unique travel experience.

Arrange transportation to all of the sights outside of Battambang through your hotel or hostel. It is likely cheaper than hiring a tuk tuk driver on the street. A personal driver for an entire day will cost no more than $20 USD.

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Battambang, Cambodia

Battambang is a cool city that is too often overlooked in travel to Cambodia. Most tourists immediately flock to Siem Reap or spend a couple of days in Phnom Penh. For two or three days, there is plenty to do and explore in this city and the area around. After leaving Cambodia, Battambang is one of the places I wish to return most.

There is a lot more to Cambodia than Angkor Wat, and Battambang is an interesting city well worth a visit for few days. Good food, pretty French colonial architecture, ancient history and nature in action are merely the starting points.