Choeung Ek Killing Fields

What to See at Choeung Ek

The Memorial Stupa

Built in 1988, the glass-walled stupa at the centre of the site holds more than 5,000 skulls and bones exhumed from the surrounding mass graves, arranged by age and likely cause of death. It is the focal point of the visit and a working Buddhist memorial, not a museum display.

The Mass Grave Sites

A marked walking path leads past more than 80 excavated mass graves across the former orchard, many now grassed over. Fragments of clothing and bone still occasionally surface during the rainy season and are collected and added to the memorial.

The Audio Tour

The included audio tour, narrated in part by survivors, guides visitors through the site at a deliberately unhurried pace — including the “killing tree,” against which children were killed, and the site of the former detention building. It is designed to be listened to fully rather than skipped through.

UNESCO World Heritage Status

In July 2025, UNESCO inscribed Choeung Ek as part of “Cambodian Memorial Sites: From Centres of Repression to Places of Peace and Reflection” — a serial listing alongside Tuol Sleng and the former M-13 prison in Kampong Speu. It was Cambodia’s fifth World Heritage Site and its first to document the Khmer Rouge era directly.

How to Get to Choeung Ek

Choeung Ek is about 15km southwest of central Phnom Penh, roughly 30–40 minutes by road.

• Tuk-tuk: $12–18 round trip including waiting time, easily arranged through any hotel
• Organised tour: Frequently combined with Tuol Sleng (S-21) as a half-day tour, often starting at S-21 in the morning
• Taxi/Grab: Available and similarly priced to a tuk-tuk for the distance

Best Time to Visit

Most of the visit takes place outdoors on a walking path with limited shade, so early morning or late afternoon are more comfortable than the midday heat. Visiting after Tuol Sleng, as most people do, completes the historical arc in the order events actually happened.

Practical Information

• $6 entry includes the audio guide — there is no option to skip it, and you shouldn’t want to
• Photography is permitted, though visitors are asked to be respectful, particularly near the stupa and grave sites
• The walking route is entirely outdoors and partially uneven; bring water and sun protection
• Allow a quiet period afterward — this is widely described as the most emotionally affecting stop in Cambodia

Nearby Attractions

Tuol Sleng (S-21), where most victims were held and interrogated before being brought to Choeung Ek, is the essential companion visit, located back in central Phnom Penh.