Tonle Sap and the Floating Villages

Two Lakes in One Year

In the dry season Tonle Sap covers roughly 2,500-3,000 sq km and holds about 1 cubic km of water at a depth of around 1 m. In the wet season the same lake spreads to about 16,000 sq km and holds about 80 cubic km at 9-14 m deep. The monsoon pushes the Mekong back up the Tonle Sap River, the lake floods the surrounding forest and farmland, and then everything drains away again over the following months.

For a visitor the practical effect is simple. Villages that float on the water in the wet season stand on mud or on tall stilts in the dry season. Check which village you are being sold before you commit, because the experience changes completely with the water level.

The River That Reverses

The Tonle Sap River runs 115-120 km between the lake and the Mekong. For about six months it flows one way, carrying lake water down to the Mekong, and for the other six months the flooded Mekong pushes water back up into the lake. The switch happens roughly every six months, around the monsoon cycle.

This reversal is why the lake swells so far and so fast.

A Protected Biosphere

UNESCO nominated Tonle Sap as a Biosphere Reserve in 1997, and Cambodia confirmed it by royal decree in 2001. The core areas, where nature protection is strictest, cover 42,300 hectares. They are Prek Toal in Battambang province, and two zones in Kampong Thom province, Boeng Tonle Chhmar, which is also a Ramsar wetland site, and Stung Sen.

If your interest is birds rather than villages, the dry season months are the time to go, as the receding water concentrates the birds into a smaller area.

The Lake Under Pressure

The lake has had hard years. The International Business Times reports the reverse flow reached its lowest level since 1997 in one recent season, and Wikipedia records a record-low water level for July in 2020, the lowest in 60 years. The International Business Times blames upstream dams and drought.

For you as a visitor this means the dry-season lake can look smaller and browner than the photos, so set expectations before you book a boat. Pairing the lake with temple days still works, and the Angkor Wat tours show what else a Siem Reap day can hold.

The Inland Fishery

Otherwise Cambodia describes the flooded forest as the breeding shelter for fish and says the lake supplies more than half of the fish eaten in Cambodia. Wikipedia puts it at about 60% of the annual freshwater catch of over 400,000 tons. Wikipedia records at least 149 fish species, 11 of them globally endangered, plus the nearly extinct Siamese crocodile.

Otherwise Cambodia quotes 300 or more species, which conflicts with Wikipedia's 149.

Prek Toal Bird Reserve

Aqua Expeditions describes the 22,000-hectare Prek Toal Core Bird Reserve as a refuge for the spot-billed pelican, milky stork, black-headed ibis and masked finfoot. It is one of the three core zones of the UNESCO biosphere, along with Boeng Tonle Chhmar and Stung Sen. A bird trip here is a separate outing from the village boat loops, for travelers with a particular interest in waterbirds.

Wikivoyage names November to April, the dry season, as the best time for birds, as the water recedes into a smaller area. That is the same window the when to go section covers.

Floating Houses and Stilt Houses

Aqua Expeditions separates two kinds of village on the lake. Floating villages are built on movable houses that can be shifted as the water rises and falls. Stilted villages are permanent, with tall stilts and very long ladders for the dry months when the water drops away.

Kampong Phluk is the stilted kind, and its houses stand on stilts of roughly 6 to 9 m. What you see depends on the season: Exotravel says the stilt houses look as if they float in the lake season, and in the dry months they tower over dry ground.

Who Lives Here

Most of the lake's fishermen are ethnic Vietnamese, and Cham communities also live in floating villages around it, alongside Khmer families. These are working communities, not shows for visitors. The International Business Times lists schools, hairdressers, coffee shops and even dentists in the floating villages, all reached by canoe and small motorboat.

Kampong Phluk commune alone counted 3,707 people in 2019. Wikipedia says its residents fish mainly for shrimp in the wet season and turn to farming in the dry season. When you visit, it is fair to ask the boat operator what share of the ticket money stays in the village.

Which Village to Pick

Chong Kneas is the closest at about 15 km south of Siem Reap by paved road, which makes it the default choice for short itineraries. Wikivoyage, however, warns that it is in a bad state for visitors and that scam practices there are well established. Kampong Phluk, about 20 km south-east, is a stilted village rather than a floating one: its houses stand 6-9 m above the ground, and its 3,707 residents, counted across 911 families, fish for shrimp in the wet season and farm in the dry. Wikivoyage warns that Chong Kneas-style scams are beginning to show there too.

Kampong Khleang and Mechrey are other villages some trips go to. No distance or fee is published for either, so check any figure quoted to you. Prek Toal is a biosphere core zone in Battambang province, not a quick village visit. Boats and drivers at all the access points are rented per person or per boat, so the price you pay depends on how many of you there are.

Village Comparison

Distances come from Wikivoyage, Kampong Phluk figures from Wikipedia, and ticketing rules from the official Angkor Enterprise site.

How the Official Tickets Work

The official Angkor Enterprise site lists Chong Kneas as a separate area alongside Koh Ker, Beng Mealea and Kbal Spean, and it is the body that sells temple passes and area tickets. For Chong Kneas it states clearly that boat-ride tickets are not sold online and must be bought at the counter. The packages come in small, medium and large boats, with separate rates for Cambodian and international visitors, payable in US dollars or riel.

The small boat is described as suited to couples, solo travelers and small families, and the medium boat has sunshade roofs and a centre corridor. No per-boat figure is published, so ask at the counter and expect a range of package options rather than a single fare.

What the Boat Loop Is Actually Like

At Chong Kneas, about 15 km south of Siem Reap, Otherwise Cambodia describes a boat loop of about 2 hours with two stops, one of them a floating gift shop, and says the area is run by a private firm that has raised prices. The official Angkor Enterprise site sells Chong Kneas boat tickets at the counter only, not online. Wikivoyage lists a Kampong Phluk floating village boat tour at US$25 per person as a market rate, and notes that at the access points boats are rented per person or per boat.

Whatever the village, agree the price and the stops before you board.

Water Level by Season

The lake sits at roughly 1 m deep at the end of the dry season and rises to 9-14 m at the peak of the rains. The wet season runs about May to October, when Kampong Phluk residents fish mainly for shrimp, and the dry season runs about November to April, when they turn to farming. In the wet months the villages genuinely float, and the lake reaches its full 16,000 sq km. In the dry months the water retreats, and the stilt houses of Kampong Phluk stand tall over dry ground.

For birds, Wikivoyage names November to April, the dry season, as the best time, because the receding water concentrates birdlife into a smaller area. That makes the dry season the window for a Prek Toal trip. For the classic floating-village photo with houses surrounded by water, the late wet season and the months just after the rains are stronger.

Pairing the Lake with Your Temple Days

The nearest villages sit about 15 to 20 km from Siem Reap, so the lake fits around a temple day or on a separate day. The seasons, heat and sunrise hour page on the homepage sets out how the temple calendar fits the same weather patterns. If you are deciding between one, two or three days at the temples before adding the lake, the how many days section breaks the trade-offs down.

The One Catalog Trip That Includes the Lake

The Angkor Wat and Floating Village 2-Day Tour is a private two-day trip costing $235 per group of up to 10. Day one covers Angkor Wat at sunrise, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo, Ta Nei, Angkor Thom, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Bayon. Day two runs to Beng Mealea, the Kampong Phluk floating village, the Tonle Sap Great Lake and Roluos market. It carries a 5.0 rating from 130 reviews.

Read the exclusions carefully. The Angkor Pass is not in the price, as with every tour in the catalog. the checkout adds US$69 in extra charges on top of the $235, which is not broken down on the listing, and the exclusions list names the entrance fees and the admission fee and private boat ride to Tonle Sap and Kampong Phluk separately. The listing does not state the split between those items. Treat the $235 plus the $69 of added charges as the starting figure, since the listing does not say whether that $69 covers the entrance fees or the boat ride. Compare it against other multi-day options such as the Angkor Wat 2-Day Tour at $34 per person, which stays at the temples, or the Angkor Wat 3-Day Tour, to see what a day at the lake costs you in practice.

The Scams to Avoid

Wikivoyage is blunt about the lake trade. Chong Kneas, the closest village to Siem Reap, is described as being in a bad state for visitors, with established scam practices, and it warns that the same practices are beginning to show at Kampong Phluk. Boats and drivers are rented at the access points and may be priced per person or per boat, so agree the unit, the duration and the total before you step on board.

The official safeguard is simple. Chong Kneas boat-ride tickets are not sold online and must be bought at the official counter, where the packages come in small, medium and large boats with rates for national and international visitors. Buy there rather than from anyone who approaches you on the road. For scams at the temples themselves, the on your own section of the homepage and the Angkor Wat tickets guide cover the official channels.