8:00 AM - Hotel Pickup, Siem Reap Your driver collects you from your Siem Reap hotel and heads straight to the official ticket centre for the Angkor Pass, the entry credential required for every temple within the Angkor Archaeological Park.

8:45 AM - Angkor Thom, South Gate

The first stop stands at the southern entrance of Angkor Thom, the 12th-century fortified "Great Royal City" commissioned by King Jayavarman VII. The gate opens beneath the imposing Avalokiteshvara statue, the face that appears in the Tomb Raider film.

9:30 AM - Bayon Temple

Inside the walls, Bayon rises in Buddhist style, its towers carved with hundreds of stone faces turning in every direction. The dense collection of gaze makes it one of the most photographed monuments in Cambodia.

10:15 AM - Royal Palace Grounds and Baphuon

The walk continues through the Terrace of Elephants, past the former Royal Palace grounds, into Phimeanakas and the Terrace of the Leper King. The loop finishes at Baphuon, recognised as the largest Hindu temple standing inside Angkor Thom.

11:15 AM - Ta Prohm

The vehicle moves on to Ta Prohm, deliberately left in its original state. Silk-cotton roots and strangler fig roots coil around the stones, producing the ruin most travelers remember from the Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider movie. Walking through the corridors feels like stepping onto a film set.

12:15 PM - Lunch at a Local Restaurant

A Khmer lunch is served at a family-run restaurant, cooked by a local chef, with cool water and towels supplied by the tour team.

2:00 PM - Angkor Wat

You spend the afternoon inside Angkor Wat, the largest religious building on earth and the icon of Khmer civilisation. Built by King Suryavarman II as a dedication to the Hindu god Vishnu, the monument features the longest bas-relief in the world, a vast surrounding moat, and five towers whose silhouette sits at the centre of the Cambodian flag.

4:40 PM - Phnom Bakheng, Sunset Viewpoint

Before heading back, you climb Phnom Bakheng, the hilltop temple that gives the first wide-angle view of Angkor Wat at sunset. After the descent, the driver returns you to your hotel in Siem Reap.

4:40 AM - Hotel Pickup, Siem Reap Pickup begins in the dark, early enough to reach Angkor Wat before dawn. The driver and guide arrive in your hotel lobby in an air-conditioned vehicle.

5:15 AM - Angkor Wat, Sunrise

You watch the sunrise from the reflecting pool in front of Angkor Wat, the moment most travellers cross continents for. After the sun clears the five central towers, you return toward Siem Reap for breakfast.

7:00 AM - Breakfast at a Family Restaurant

A simple Khmer breakfast awaits at a family-run restaurant in Siem Reap. The stop also gives you a chance to chat with the family behind the kitchen and watch everyday food preparation.

8:30 AM - Preah Dak Village, Countryside Stop

A return to the countryside brings a tasting of traditional palm cake while you observe rural life in a community that has worked around the Angkor temples for generations.

9:30 AM - The Grand Circuit: Preah Khan

The first temple on the Grand Circuit is Preah Khan, a large monastery originally dedicated to the Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara and later adapted for Hindu worship.

10:15 AM - Neak Pean

The drive continues to Neak Pean, a small temple set on an island in the middle of an artificial lake. It was built on a small scale to represent the sacred lake Anavatapta in the Himalayas.

11:00 AM - Ta Som

A short hop brings you to Ta Som, a compact temple whose eastern gopura has been reclaimed by a single strangler fig tree pulling at the stonework.

11:30 AM - East Mebon

East Mebon follows, a temple that once stood on an island in the East Baray reservoir and remains known for its corner elephant statues.

12:00 PM - Pre Rup

The morning temple circuit closes at Pre Rup, a temple-mountain built in brick, laterite and sandstone. Visitors typically climb the three tiers for photographs.

12:45 PM - Lunch Break

A pause for lunch at a local restaurant before the road out to Banteay Srei.

2:00 PM - Banteay Srei

The drive north ends at Banteay Srei, built from red-pink sandstone and famous across the country for having the finest and most skilful reliefs in Cambodia. The "Citadel of the Women" lives up to its name with minute, jewellery-like carving.

3:30 PM - Kampong Phluk, Tonle Sap Floating Village

The day finishes with a private boat through the flooded fishing village of Kampong Phluk on Tonle Sap Lake. The route passes the local market, the church, the school, and the floating houses stilted above the water. On the way back, the boat sails past taller stilted homes.

6:00 PM - Drop-off, Siem Reap

The driver returns you to your Siem Reap hotel, closing a two-day circuit through Cambodia's most iconic religious, historical and natural landscapes.