Day 1: Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (Lunch)
Transfer to the hotel. Lunch in a typical restaurant. We leave to visit the classic part of the capital of Cambodia with a visit to the National Museum, which preserves the masterpieces of Khmer sculpture and art from the 5th to the 13th century. We move on to the nearby Royal Palace with the Throne Room, where the sovereign still grants his audiences today. The excursion ends by visiting the Silver Pagoda complex. Back to the hotel.
Day 2: Siem Reap
Phnom Penh - Siem Reap (Breakfast, Lunch)
After breakfast departure to Siem Reap. You cross the typical Cambodian landscape, made up of rice fields, palm groves and small villages. Lunch in a typical restaurant. Visit to a unique village of its kind, as it floats on the waters of the great Tonle Sap lake. The fishermen's houses but also the school, the church, the emporiums and public offices, everything floats and can be moved according to the fishing seasons, which follow the monsoons. Arrive Siem Reap and transfer to hotel.
Day 3: Siem Reap
Siem Reap (Breakfast, Lunch)
Visit the fortified citadel of Angkor Thom and the iconic Bayon with its bas-reliefs of enormous realism. Afterwards we move on to the Baphuon, the ancient Royal Palace with the Phimeanakas, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Lunch in a typical restaurant. Afternoon dedicated to the visit of Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. The Angkor complex is the undisputed masterpiece of Khmer architecture and art and has always been a symbol of the Cambodian people. Even more suggestive is the Ta Prohm, where enormous roots envelop the galleries, shrubs sprout from the roofs of each building and the visitor is no longer able to distinguish the work of man from the creations of nature. Back to the hotel.
Day 4: Siem Reap
Siem Reap (Breakfast, Lunch)
Visit the temples of Prasat Kravan, Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang. One of the oldest sacred buildings in Angkor is the Prasat Kravan from 921, dedicated to the cult of the god Vishnu. We then move on to the Banteay Kdei temple with the Citadel of the monks' cells. In the final you reach Srah Srang, the pool of public ablutions. Lunch in a typical restaurant. Visit the Mebon, Pre Rup, Prah Khan and Neak Pean temples, four important and different locations in terms of style and meaning. The Mebon, built on an artificial islet in the center of the eastern Baray basin, was dedicated to the worship of the god Shiva. The Pre Rup, the grandiose temple-mountain, with warm ocher colors, was used for royal funerals. The grandiose Buddhist sanctuary of Prah Khan, surrounded by jungle, was built to celebrate a won war while the enigmatic and evocative sacred basins of Neak Pean, the "entwined serpents", represent an existing lake in Hindu mythology. Back to the hotel.
Day 5: Luang Prabang
Siem Reap - Luang Praban (Breakfast, Dinner)
Transfer to the airport Siem Reap - Pakze - Luang Praba air flight Transfer to the hotel. Dinner in hotel.
Day 6: Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang - Pak Ou - Luang Prabang (Breakfast, Lunch)
Whole day dedicated to visiting the Pak Ou caves and the upper course of the Mekong which can be climbed on long motorized pirogues. The first stop is in a village where, among the various traditional activities, the lao-lao, the very strong national liquor extracted from rice, is also distilled. You reach a point of the river where the rock wall hangs vertically and you land. We climb to the sacred caves of Pak Ou which over the centuries the faith of the people has filled with thousands of Buddha statues. Lunch in a typical restaurant. On the way back we moor on the right bank of the Mekong, facing Luang Prabang, for a short walk to the village of Ban Xangkong Sa, famous for its papermaking and its ancient pagodas. Return to Luang Prabang to visit the handicraft market which, at sunset, opens onto the main road of the city in front of the gates of the ancient Royal Palace. Back to the hotel.
Day 7: Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang (Breakfast, Lunch)
Wake up before dawn to watch the daily begging of over 200 monks, led by the Patriarch, who silently accept the food offered to them by the people. He returns to the hotel for breakfast. Visit the National Museum inside the Royal Palace building. You can admire a rich collection of objects that belonged to the treasury of the royal family and the Phra Bang, the 83-centimetre-high gold statue which according to tradition has been the symbol of the reign of Lan Xang since the 13th century. Lunch in a typical restaurant. Visit of Luang Prabang, the ancient royal capital located in a valley on the middle course of the Mekong, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The many temples give a sense of spirituality that affects every visitor. We visit Wat Visoun, Wat Sené and Wat Xieng Thong. To admire a mystical sunset, go up to Wat Chom Si, on top of the Phu Si hill, which overlooks the surrounding landscape. Back to the hotel.
Day 8:
Luang Prabang (Breakfast)
Transfer to the airport.
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