Scenic Train and Tram Rides in Siem Reap & Angkor Wat
A visual guide from the Siem Reap and Angkor Wat travel guide — see all posters in Visual Guides.
Cambodia's railway map has a conspicuous gap: no line has ever reached Siem Reap, and the nearest working track lies about three hours south-west at Battambang. That is where the norry runs, a bamboo platform on two loose axles, driven by a small motor, clattering along warped colonial-era rails past rice fields at a speed that feels faster than it is. Closer to town, the rides that matter run on rubber: electric shuttles inside the Angkor park, remorque tuk-tuks looping the temple circuits, and a tethered balloon that lifts sightseers above the treeline on the road to Angkor Wat.
The bamboo train
Battambang, roughly three hours south-west along National Roads 6 and 5, keeps the country's most enjoyable rail oddity. The original norry line runs east of town from O Dambong: a bamboo deck sits on two independent axles, a belt-driven engine pushes it along buckled single track, and when two carts meet head-on the lighter one is lifted clear in under a minute so the other can pass. The run is short, a few kilometres each way and usually twenty minutes or so, and costs a handful of dollars per person. A newer purpose-built tourist line operates near Banan. Royal Railway's Phnom Penh to Battambang service also calls here, though timetables shift, so check before relying on it.
Rides around Angkor and town
Inside the Angkor park, electric shuttle buses have been added on the main loops in recent years, and small electric cars work the shorter hops between Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Most visitors still hire a remorque, the trailer tuk-tuk, for a full day: expect roughly USD 18 to 25 for the Small Circuit and more for Banteay Srei, 37 km north-east. The Angkor Balloon, tethered beside the road to the west gate, rises a couple of hundred metres for a short, steady view over moat and canopy. Since the 2022 to 2023 road rebuild, Siem Reap has proper pavements and marked cycle lanes, which makes a hired bicycle a genuine option on the flat.