To help decide which one to choose – sunrise or sunset – consider the following pros and cons based on my personal experience:

Sunrise at Angkor Wat 

Pros:

1. The sun shows up right behind the ruins of Angkor Wat and the sight is magical.

2. Waking up early will give you more time to explore the ruins before the heat sets in.

Cons:

1. In photos the sunrise usually looks like this:

Angkor Wat, Cambodia © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

But what you can’t imagine from the photos is that the reflection is seen in a rather small pond (not in a huge lake as it looks like) and if you turn back, you will see this:

Sunrise at Angkor Wat | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Hundreds of people flock around the shores of the pond (there are two ponds but the one on the right if you face the temple doesn’t reflect the buildings well) and fight with elbows and tripods for good shooting spots. Some latecomers even venture into the mud:

Sunrise at Angkor Wat | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

But that’s what we do for art! If you don’t like crowds, you might feel overwhelmed. But that’s the overall vibe of Angkor Wat, so it won’t surprise you so much after a few hours.

2. Balloon flight – flying over the temples at sunrise is definitely the most spectacular way to feel the magic, but I have some ethical qualms about it. When we were in Siem Reap (spring 2017), we found only one company offering flights and they all ended with throwing candy to kids in a nearby village. I found this practice humiliating for the locals and skipped the balloon flight (that’s a personal opinion: if you are okay with it, go ahead!).

Tips:

1. To get to Angkor Wat for the sunrise, you can get a tuk-tuk or rent a bicycle or a motorbike. The price for a sunrise tuk-tuk tour (and then a whole day around the temples) is more or less the same all over Siem Reap ($20 per person) and there’s not much space to haggle. Renting a bike will cost you around $2 a day, and scooters can be as cheap as $7 a day.

2. Arrive long before sunrise (at least 40 minutes) to find a good viewing spot and to witness the amazing play of light in the sky behind the temple before the sun peeks above the horizon.

3. If it’s your first day at Angkor Wat, don’t forget that you have to go to the ticket office and buy a ticket to gain access to the temples. The ticket office has been moved to a new location, 10 km away from the official entrance of the temple area.

Sunset at Angkor Wat – pros and cons

Sunset at Angkor Wat, Cambodia © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Pros:

1. Fewer people make a special effort to visit Angkor Wat for the sunset, so it’s much less crowded.

2. The sun sets facing the facade of Angkor Wat and there is a special magic here. With the last minutes of daylight you will see the walls changing color several times – from orange to pinkish and then brown. It’s the perfect way to end the day at Angkor Wat.

Cons:

1. It’s not as spectacular as the sunrise.

Tips:

1. The Angkor complex closes at sunset, so make sure you are there early enough to find a good spot and take photos. As soon as the sun gets below the horizon, you will be asked to leave the temple.

2. If there are clouds in the sky, you should definitely go for the sunset as it’s even more beautiful.

The verdict: craft your route so that you can see both sunrise and sunset. 

Read more: How to beat the crowds at Angkor Wat

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That said, there are still a few ways to enjoy the Angkor Temples without every other man and his dog. Here are a few hacks and tricks to help you beat the crowds and skip the lines.

Buy your tickets the day before

If you arrive in Siem Reap in the afternoon, buy your tickets valid from the next day. Make sure you know the correct location of the office – it was changed in 2016 and is now quite far from the Angkor Complex itself. The office is open from 5 am to 5:30 pm, but the lines in the morning are chaotic from as early as 4:30, as all the last-minute tourists try to make it in time for sunrise. Tickets can be valid for one, three or seven days, so plan your sunrise and sunset tours carefully.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Don’t see too many temples in one day

On the first day, you are incredibly excited to see as much as possible, but then the sightseeing fatigue sets in and just a few hours later you realize you don’t want to see another temple for the rest of your life. This is a common mistake many visitors make. To avoid it, get a three-day or seven-day ticket and explore the Angkor Archaeological Park in small portions. Thus, if you’d planned to see Angkor Thom today but then realize that it’s full of people, you can leave it for tomorrow and move on to your next destination. It’s a good idea to mark the temples you’ve already visited in some way (on your map or your app) because, at some point, it’s impossible to keep track.

Religious blessing at Angkor Wat | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Waking up early won’t help

Everyone arrives before sunrise at Angkor, and while this would usually be a wise tip, waking up early is of no help here. The best times to explore the archaeological site are early morning and late afternoon, because the heat is unbearable at noon.

Ta Prohm (the filming location from Tomb Raider) | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Enter from the East Gate istead of the main West Gate

Assuming you have already seen the sunrise at Angkor Wat, begin the rest of your days by entering from the small East Gate instead of the main West Gate. This will give you the chance to enjoy the temples on this side of the archaeological park without being surrounded by hordes of tourists. No selfie sticks, no elbow-pushing, no vendors.

Angkor Temples | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Go counter-intuitive

The three main attractions at Angkor are Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (featuring the huge Bayon Temple), and Ta Prohm (the filming location from Tomb Raider). This is where the biggest crowds concentrate. If someone has just one day at Angkor, they will visit these three locations. The logical order of visiting these areas is: 1. Angkor Wat 2. Angkor Thom and 3. Ta Prohm. You can outsmart the crowds and avoid big groups by acting counter-intuitively and starting from the bottom of the list. For example Ta Keo – between Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm – is a ghost temple in the early morning.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Accept that some crowds are inevitable

Everyone wants to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat, but the sight of the hundreds of visitors competing for the best photo spot in the mud by the bank of the pond in front of the temple may be heartbreaking. Accept it. Just like you, everyone wants to experience something they have seen in all those amazing photos. Be patient and tolerant. The same goes for the sunset at Phnom Bakheng and for climbing the Central Angkor Wat Tower, where only 100 people a day are granted access.

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