4 of Asia’s 25 best tourist attractions located in Cambodia
Four of the top 25 tourist attractions in Asia are located in Cambodia, at least according to the 2024 TripAdvisor travelers choice awards. Unsurprisingly the top Cambodian attraction was Angkor Wat (2) followed by Ta Prohm (19), Bayon Temple (20)) and S-21 (22).
The travelers choice awards are presented yearly by leading travel review site TripAdvisor and cover a whole range of awards for cities, countries, attractions, travel agents, to name but a few.
Cambodia has previously won honors in various 2024 global categories.
Best Tourist Attractions in Asia, who what?
Perhaps surprisingly to some (us at least) the top award went to the Gardens By The Bay in Singapore, which was followed by our near and dear Angkor Wat. This was a particularly impressive result as it beat the Great Wall of China into third spot.
Neighbours Vietnam and Thailand also had 4 entrants into the top 25, while Singapore had a massive 6, very impressive when you take into account the size of the country.
Full list of best tourist attractions in Asia
- Gardens by the Bay – Singapore
- Angkor Wat – Cambodia
- Mutianyu Great Wall – China
- Taj Mahal – India
- Fushimi Anari – Taisha Shrine – Japan
- Royal Selangor Visitor Centre – Malaysia
- Hoi An Ancient Town – Vietnam
- Secret Monkey Forrest Sanctuary – Singapore
- Wat Prah Chetuphon – Thailand
- War Remnants Museum – Vietnam
- Temple of Dawn – Thailand
- Ptronas Twin Towers – Malaysia
- Bigg Buddha Phuket – Thailand
- Cu Chi Tunnels – Vietnam
- Museum PASIFICA – Singapore
- Singapore Botanic Gardens -Singapore
- Cloud Forrest – Singapore
- Kinkakuji Temple – Japan
- Ta Prohm – Cambodia
- Bayon Temple – Cambodia
- Qutub Minar – India
- S-21/Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum – Cambodia
- MinNature Malaysia – Malaysia
- National Orchid Garden – Singapore
- The Grand Palace
Cambodia’s winners
That Angkor Wat came top for Cambodia should come as no surprise, with it also scoring high globally, as well as being the main tourist attraction within the Kimgdom. Almost 800,000 people visited the site last year, with over 1 million expected in 2024.
Ta Prohm which finished in 19th place might be slightly less well known to people. Located 1 km to the east of Angkor Thom. The impressive temple was built at the end of the 12th century.
Similarly the Bayon Temple whose most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces of The Buddha was also built in the late 12 century and is also located near to Siem Reap city.
Cambodia’s last entry S-21 is not only the only award winner located in Phnom Penh, but also relating to the modern day history of the country. S-21 was notoriously the brutal prison camp of the Khmer Rouge and is one of only a few so called “dark tourism” attractions within the top 25.
Author: Gareth Johnson
Gareth Johnson is the founder of Young Pioneer Tours and has visited over 180+ countries. His passion is opening obscure destinations to tourism and sharing his experience of street food.
