Angkor and its ancient ruins are the main reason for people to go to Cambodia, and indeed if it wasn’t for them I couldn’t envisage the tourist crowd arriving here, for better or for worse. Like in many places, the tourist crowds confine themselves to a few particular sites (including Angkor Wat, the best-known temple, itself), and it’s actually relatively easy to get away from all the noise. Having a temple all to yourself, in other words, the Lara Croft experience, is more difficult but can be done.

1. Pre Rup

Sadly, it seems the days of heading to Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei immediately after watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat are over. These temples now only open at 7am, so if you haven’t killed the two hours yet and you’re tired of sipping iced coffee head to Pre Rup. For some very strange reason it’s the only minor temple that will be open early, but at least that means you can still get the early bird experience from the days of old. On its own it doesn’t look like much, and has taken a battering over the years, but still retains its shape and at dawn will be practically deserted. Number of other visitors when I went: 1

2. Ta Som

If someone mixed together Bayon and Ta Prohm, they would almost certainly get Ta Som. Your tuk-tuk driver will drop you at the western entrance, and as you walk down you get the usual gentle “hello sir” sales pitch from the art and coconut vendors along the pathway. The gopura is topped by the watchful gaze of four Bayon faces, with the jungle straddling Ta Som’s border. In some cases it has broken through; near the southern wall is a fig which contains a colony of fire ants, so don’t take a nap under this one. Another has grown around the frame of the eastern entrance, which in my opinion tops Ta Prohm in terms of how dramatic it looks. Number of other visitors when I went: 3

3. Banteay Samre

This one is technically not part of the Angkor complex, but the Angkor pass will get you in here. It actually lies on the road to the more popular Banteay Srei and I actually was surprised slightly by this one. My tuk tuk driver said “OK, here we are”, and I said “where?” Anyway, I walked towards this temple, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The red outer wall can be walked along and the central area contains different chambers one may be familiar with from many of Angkor’s temples. One of the entrances contains a Temple Run style walkway that leads straight into the jungle, and you can pretend to “discover” Banteay Samre after emerging from the forest. Do stick to the path, though, as Siem Reap has a landmine problem. On that note, the Landmine Museum is nearby, so stop by here to learn more. Number of other visitors when I went: 2

4. Baksei Chamkrong

This pyramid lies on the other side of the river from Angkor Thom and Bayon, and is quite unique in Angkor. Steep stairs lead you up ten metres, enough to get you directly facing the treetops. These are a tricky climb and definitely keep any fashonistas wearing high-heels at bay, and hence their husbands. They are wedged between three different levels of stone platforms which I loved sitting on top of, gazing down at the world below me yet completely at one with nature as the jungle breeze finally reached my hair and caressed my face… anyway, getting down again was a bit problematic but I got there in the end, in what was a real slow and steady job. Number of other visitors when I went: 0

5. Preah Khan

This one had a bit more of a crowd when I went, but was still not what you’d call “busy”. Restoration work is going on, and there’s a lot of rubble spread across the site for now, but one day this will change and most of it is still clear. Wandering through the corridors, lit only by sunlight coming in through the windows and the candles from shrines leads you to a courtyard of walkways and stone structures, the most interesting of which is a set of columns that probably has “made in Rome” engraved somewhere on it. Number of other visitors when I went: 40

I was there during the low season and avoided visiting on weekends, so this also had an impact. Going early, as was the case in Pre Rup, can help you massively. The tourist crowds tend to go to Angkor Wat, then Bayon and then Ta Prohm, and if they’ve seen the sunrise they’ll probably have breakfast somewhere. Use the tourists’ habits against them when searching for the quiet. However, because of the size of most places, I actually didn’t mind the tourists too much, and I learned that if you’re quick you can easily snap a tourist-free photo.

For the record, the only place where tourist crowds drove me ballistic was Bayon, but that’s another story.