Angkor Small Circuit vs Grand Circuit: What Each Covers and Which to Do First (2026)

The small circuit comes first. It holds Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Ta Prohm, the three temples that explain everything else in the park, and the grand circuit makes sense only once you have seen them. That is the answer for a first visit in almost every month. The more useful question is how to run each circuit, because the standard order that tour buses follow puts every visitor in the same temple at the same hour.

Search results on this question list the temples on each loop and stop there. They rarely say how far apart the temples are, how long each one takes, which direction to drive, or what the heat does to the plan. They present the circuits as two full days of sightseeing, when each is really a morning with an optional late afternoon. They also leave out Banteay Srei, the temple people most regret missing, which sits on neither circuit.

Prices, hours and transport times below were checked against the Angkor Enterprise ticket pages, operator websites and 2026 driver price lists in October 2026.

The Circuits Are Driver Routes, Not Temple Lists

The names come from the French. The petit circuit and the grand circuit date from the French colonial period, when the first visitors toured the park from Siem Reap, and they survive as the two standard routes that every tuk-tuk driver knows. A driver who hears “small circuit” knows the loop and the order. That is the real point of the names: they are a shorthand for a day’s transport, priced by the loop.

Neither circuit is a fixed program. You can skip temples, reverse the direction and split a loop across a morning and an afternoon. The price stays the same as long as the route stays roughly within the loop. Banteay Srei, the Roluos group, Kbal Spean and Beng Mealea lie outside both and cost more.

The trap is following the bus order. Tour groups run the small circuit clockwise from Angkor Wat at 8:00 a.m., reach the Bayon at 10:00 a.m. and Ta Prohm at 10:30 a.m. Run it the same way at the same time and you share every temple with them. Start at 5:00 a.m. with the sunrise, or reverse the loop in the afternoon, and the same temples are a different place.

The Small Circuit: 17 Kilometers

The small circuit leaves Angkor Wat, enters Angkor Thom by the south gate, crosses the walled city past the Bayon to the Victory Gate on its east side, then runs east and south past Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang before returning west to Angkor Wat. The loop is about 17 km and an hour of driving in total. The temples below are in the standard clockwise order.

Angkor Wat

The reason the park exists for most visitors, and the one temple that needs a morning to itself. Open 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., about 7 km and 15 to 20 minutes by tuk-tuk from Pub Street. Allow two to three hours including sunrise, the 800 meters of bas-relief galleries and the upper tier, the Bakan, which opens at about 7:40 a.m. and admits only visitors aged 12 and over. The limitation: its west-facing facade is backlit all morning, and the sunrise crowd reaches several thousand in January. Where to stand at dawn is in the Angkor Wat sunrise guide.

Phnom Bakheng

A hilltop temple between Angkor Wat and the south gate of Angkor Thom, optional on this loop. Open 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a 300-person cap at the summit for sunset and a 20-minute climb. The limitation: at sunset it is a queue, and the view faces away from the best of Angkor Wat. In the morning it is quiet and takes 45 minutes.

Angkor Thom, the Bayon and the terraces

The walled city of Jayavarman VII, 3 km on each side, entered by the south gate with its causeway of gods and demons. The Bayon at its center, the Baphuon, the Phimeanakas, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King together take about two hours on foot. Open 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The tuk-tuk drops you at the Bayon and waits at the north end of the terraces. The limitation: by 10:00 a.m. the Bayon’s upper terrace is full of tour groups. The walking order is in Bayon and Angkor Thom.

Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda

Two small twelfth-century temples facing each other across the road just east of the Victory Gate. Ten to fifteen minutes each, and usually empty. The limitation: after the Bayon, most people drive past, and a guide is what makes them worth the stop.

Ta Keo

An unfinished temple-mountain of bare sandstone, steep and undecorated, because the carving was never started. Twenty to thirty minutes. The limitation: the stairs are steep, there is no shade, and it is the one to skip after 10:00 a.m.

Ta Prohm

The monastery left to the trees, and the most crowded temple on the loop between 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Open 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Allow 45 to 75 minutes. The silk-cotton trees over the galleries and the restoration work around them are covered in the Ta Prohm guide. The limitation: at mid-morning the queue for the photograph at the best-known tree runs to a hundred people.

Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang

Banteay Kdei is a smaller, flat monastery temple on the same plan as Ta Prohm, with fewer trees and a fraction of the visitors. Srah Srang, the royal bathing pool across the road, opens at 5:00 a.m. and closes at 7:00 p.m., and works for both sunrise and sunset. Together they take 45 minutes. The limitation: after Ta Prohm, many visitors are tired and skip both, which is exactly why they are quiet.

Prasat Kravan

A small tenth-century brick temple on the road back to Angkor Wat, with carved Vishnu and Lakshmi panels inside the towers. Fifteen minutes. The limitation: it is easy to miss, and drivers rarely stop unless asked.

The Grand Circuit: 26 Kilometers

The grand circuit leaves Angkor Thom by the north gate instead of the Victory Gate, swings north and east through the temples of Jayavarman VII’s later reign, crosses the dry bed of the East Baray reservoir and returns west past Pre Rup and Srah Srang. The loop is about 26 km, and the temples are farther apart, so more of the day is spent in the tuk-tuk. In the standard clockwise order:

Preah Khan

The best temple on the grand circuit and one of the best in the park. A monastery-city built by Jayavarman VII in the late twelfth century, the size of Ta Prohm with a fraction of its visitors, with long axial corridors, trees in the outer enclosures and a two-story building with round columns found nowhere else at Angkor. Open 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Allow an hour. The limitation: it is a long walk from one gate to the other, so agree with the driver whether to be collected at the west or east entrance.

Neak Pean

An island shrine in the center of a former reservoir, reached by a wooden walkway across the water. Fifteen to twenty minutes. In the rainy season the walkway crosses open water, and in the dry season it crosses grass. The limitation: you cannot reach the central island, and the visit is a view from the edge of the pools.

Ta Som

A small Jayavarman VII temple whose eastern gate is held by a strangler fig. It is the tree-and-stone photograph of Ta Prohm without the queue. Thirty minutes. The limitation: the eastern gate is at the back, and drivers drop at the west, so walk through to the far end.

East Mebon

A tenth-century temple-mountain that once stood on an island in the East Baray, with life-size stone elephants at the corners of its terraces. Thirty to forty-five minutes. The limitation: there is almost no shade, and it is the hottest stop on either loop after 10:00 a.m.

Pre Rup

A brick temple-mountain from the same century as East Mebon, with a wide upper terrace and a view west over rice fields. Open 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and the standard sunset temple. Thirty to forty-five minutes. About 20 minutes by tuk-tuk from the Bayon. The limitation: the stairs are steep, and at sunset in December and January the top is crowded. The alternatives are compared in the Angkor sunset guide.

From Pre Rup the loop returns west past Srah Srang to Angkor Wat. The ride back to central Siem Reap from the eastern end takes 30 to 35 minutes. The detail on the three northern temples is in Preah Khan, Neak Pean and Ta Som.

Which to Do First

On a first visit, the small circuit. Angkor Wat, the Bayon and Ta Prohm are three different ideas of a temple: the classical temple-mountain of the early twelfth century, the Buddhist face towers of Jayavarman VII, and a monastery left to the forest by its restorers. Once you have seen them, Preah Khan reads as the larger, emptier version of Ta Prohm, Ta Som as its quiet cousin, and East Mebon and Pre Rup as the older brick temple-mountains that led to Angkor Wat. Seen the other way round, the grand circuit is a series of ruins without a reference.

There are three exceptions.

• Late December and Chinese New Year week. The small circuit is at its fullest. Use the first morning on the grand circuit at opening, which is calm even at peak, and do the small circuit on the second morning with a 5:00 a.m. start.
• An arrival afternoon. If the first time you enter the park is at 2:00 p.m., run the small circuit backward from Ta Prohm, when the groups have left, and finish with sunset at Pre Rup on the grand circuit. The 3-day Siem Reap itinerary is built this way.
• A second visit. Skip the small circuit except for one morning at Angkor Wat, and spend the time on the grand circuit and beyond.

Which Direction, and at What Hour

The small circuit at sunrise, clockwise

Start at Angkor Wat at 5:00 a.m., stay inside until 8:30 a.m., then Angkor Thom from 8:45 a.m. and Ta Prohm by 10:30 a.m. You stay just ahead of the buses at Angkor Thom and catch them at Ta Prohm. Back in town by noon. This is the standard plan and it works.

The small circuit in the afternoon, counterclockwise

Start at Ta Prohm at 2:00 p.m., when the tour groups are at lunch, then the Bayon at about 3:45 p.m., when the western light reaches the faces, and Angkor Wat’s facade or sunset at Pre Rup to finish. Gentler, no alarm, and the best version for an arrival day. The limitation: from March to May 2:00 p.m. is still too hot, so start at 3:30 p.m. and drop a temple.

The grand circuit in the morning

Start at Preah Khan at 7:00 a.m., then Neak Pean, Ta Som and East Mebon, done by about 11:00 a.m. This combines with Banteay Srei: leave town at 6:45 a.m. for Banteay Srei, then come back through the grand circuit, which drivers price at $25 to $35 for the day.

The grand circuit in the afternoon

Start at Preah Khan at 2:00 p.m. and finish at Pre Rup for sunset. The temples are shaded by then on their western sides. The limitation: this is the version most likely to be cut short by an afternoon storm from May to October.

When each temple is at its best is covered in more detail in the best time of day for each Angkor temple.

The Heat and the Seasons

From November to February both circuits work as full mornings, and a cool December allows a temple until about 11:30 a.m. From March to May, with average highs above 35°C (95°F), nothing on either loop should be visited between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., and the exposed temples, Ta Keo, East Mebon and Pre Rup, become dangerous earlier. The shaded ones, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan and Ta Som, are the last to visit in the morning.

From May to October the rain comes mostly as afternoon storms. Run both circuits in the morning and keep the afternoons flexible. The moats, Srah Srang and the pools at Neak Pean are full, the stone is dark and green, and crowds fall to about a third of January’s level. The dirt paths at Preah Khan and Ta Prohm get muddy, and what to pack covers the shoes.

Shoulders and knees must be covered at every temple on both circuits, and it is enforced at the Angkor Wat Bakan and at several entrances. The rules are in the Angkor dress code guide.

By Situation

You have one day

The small circuit, clockwise from the sunrise, with Pre Rup for sunset if you have energy after a pool afternoon. Skip the grand circuit.

You have two days

Small circuit on day one with the sunrise. Banteay Srei and the grand circuit on day two, leaving at 6:45 a.m. Buy the three-day pass. How many days Angkor needs explains why.

You are traveling with children

One circuit per morning, shortened. The small circuit becomes Ta Prohm and the Bayon. The grand circuit becomes Preah Khan, Neak Pean and the elephants at East Mebon. Children under 12 enter free and cannot climb the Bakan. More in Angkor with kids.

You are cycling

The small circuit by bicycle, from 6:00 a.m., about 30 km including the ride from town. The grand circuit is better by tuk-tuk or e-bike unless you are fit and it is December. Tuk-tuk, car, bicycle or e-bike compares the options.

You want fewer people

The grand circuit at 7:00 a.m., any month. Preah Khan at opening is the quietest large temple in the main park.

What It Actually Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Angkor Pass, one day	$37	Covers both circuits
Angkor Pass, three days	$62	Any 3 days within 7
Tuk-tuk, small circuit day	$18 to $25	Whole vehicle, 2026 reports
Tuk-tuk, grand circuit day	$25 to $30	Whole vehicle
Tuk-tuk, day with Banteay Srei	$25 to $35	Usually combined with the grand circuit
Sunrise start at 4:30 a.m.	About $5 extra	Agree it the night before
Car with driver, park day	$35 to $60	Air-conditioning, worth it in April
Licensed guide	$30 to $50 a day	English, more for other languages
Bicycle or e-bike	A few dollars, e-bike about $10 a day	E-bike price from a May 2026 report

None of the transport prices are official. Drivers quote in US dollars for the vehicle, and two people split them. Change under $1 comes back in riel. Water, breakfast at the stalls by Angkor Wat ($2 to $4) and a tip are extra. The full picture is in the Siem Reap daily budget.

What Other Guides Get Wrong

1. Treating each circuit as a full day. Each is a morning, with an optional late afternoon. The midday is for the pool, and from March to May it is not optional.
2. Doing the grand circuit first to “save the best for last.” The small circuit gives the context that makes the grand circuit readable. Reverse it only in the peak weeks of late December and Chinese New Year.
3. Following the tour-bus order at tour-bus hours. Angkor Wat at 8:00 a.m., the Bayon at 10:00 a.m. and Ta Prohm at 10:30 a.m. is the crowd. Start at 5:00 a.m. or reverse the loop in the afternoon.
4. Putting Banteay Srei on the grand circuit. It is a little over 30 km north and on neither loop. It combines with the grand circuit and costs more, $25 to $35 by tuk-tuk for the day.
5. Skipping Banteay Kdei, Ta Som and Preah Khan. The quietest temples on both loops are the ones the bus schedules leave out, and Ta Som has the tree-and-gate view of Ta Prohm without the queue.
6. Quoting tuk-tuk prices per person. Drivers price by the vehicle and by the loop, and a sunrise start costs about $5 more.

Where to Go Next

The circuits run on the Angkor Pass, which covers both. How many days Angkor needs decides whether you get one loop or both. The small circuit starts at Angkor Wat at sunrise, and the day beyond the loops usually goes to Banteay Srei.