# Beng Mealea: The Jungle Temple, the New Ticket and How to Get There (2026) > Beng Mealea sits 75 to 90 minutes from Pub Street with its own $10 ticket. The rebuilt walkway, the tuk-tuk or car decision and the day trips it fits into. Source: https://www.angkortourism.org/beng-mealea/ · Angkor Tourism Guide · Published October 20, 2026 · Updated October 25, 2026 · Figures checked October 2026 ## At a Glance - Beng Mealea is about 40 km east of the main Angkor group and roughly 65 km from Pub Street by road, 75 to 90 minutes by car. - Angkor Enterprise sells a Beng Mealea one-day ticket for $10, valid for one temple, with entry from 6:00 a.m. and closing at 6:30 p.m. - The temple's wooden walkway is 250 m long. Its first 189 m were rebuilt between October 2025 and April 2026 and widened from 1.30 m to 1.70 m. - The eastern causeway of Beng Mealea was restored between May 2024 and July 2025 and inaugurated on July 31, 2025. - A tuk-tuk from Siem Reap to Beng Mealea and back costs $40 to $47 on drivers' 2025 and 2026 price lists. A car with driver costs $60 to $80. - Koh Ker and Beng Mealea in one car day start at about $95 for the vehicle, plus $15 and $10 in tickets. - A two-way back road of about 25 km links Phnom Kulen to Beng Mealea, roughly 40 minutes by car, which makes a Kulen and Beng Mealea day possible. - The temple stands inside a moat of 1,025 m by 875 m and was built in the 12th century, probably under Suryavarman II. No founding inscription has been found. - One to one and a half hours on site is enough for the walkway and the outer galleries of Beng Mealea, which is less time than the drive in either direction. Beng Mealea is worth the drive for one kind of traveler: the one who has seen Ta Prohm and wants the version nobody has tidied. It is a 12th-century temple the size of a small town, collapsed into its own courtyards under forest, crossed by a wooden walkway. It is also 75 to 90 minutes from Pub Street each way, and that drive, not the $10 ticket, is the real price of the visit. Most pages on Beng Mealea still describe a rickety walkway that was rebuilt in 2025 and 2026, give the distance from the Angkor group instead of from town, and state the ticket rule in one confident line that other pages contradict. The result is travelers who expect a 40-minute hop, budget a tuk-tuk for a day that should have been a car, or argue at the gate about a pass. The site has changed more in the last two years than in the previous twenty. This guide explains the ticket situation as it stands, what the walkway now is, the drive by tuk-tuk and by car, and the three day trips Beng Mealea fits into, alongside the wider [day trips from Siem Reap](https://www.angkortourism.org/day-trips-from-siem-reap/). Prices, hours and transport times below were checked against Angkor Enterprise, operator websites and official sources in October 2026. ## Ta Prohm Without the Ropes Is Not the Same Visit The usual line on Beng Mealea is that it is Ta Prohm without the crowds. That is half right and leads to the wrong expectation. [Ta Prohm](https://www.angkortourism.org/ta-prohm/) is a standing temple with trees growing through it, stabilized, signposted and fitted with platforms for photographs. Beng Mealea is a temple that has fallen down. Towers, galleries and vaults lie in piles of grey sandstone blocks across the courtyards, and the forest has grown over the piles. There is very little to read in the carving, no restored sanctuary to reach and no sense of a plan unless someone draws it for you. What the visitor gets instead is scale and silence. The outer moat measures 1,025 m by 875 m, close to the size of Angkor Wat's, and on a weekday morning the number of people inside can be counted on two hands. The trade is clear. Anyone who wants to understand Khmer architecture should spend the morning at the [Bayon and Angkor Thom](https://www.angkortourism.org/bayon-angkor-thom/) instead. Anyone who wants to feel what the explorers of the 19th century found should come here. The second distinction is between kilometers and hours. Beng Mealea is about 40 km east of the main Angkor group, the figure most pages print. From Pub Street it is roughly 65 km by the usual road, and 75 to 90 minutes by car. A 2026 operator guide notes the temple is about 30 minutes from the new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport, which is useful for a stop on an arrival or departure day, and is covered in [getting from the airport to the city](https://www.angkortourism.org/siem-reap-airport-to-city/). ## The Ticket: What Changed and What Is Still Unclear ### The $10 Angkor Enterprise ticket Angkor Enterprise, the state company that sells the [Angkor Pass](https://www.angkortourism.org/angkor-pass-tickets-prices-hours/), lists a Beng Mealea one-day ticket at $10, valid for one temple, with entry from 6:00 a.m. and closing at 6:30 p.m. It can be bought on angkorenterprise.gov.kh before the trip or at the ticket counter on the approach road. Older guides and forum posts give a $5 entry sold under a different arrangement. That price is gone. Payment at the counter is described in 2026 guides as cash in dollars or riel and most major cards. Carry small dollar notes anyway, because change under $1 comes back in riel and a torn note is refused. ### The Angkor Pass question Here the sources disagree, and the disagreement matters. Two Siem Reap agencies updated in 2026 write that a 1-, 3- or 7-day Angkor Pass is honored at Beng Mealea and that the $10 ticket is for people without one. Other 2026 pages, and the [day trips pillar](https://www.angkortourism.org/day-trips-from-siem-reap/), treat Beng Mealea as a separate ticket that the pass does not cover. Angkor Enterprise's own ticket list says only that the Angkor Pass covers "50+" temples without naming them. The practical answer: budget the $10. If your pass is valid that day, show it at the counter and ask. If it is refused, the separate ticket is $10 and sold on the spot, so the cost of being wrong is small. What does not work is planning a day around the assumption that the pass covers it and leaving the cash at the hotel. ## What You See Inside ### The causeway and the outer moat The approach from the east crosses the moat on a causeway lined with naga balustrades. It was restored between May 2024 and July 2025 and inaugurated on July 31, 2025, so it now looks more complete than anything inside. Drinks and simple meals are sold by stalls near the car park. ### The walkway through the collapse The heart of the visit is a 250 m wooden walkway that climbs over the fallen galleries of the central enclosures, passes through courtyards filled with blocks and trees, and drops back to the ground. Its first 189 m were rebuilt between October 2025 and April 2026 and widened from 1.30 m to 1.70 m. The honest verdict: the new walkway is stable, safe for children and older travelers, and a little less atmospheric than the creaking planks of the old photographs. It also sets the route. Stepping off it to climb on the stones is discouraged everywhere and forbidden in places, and the fallen sandstone is uneven and slick when wet. ### The library, the galleries and the parts off the route Outside the walkway, parts of the outer galleries are still standing, and a loop around the outer enclosure on dirt paths shows the scale of the walls and the trees rooted in them. The site has not been fully cleared, and official guidance recommends a guide who knows the paths for anything beyond the walkway. Stay on paths that are visibly used, and treat any unmarked track as off limits. ### The history in three facts Beng Mealea was built in the 12th century, probably under Suryavarman II, the king who built Angkor Wat, whose plan it follows in part. Some scholars propose Dharanindravarman II instead, and no founding inscription has been found to settle it. It was both Hindu and later Buddhist. The Angkor history guide places it in the sequence of kings. ## Getting There: Tuk-Tuk or Car ### By tuk-tuk The honest verdict: possible, cheap, and tiring. Drivers' published price lists for 2025 and 2026 give $40 to $47 for the round trip from Siem Reap, with the wait included. The road is paved the whole way. The ride is 90 minutes or more each way in an open cab, on a road shared with trucks and minivans, and from December to April the dust coats everything below the knee. Agree the total, the waiting time and the return hour before leaving, in dollars. The limitation: a tuk-tuk cannot sensibly add Koh Ker, and in April heat it turns a three-hour drive into the hardest part of the day. ### By car with driver The honest verdict: the right vehicle for most visitors, and the only one for combinations. A car with driver for Beng Mealea alone costs $60 to $80 for the vehicle on 2026 published rates. Koh Ker with Beng Mealea starts at about $95. Air conditioning between the temple and town changes how the afternoon feels. The limitation: a driver is not a guide, and some drivers stop at a souvenir shop or a roadside restaurant on the way. Say at the start that the day has no stops. ### Shared tours and private guides Shared minivan tours to Beng Mealea run from Siem Reap agencies, often paired with Kampong Khleang or Koh Ker. The ticket is sometimes included and sometimes not, so read the inclusions line. A licensed guide for a long day costs in the $30 to $50 range, and the reasoning in hiring an Angkor guide applies: at a site with no signs and no restored plan, a guide adds more than at Angkor Wat. ## The Day Trips Beng Mealea Fits Into ### Koh Ker and Beng Mealea The classic long day, and the strongest reason to come this far east. Leave Siem Reap at 7:00 a.m., drive straight to Koh Ker for about 9:30 a.m., spend two hours at Prasat Thom and the open sanctuaries, then stop at Beng Mealea on the way back around 1:00 p.m., when its trees shade the walkway, and be home around 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 for Koh Ker and $10 for Beng Mealea. Car only, from about $95. The limitation: five hours of driving for about three on site. ### Phnom Kulen and Beng Mealea A newer combination, made possible by a two-way back road of about 25 km between the mountain and the temple, roughly 40 minutes by car. The main road up [Phnom Kulen](https://www.angkortourism.org/phnom-kulen/) runs one way, uphill from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m., so the sequence is fixed: Kulen in the morning, the back road down, Beng Mealea in the early afternoon. Tickets are $20 for Kulen and $10 for Beng Mealea. The limitation: a long day of ten hours, and drivers who know only the main road may quote it as two separate trips. ### Beng Mealea and Kampong Khleang The temple in the morning and the largest stilt town on the Tonle Sap in the afternoon. [Kampong Khleang](https://www.angkortourism.org/tonle-sap-floating-villages/) is on the same eastern side of the province, and one 2026 tuk-tuk price list gives $54 for the two together. By car the day comes to $80 to $100 for the vehicle. Boats at Kampong Khleang cost $20 to $25 per person, agreed at the jetty. The limitation: from March to May the lake is low and the boat may not reach the floating section, so this pairing belongs to August to January. ## Season and Time of Day Beng Mealea's canopy makes it the one far temple that tolerates the early afternoon. Open temples like Banteay Srei or Pre Rup are punishing between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. from March to May. Beng Mealea, under its trees, is merely hot. The best hours are still the first ones: arrive between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. and the courtyards are close to empty. Do not arrive after about 4:30 p.m. The site closes at 6:30 p.m., and the drive back after dark on a road with unlit trucks and wandering cattle is the main safety issue of the trip. The seasons change the temple more than the clock. From June to October the moss is green, the stone is dark, the moat holds water and Angkor as a whole is at its quietest, which is why a [rainy-season visit](https://www.angkortourism.org/siem-reap-rainy-season/) suits Beng Mealea well. The trade is mud on every path off the walkway and storms that build after 2:00 p.m. From December to February the paths are dry, the air is cooler and the light under the canopy is softer. From March to May the forest is dusty, the moat shrinks and the heat makes the drive worse than the visit. The [best time to visit Siem Reap](https://www.angkortourism.org/best-time-to-visit-siem-reap/) sets those trade-offs month by month. Dress for a temple and for a building site. Shoulders and knees covered is the rule in the Angkor park, and Beng Mealea is treated the same way by most guides. Shoes with grip matter more than anywhere else at Angkor. The [Angkor dress code guide](https://www.angkortourism.org/angkor-dress-code-rules/) covers the details. ## By Situation ### You have already seen Ta Prohm and want more of it Beng Mealea on its own by car, arriving at 7:30 a.m., one and a half hours on site, back in town for lunch. This is the visit the temple is best at. ### You have a long day and a car Koh Ker and Beng Mealea together, leaving at 7:00 a.m. It is the most rewarding long day from Siem Reap and the reason to hire the car. ### You are on a tuk-tuk budget Beng Mealea alone by tuk-tuk in December or January, leaving at 6:00 a.m. to beat the heat on the return. Budget $40 to $47 for the driver and $10 for the ticket, and skip the combinations. ### You are traveling with children The rebuilt walkway is wide and railed, which makes Beng Mealea easier with children than it used to be. Go by car, in the morning, and keep them on the walkway. [Siem Reap with kids](https://www.angkortourism.org/siem-reap-with-kids/) has the heat and stair rules. ### You are flying in or out the same day A 2026 operator guide puts Beng Mealea about 30 minutes from the airport. With a car and a late flight, it fits as a last stop, but agree the airport drop in the price before leaving. ### You have two days for Angkor and nothing more Skip it. Two days barely cover the main park, and the drive costs half of one. The [three-day itinerary](https://www.angkortourism.org/siem-reap-3-days-itinerary/) shows where a far temple starts to make sense. ## What It Actually Costs All prices in US dollars. Vehicle prices are for the whole vehicle and are drivers' published ranges, not fixed fares. | Item | Price | Notes | |---|---|---| | Beng Mealea ticket | $10 | Angkor Enterprise one-day ticket, one temple, 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. | | Angkor Pass at the gate | Disputed in 2026 sources | Carry the $10 in case it is refused | | Tuk-tuk, round trip | $40 to $47 | Wait included, agree the return time | | Car with driver, Beng Mealea only | $60 to $80 | Air-conditioned, room for four | | Car, Koh Ker and Beng Mealea | From about $95 | Plus $15 and $10 in tickets | | Tuk-tuk, Beng Mealea and Kampong Khleang | About $54 | One agency's 2026 list | | Kampong Khleang boat | $20 to $25 per person | Not posted, agree at the jetty | | Licensed guide, long day | $30 to $50 | Optional, useful off the walkway | | Lunch at the stalls near the gate | A few dollars | Rice and noodle dishes, drinks | | Driver tip for a long day | $3 to $5 | Customary, not required | What is not included anywhere: water, which costs more at the gate than in town, and the time. A Beng Mealea morning by car takes about five hours door to door, and a Koh Ker day about nine. ## What Other Guides Get Wrong 1. **Describing the walkway as rickety.** The first 189 m of the 250 m walkway were rebuilt between October 2025 and April 2026 and widened to 1.70 m. The planks in the old photographs are gone. 2. **Giving 40 km as the distance.** That is the distance from the main Angkor group. From Pub Street it is roughly 65 km and 75 to 90 minutes by car, and the drive is the biggest cost of the trip. 3. **Stating the ticket rule in one line.** Some pages say the Angkor Pass covers Beng Mealea, others that it never does. Angkor Enterprise sells a $10 one-day ticket and does not name the temples its pass covers. Carry the $10. 4. **Recommending a scramble over the stones.** Climbing off the walkway is discouraged everywhere and forbidden in places, and wet sandstone breaks ankles. The walkway is the route. 5. **Calling it Ta Prohm without the crowds.** Ta Prohm is standing and stabilized. Beng Mealea has collapsed. Visitors who expect the same temple with fewer people are surprised by how little of it is upright. 6. **Ignoring the back road from Phnom Kulen.** A two-way road of about 25 km now links the mountain with Beng Mealea, which makes a Kulen and Beng Mealea day possible without returning to Siem Reap. *Addresses, hours, prices and transport times checked against operator websites and official sources in October 2026. Hours change seasonally and prices change often. Confirm anything time-critical with the operator.* ## Where to Go Next Beng Mealea is one of a dozen trips ranked by road time in the [day trips from Siem Reap](https://www.angkortourism.org/day-trips-from-siem-reap/) pillar, which is the place to decide whether it beats Banteay Srei or the lake for your spare day. The temple it is most often paired with is Koh Ker, and the mountain it is now linked to by the back road is [Phnom Kulen](https://www.angkortourism.org/phnom-kulen/). For the hiring conversation that decides whether the day costs $40 or $95, read [tuk-tuk, car or bicycle at Angkor](https://www.angkortourism.org/angkor-tuk-tuk-car-bike/), and for the lake village that makes the best afternoon after a Beng Mealea morning, the [Tonle Sap floating villages compared](https://www.angkortourism.org/tonle-sap-floating-villages/). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is Beng Mealea worth visiting? Yes, for travelers who have already seen Ta Prohm and want a temple that has not been cleared, roped or rebuilt. Beng Mealea is a 12th-century complex the size of a small town that has collapsed into its own courtyards under forest, and a 250 m wooden walkway crosses the wreckage. It is less worth it on a first, two-day visit to Angkor, when the drive of 75 to 90 minutes each way costs half a day that the main park needs more. The honest test: if Ta Prohm's roots and rubble were the part of Angkor you remember, go. ### How much is the Beng Mealea ticket? Angkor Enterprise, the state ticketing company, sells a Beng Mealea one-day ticket at $10, listed as valid for one temple, with entry from 6:00 a.m. and closing at 6:30 p.m. It can be bought on angkorenterprise.gov.kh or at the counter at the site, which accepts cards as well as dollars and riel according to 2026 guides. Whether a 1-, 3- or 7-day Angkor Pass is also honored at the gate is reported differently by different 2026 sources, so carry the $10 or confirm at the ticket office before relying on a pass. ### How long does it take to get to Beng Mealea from Siem Reap? About 75 to 90 minutes by car from Pub Street on a paved road, which covers roughly 65 km. The temple is about 40 km east of the main Angkor group, which is the figure many guides quote and the one that makes the trip sound shorter than it is. By tuk-tuk the ride takes 90 minutes or more each way in heat and dust. A two-way back road of about 25 km connects Beng Mealea with Phnom Kulen in around 40 minutes, and Koh Ker is a further hour or so beyond Beng Mealea on the same road. ### Can I go to Beng Mealea by tuk-tuk? Yes. The road is paved and drivers quote $40 to $47 for the round trip on 2025 and 2026 price lists, against $60 to $80 for a car with driver. The difference is comfort, not access. A tuk-tuk ride of 90 minutes or more each way, in open air on a road shared with trucks, is tiring in a way the fare does not suggest, and the dust from December to April is real. A tuk-tuk suits two travelers on a budget in the cool months. A car suits families, April heat, and any day that adds Koh Ker, which a tuk-tuk cannot reach. ### Can you combine Beng Mealea with Koh Ker or Phnom Kulen? Both pairings work by car. Koh Ker and Beng Mealea is the classic long day: leave Siem Reap at 7:00 a.m., reach Koh Ker around 9:30 a.m., then Beng Mealea on the way back around 1:00 p.m., home by about 4:00 p.m., with a car from about $95 and $25 in tickets. Phnom Kulen and Beng Mealea uses the back road of about 25 km between them: up the mountain before 11:00 a.m., down by the back road, Beng Mealea in the early afternoon. Kampong Khleang, the lake village, also fits as the afternoon after a Beng Mealea morning. ### What is the best time of day to visit Beng Mealea? Early afternoon is acceptable here in a way it is not at open temples, because the forest canopy shades most of the walkway. The best light and the fewest people come between about 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., which means leaving Siem Reap around 5:45 a.m. Day trips that pair it with Koh Ker usually arrive around 1:00 p.m., and that works. Avoid arriving after 4:30 p.m. The site closes at 6:30 p.m., and a 90-minute drive back after dark on a road with unlit trucks and cattle is the real risk of the day. ### Is Beng Mealea muddy in the rainy season? Yes, off the walkway. From June to October the fallen sandstone blocks are slick with water and moss, and the dirt paths around the outer enclosure turn to mud. The walkway itself was rebuilt in 2025 and 2026 and is the safe route in any month. The rainy season is also when the temple looks most like the photographs, green, dark and wet, and when Angkor is at its quietest. Wear shoes with grip, leave sandals in the car, and plan the visit for the morning because storms usually arrive in the mid to late afternoon.