Bon Om Touk (Water Festival)
Bon Om Touk (Water Festival)
Three days every November, Siem Reap transforms. The Siem Reap River fills with dragon boats. The riverside fills with spectators. Pub Street fills with parties. Hotels fill up weeks in advance. Bon Om Touk — the Cambodian Water Festival — is the biggest celebration in the Khmer calendar, and Siem Reap is one of the best places in the country to experience it.
In 2026, Bon Om Touk falls on November 23–25, centred on the full moon of the 12th Khmer month (Kadeuk). The full moon night — November 24 — is the centrepiece of the festival.
What Is Bon Om Touk?
Bon Om Touk celebrates one of the most remarkable ecological phenomena in the world: the reversal of the Tonle Sap River.
For most of the year, the Tonle Sap River flows south from Tonle Sap Lake into the Mekong. But during Cambodia’s monsoon season (June through October), the swollen Mekong pushes back — and the Tonle Sap River actually reverses direction, flowing north and flooding the lake to four or five times its dry-season size. When the monsoon ends and the Mekong recedes, the river reverses again. Bon Om Touk marks this turning point.
The festival has been celebrated since at least the reign of Jayavarman VII in 1181 AD — commemorating the Khmer navy’s victory over the Champa Kingdom in a battle on the Tonle Sap Lake. Boat racing has been at the heart of it ever since.
Three Days of Celebration
Day 1 — The Boat Races
Dragon boat races on the Siem Reap River. Longboats from provinces across Cambodia, each carrying around 40 rowers, compete in heats along the river. Boats are painted with eyes and decorated with the forms of Nagas, dragons, and mythological creatures. The banks fill with thousands of spectators. The atmosphere is electric.
Day 2 — Og Ambok and the Moon
The second night centres on the full moon. The Og Ambok ceremony involves eating a traditional flattened rice dish (ambok) mixed with coconut and banana at midnight, while looking up at the moon in a ritual that honours Pothisat — the Moon Rabbit of Buddhist legend. Floating lanterns are released on the river. This is the most visually spectacular night of the festival.
Day 3 — Illuminated Boats and Closing
The final evening features a parade of illuminated floating boats — each ministry, institution, and province represented by a brightly lit vessel drifting down the river. Fireworks follow. A ribbon is cut, and the festival officially closes.
Bon Om Touk in Siem Reap
While Phnom Penh hosts the largest boat races and the Royal ceremony, Siem Reap has its own full programme. The Siem Reap River along the riverside road (between the Old Market and the Old French Quarter) is the prime viewing area — find a spot early. Pub Street and the surrounding lanes run Water Festival parties nightly. Local restaurants serve ambok and festival foods. The town is genuinely alive in a way that only happens during this one week of the year.
Plan ahead: hotels fill weeks in advance and prices rise significantly over the festival dates. Tuk-tuks and transport become scarce on race days. If you’re visiting Angkor during this period, early morning is quieter than the evenings.
The Full Moon Connection
Bon Om Touk is timed by the lunar calendar. The full moon of the 12th Khmer month (Kadeuk) determines the dates each year — which is why the Gregorian date shifts. In 2026 the full moon falls on November 24, placing the festival on November 23–25. The full moon night is the most important night of the three: the river lit by floating lanterns, the moon high over the water, the boats drifting downstream in procession.
Note: Bon Om Touk has occasionally been suspended in recent years due to political events, COVID-19, and environmental conditions (such as the record low Mekong water levels in 2019). The 2026 festival is expected to proceed — verify closer to the date through local news or the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
