Hiking Near Phnom Penh
Honest framing first: Phnom Penh sits on flat river delta land, and the city itself has no hiking trails to speak of. If proper hiking is what you’re after, you’ll need to leave the city, and the options within reach are modest rather than dramatic. Here’s what’s actually there.
Kirirom National Park: the real option
About 100-120km southwest of the city, 2-3 hours by road, Kirirom is the closest place with anything resembling genuine hiking. It’s a pine-forested highland plateau, noticeably cooler than Phnom Penh, with marked trails leading to waterfalls and viewpoints over the surrounding lowlands. This is a full-day trip given the drive time each way, not something you can combine with much else, so plan accordingly and start early. Bring water, sun protection, and sturdy shoes; the trails are manageable rather than technical, but the heat and humidity make even moderate walking tiring outside the cooler dry-season months.
Oudong: a climb, not a hike
Oudong, the former royal capital about 40km northwest of Phnom Penh, offers a different kind of walk: a stair climb of roughly 500 steps up a ridge dotted with stupas, rather than a forest trail. It’s a worthwhile half-day trip in its own right, and the climb rewards you with views over the surrounding countryside, but it’s closer to a temple visit with stairs than a hiking outing. Go early to avoid climbing in the full heat of the day.
What Tonle Bati and Phnom Tamao actually offer
Both frequently get lumped in with hiking day trips, and neither really qualifies. Tonle Bati is a lakeside spot with a small Angkorian-era temple, better suited to a picnic and a short walk than a hike. Phnom Tamao is a wildlife rescue center you tour on foot or by cart, not a forest trail system. Both are worth visiting for what they are; neither should be the reason you pack hiking boots.
Planning around it
If hiking is a priority for your Cambodia trip rather than just Phnom Penh, the more rewarding trail country is elsewhere in the country, not within day-trip range of the capital. Within reach of the city, Kirirom is genuinely the one to plan a full day around; everything else here is better filed under sightseeing. See the full day trips guide for how to fit Kirirom or Oudong around the rest of a Phnom Penh stay, and the nature spots guide for green space that’s actually inside the city.