Khmer New Year 2027: Dates, Where to Celebrate and Travel Tips

Khmer New Year 2027 falls on Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 April 2027, the three days set as public holidays in Cambodia's 2027 calendar ^{1 2}. The Ministry of Interior published the sub-decree on the 2027 work-leave calendar for civil servants, employees and workers on 18 September 2026 ¹. The Embassy of Singapore in Phnom Penh lists the same three days, Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 April 2027 ².

Chaul Chnam Thmey is a solar new year rather than a fixed date in the Western calendar. It marks the end of the harvest season, and the moment the new year begins, the Moha Sangkran, is calculated by astrologers each year ⁴. That is why the holiday shifts. In 2024 the new year arrived at 22:17 on 13 April, and the celebration ran four days, from 13 to 16 April 2024 ²⁰. In 2025 the official holiday ran from 14 to 16 April ⁴. Khmer New Year 2026 began on 14 April 2026, the first holiday day counted by the APSARA National Authority at Angkor ⁸.

The three days each have a name and a purpose:

• Wednesday 14 April 2027: Moha Sangkran, alms for monks and sand stupas at pagodas ^{1 4}

• Thursday 15 April 2027: Virak Vanabat, gifts for elders and ceremonies for ancestors ^{1 4}

• Friday 16 April 2027: Virak Loeung Sak, the bathing of Buddha statues and elders ^{1 4}

Public festival programmes often run longer than the three holidays. Phnom Penh's Nokor Sangkrant ran for six days, from 14 to 19 April 2026 ⁶. Neither the Siem Reap nor the Phnom Penh festival programme for 2027 had been published by early November 2026, so treat any event dates outside 14 to 16 April 2027 as expected until the provincial and municipal announcements appear.

Tip: Arrive in Siem Reap on Tuesday 13 April 2027, the day before the holiday, when families clean their homes and prepare offerings, and you will see the build-up as well as the rites ⁴.

Only the Angkor temple park needs a ticket during Khmer New Year. The pagoda rites, the Siem Reap River events, Pub Street and the Wat Phnom celebrations in Phnom Penh are staged in streets, parks and temple courtyards with no ticket gate ^{3 5}. Foreign visitors who want to watch anything inside the Angkor Archaeological Park, including the Angkor Wat complex, need an Angkor Pass from Angkor Enterprise ¹⁰.

Angkor Pass prices, as listed by Angkor Enterprise in November 2026 ¹⁰:

• One-day pass: 37 USD, valid for a single day ¹⁰

• Three-day pass: 62 USD, valid for 7 days after purchase ¹⁰

• Seven-day pass: 72 USD, valid for 30 days after purchase ¹⁰

• Park hours: entry from 05:00, closing at 18:30 ¹⁰

For Khmer New Year 2027 in Siem Reap, the three-day pass usually makes most sense, because it lets you split temple visits across Moha Sangkran, Virak Vanabat and Virak Loeung Sak and leave the hottest hours free. Angkor Enterprise sells passes on its official website, which saves queuing at the ticket office on 14 April 2027, when Cambodian families arrive in large numbers ¹⁰.

The New Year crowd at Angkor is mostly domestic. On 14 April 2026, the APSARA National Authority recorded 22,671 visitors in the park, of whom 20,580 were Cambodian and 2,091 were international ⁸. In 2025, Angkor Sankranta put a purpose-built My Village beside Angkor Wat and staged ox-cart races near the Angkor ticket office ⁴. That programme changes each edition, so check the 2027 listing before paying for a pass purely to see a festival stage.

Tip: Keep your pass on you all day; checkpoints inside the park ask for it.

Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) sits about 50 km northeast of Siem Reap, and the drive into town takes about 60 to 90 minutes ¹¹. The airport opened on 16 October 2023 and replaced the old airport on the edge of town ¹¹. Anyone who last visited before then should budget far more time for the transfer.

Ways into Siem Reap from SAI, with prices from the airport guide at Hello Angkor ¹¹:

• Official shuttle bus: 8 USD one way, dropping at 7 Makara Street near Wat Bo and the Pub Street area ¹¹

• Tuk-tuk from the shuttle stop to most hotels: about 2 USD ¹¹

• Postal shuttle: a separate bus that runs to the Siem Reap post office ¹¹

• Private car for 1 to 3 passengers: from about 35 USD, booked in advance ¹¹

• Minivan for 1 to 5 passengers: about 45 USD ¹¹

For Khmer New Year 2027 in Siem Reap, the shuttle bus to 7 Makara Street is the simplest choice, because it ends within walking distance of the Siem Reap River venues and the Pub Street area ¹¹.

Paperwork starts before the flight. Since 1 September 2024, travellers arriving by air at Phnom Penh, Siem Reap or Sihanoukville have needed the free Cambodia e-Arrival card, submitted within 7 days before arrival ¹⁸. Passports must be valid for at least 6 months from the date of arrival ¹⁸. Overland from Bangkok is not an option to count on, because land crossings between Cambodia and Thailand were suspended ¹⁵.

Tip: Fill in the e-Arrival card on your phone at home, and screenshot the confirmation; the arrivals hall at SAI is a long way from any print shop.

Chaul Chnam Thmey follows the same order everywhere in Cambodia: merit-making at the pagoda on the first day, respect for elders and ancestors on the second, and water blessings on the third ⁴. On the eve, families clean their houses and prepare offerings. On Moha Sangkran they take food to the monks and build small sand stupas in the pagoda courtyard in honour of the Buddha ⁴. On Virak Vanabat they give gifts to elders and monks and hold ceremonies for ancestors. On Virak Loeung Sak, Buddha statues are washed with perfumed water, and young people pour water over the hands of their elders to receive a blessing ⁴.

The festival is old. Zhou Daguan, the Chinese envoy who visited Angkor in 1296, described New Year celebrations in Angkor Thom with lantern-lit stages and fireworks lasting 14 days, and a Sankranta is mentioned in an inscription at Prasat Kok Po dated 979 to 1004 ⁴.

Games fill the afternoons. Teanh Prot, the Cambodian tug-of-war, sets men and women aged roughly 25 to 60 against each other on a buffalo-skin rope, with more women on their side to balance the pull ¹⁴. The players shout three times to drive away evil spirits, and at the end a village elder cuts the rope as a sign of renewal before the rice season ¹⁴. The game echoes the Churning of the Ocean of Milk carved at Angkor Wat, and UNESCO added it to its intangible heritage list on 2 December 2015 ¹⁴.

The public programme in Siem Reap layers stages on top of the family rites. Angkor Sankranta, organised by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia since 2013, listed these events for 14 to 16 April 2025 ³:

• Angkor Heartbeat Show and the Angkor Sankranta Parade ³
• Ok Chaktrang, Khmer chess, and Khmer martial arts demonstrations ³
• Let's Play Water, the official water zone ³
• Siem Reap River Market and river boat rides from the Royal Residence to Pub Street ^{3 4}
• Srang Preah, the public Buddha-bathing ceremony ³

In 2026, Siem Reap provincial authorities and the youth federation ran traditional games, shows, water activities and religious ceremonies in the province ⁸.

April is the hottest month of the year around Siem Reap, with an average high of 35°C and an average low of 27°C ¹³. On 14 April 2026, the first day of the holiday, temperatures at Angkor rose above 35°C ⁸. Humidity is high as well: WeatherSpark counts 28.5 muggy days in an average April ¹³. The wetter season begins around 27 April, so the Khmer New Year days usually stay dry, with the odd late-afternoon storm ¹³.

For Khmer New Year 2027 at Angkor Wat, the best plan is to go early. The temple park opens at 05:00 ¹⁰. By late morning the stone courtyards of Angkor Wat hold the heat, and the shaded galleries, including the Churning of the Ocean of Milk relief, are where families sit out the midday hours. Crowds peak on Moha Sangkran, when Cambodian families come for merit-making and photos, and thin slightly on Virak Loeung Sak, when many return to their home pagodas for Buddha bathing.

How to pace a hot New Year day:

• Reach the Angkor Wat causeway at opening and leave the main temple by late morning ¹⁰

• Rest between noon and mid-afternoon in a guesthouse or a shaded riverside café

• Return to the Siem Reap River, Pub Street or Royal Residence Park after sunset

• Cover shoulders and knees for temples in light, loose cotton rather than synthetics

Tip: Plan outlying temples such as Banteay Srei for the early morning of 15 April 2027, when the main crowd is at pagodas for Virak Vanabat, and keep the afternoon for rest.

The Siem Reap River is the best base for Khmer New Year because several of the festival venues sit along its banks and you can walk between them after dark. In 2025, Angkor Sankranta ran its river market and boat rides from the Royal Residence down to Pub Street, and the Royal Residence Park and King's Road were official venues too ^{3 4}. The airport shuttle bus also ends at 7 Makara Street near Wat Bo, a short walk from the river ¹¹.

Areas to consider in Siem Reap:

• Wat Bo, east bank: quieter lanes, walking distance to the river and the shuttle stop ¹¹

• Old Market and Pub Street, west bank: closest to the evening crowds, but loud until late ³

• Royal Residence and Royal Independence Gardens: green, central and next to festival stages ³

• Roads towards Angkor: shorter dawn rides to the temple park, but a tuk-tuk is needed at night

For Khmer New Year 2027 in Siem Reap, book early, because the holiday is the peak of domestic travel. About 800,000 visitors came to Siem Reap province on the first day of the 2025 holiday alone, including 760,000 at Angkor Sankranta ⁹. Riverside guesthouses fill with Cambodian families first.

In Phnom Penh, the equivalent base is the riverside around Wat Phnom and the Chaktomuk promenade, where Nokor Sankranta put its main events in 2026 ⁵. The UK Foreign Office warns that bag snatching from passing motorbikes is common on the Phnom Penh riverfront and in the BKK area, so choose a room you can reach on foot or by tuk-tuk door to door ¹⁶.

Tip: Ask your guesthouse whether its lane closes for water play on 16 April 2027; on Virak Loeung Sak, a room down a quiet soi can be easier to reach than one on the main riverfront.

Almost every practical task at Khmer New Year in Siem Reap needs mobile data, because hotel Wi-Fi does not reach the Angkor Wat causeway, Royal Residence Park or the riverbank where the crowds gather. In 2025, about 760,000 people attended Angkor Sankranta on the first day ⁹. Public hotspots in cafés around Pub Street are shared by everyone sitting nearby, and they stop working the moment you step back into the street.

The tasks that rely on a connection here:

• Sending a map pin to your tuk-tuk driver at an Angkor gate before the park shuts at 18:30 ¹⁰

• Paying food stalls by KHQR through the Bakong Tourists app with a linked Visa card ¹⁹

• Translating Khmer-script notices about Srang Preah and sand-stupa times at pagodas ⁴

• Checking the provincial programme for changes to stages and water zones on the day

• Video-calling family from Angkor Wat on the morning of Moha Sangkran

For Chaul Chnam Thmey 2027 in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, the heaviest data use comes from what Cambodians themselves do on the holiday: filming the parade and sending clips to relatives who could not travel. Uploading video from a packed causeway uses far more data than messaging, so plan for a generous allowance.

The simplest set-up is a Cambodia eSIM installed at home and switched on when you land at SAI or Techo International Airport, so maps and KHQR payments work from the arrivals hall ¹⁹.

Tip: Download offline maps of Siem Reap and the Angkor Archaeological Park before you fly; if the network slows at sunrise on 14 April 2027, the map still shows the way back to your tuk-tuk.

Wat Phnom became the centre of Cambodia's main youth-federation New Year festival in 2026, when Nokor Sankranta was held in Phnom Penh ⁵. The Phnom Penh Municipal Administration announced the event on 1 April 2026 and ran it for six days, from 14 to 19 April 2026 ⁶. It was organised by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia with support from the city ⁵.

The 2026 programme spread across these Phnom Penh sites ⁵:

• Wat Phnom hill, the main stage area ⁵

• The Chaktomuk pedestrian promenade on the river ⁵

• Vattanac Capital and the night market ⁵

• Wat Botum park, Bassac Lane and Tuol Tompoung market ⁵

Large star-shaped lanterns hung over the streets, with traditional dances, crafts, Khmer games, workshops and Buddhist ceremonies with offerings to monks ⁵. For the first time, the festival was meant to exclude water throwing and powder, to refocus on religious and family values ⁵. Foam cannons still appeared at the Wat Phnom site, along with dance, martial arts and stalls where visitors baked Khmer cakes for soldiers on the border ⁷.

Nokor Sankranta 2026 in Phnom Penh drew huge numbers: city hall reported nearly 4 million people from 14 to 16 April 2026 and more than 8 million visits over the whole festival ⁷. Earlier editions in the capital ran as Wat Phnom Sangkranta ⁴.

The rest of Phnom Penh empties as residents go home to the provinces. In 2024, the city government ran 455 free buses to carry people to the provinces and back ²⁰. From Techo International Airport, the Airport Express Bus has run since 9 September 2025 to Kouch Kanong Circle bus station, daily from 05:30 to 23:30 ¹².

Tip: Visit Wat Phnom hill in the early evening, when the lanterns are lit and the midday heat has gone, and walk down to the Chaktomuk promenade afterwards.

The main thing to avoid during Khmer New Year water play is splashing at the wrong place or the wrong person: water belongs on the street and at official water zones, not on monks, elders at prayer or Buddha statues outside the Srang Preah rite. Water on Virak Loeung Sak is a blessing first. Young people pour it gently over the hands of elders, and perfumed water is used to wash Buddha statues ⁴. Copy that tone at pagodas, and save the buckets for the street.

Rules change between editions. In Phnom Penh, the 2026 Nokor Sankranta programme was meant to ban water throwing and powder altogether ⁵. In Siem Reap, Angkor Sankranta 2025 had an official water zone called Let's Play Water ³. Check the 2027 announcements before carrying a water gun to Wat Phnom or the Siem Reap River.

Safety points for Chaul Chnam Thmey 2027 in Cambodia, from the UK Foreign Office ^{15 16 17}:

• Roads: Cambodia has one of the highest road accident rates in south-east Asia, and the risk rises after dark ¹⁶

• Motorbike taxis: described as dangerous; police can fine riders without a helmet ¹⁶

• Landmines: do not stray off main routes in rural areas, including around temple complexes ¹⁶

• Thai border: avoid all but essential travel within 20 km of the land border with Thailand ¹⁵

• Emergency numbers: police 117, fire 118, ambulance 119 ¹⁷

• Tourist Police in Phnom Penh: +855 (0)12 942 484 ¹⁷

Tip: If someone smears talc or powder on your cheeks at a village celebration, smile and accept it as a New Year blessing; wiping it off straight away looks like a refusal.