Hands down the most amazing thing I experienced in Battambang was seeing the bats fly out of the bat cave on Phnom Sampeau. The Battambang Bat cave is not to be missed!
Visiting Battambang Bat Cave
Combine this with a tour up the mountain to see the killing cave and Wat Sampeau Buddhist monastery. If you head to the mountain around 2-3pm you can time it so that you can end up near the bottom of the mountain at around 5.30-5.45pm to see the bats fly out for their evening hunting session. The mass exodus commenced at around 5.50pm yesterday. The time that they fly out corresponds with sunset so check with the locals.
I booked my tour through ‘The Place’ hostel and managed to get together with three other travellers to split the cost of the tour – $5 each instead of $20 by sharing a tuk-tuk. If you want to book online, I recommend this Afternoon tour by tuk tuk to bamboo train, countryside, killing cave and bat cave with Viator Travel.
There are two bat caves on Sampeau mountain, one each side. There are approximately 6 million bats that live there! Watching the bats fly out of the bat cave has somewhat become a bit of a social event for tourists and locals alike. Sit on the rows of chairs waiting with your beer ready for them to fly out!!!!
Battambang Bat Cave – A 15 Minute Mass Exodus!
I was expecting it to be quite a quick spectacle, but because there are so many bats, we were sitting watching them fly out for about 15 minutes! That’s a lot of bats!
Don’t Get Pissed On!
But let me tell you….then it happened…
I felt something wet on my arm and thought to myself – strange, it’s not rainy season. And then it occurred to me…
I GOT PISSED ON BY A BAT!!!!!
Although the journey from Siem Reap to Battambang was a bit of a challenge, it was totally worth it, even just to see this!
Further Reading on Battambang
If you are looking for other things to do in Battambang I would recommend a visit to Wat Ek Phnom and also the Battambang Bamboo train! You can read more about things to do in Battambang here.
What to Pack for Cambodia
Take light cotton tops, long comfortable trousers and maxi dresses that cover your shoulders. Thailand is a conservative Buddhist county and you are likely to be refused entry to top sites like the Phnom Penh Royal Palace and Angkor Wat with shoulders showing and shorts or short skirts. You can pack shorts and vest tops for hanging around your hotel or the pool.
Pack a water bottle because many guest houses are eco friendly and have a refill and reuse policy to cut down on plastic waste. The drinking water is fine and many hotels supply cold purified drinking water.
Bugs bite particularly in the evenings in Cambodia and so a bug repellant is essential. Also the sun can get hot – this Christmas and New Year temperatures were exceeding 32 degrees and so sun screen is another essential.