“Battambang's bamboo train is exactly that: a flat bamboo platform on wheels that races along a single old rail line, lifted off and reassembled when two meet.”
About Battambang
Battambang grew as a prosperous trading and rice town and spent periods under Thai control, which shaped its character; its colonial-era shophouses survived better than most. The improvised bamboo trains, or norries, arose to move people and goods cheaply along disused track. Nearby Phnom Sampeau carries grim Khmer Rouge history alongside its temples and bat caves.
What Battambang actually is
Battambang is Cambodia's second city, a relaxed riverside town known for the best-preserved French colonial architecture in the country and a slower, more local pace than Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. Its most famous attraction is the bamboo train, or norry, a flat bamboo platform on metal wheels that runs along a single old rail line, powered by a small engine.
Battambang is Cambodia's second city, a relaxed riverside town known for the best-preserved French colonial architecture in the country and a slower, more local pace than Siem Reap or Phnom Penh.
Around the Town
Nearby Phnom Sampeau holds clifftop temples, the sobering 'killing caves' of the Khmer Rouge era, and a cave from which millions of bats stream out in a long ribbon at dusk. Art galleries, a renowned circus school and rice-country bike rides round out the appeal.
The Experience
Riding the bamboo train is pure novelty: you sit on a bamboo deck that rattles along the rails, and when another norry approaches on the single track, one is quickly lifted off to let the other pass. At dusk near Phnom Sampeau, you watch an immense, unbroken stream of bats pour from a cave mouth into the sky. The town itself rewards slow wandering.
Why It Matters
Battambang is Cambodia's cultural and colonial-architecture heartland, known for its preserved shophouses, thriving arts scene and the bamboo train, with the layered history of Phnom Sampeau close by.
Why Visit
It offers a relaxed, authentic Cambodian town with quirky and moving sights and far fewer tourists than the headline destinations. Ride the bamboo train, time Phnom Sampeau for the dusk bat exodus, and catch a show at the Phare circus school if you can.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Ride the bamboo train (norry) and watch how crews lift one off to let another pass.
- 2
Be at Phnom Sampeau before dusk for the nightly mass exodus of bats from the cave.
- 3
Catch a performance at the Phare Ponleu Selpak circus school if your dates allow.
- 4
Explore the colonial shophouses on foot; Battambang is best seen slowly.
