Pchum Ben

When: the 15 days ending on the 15th day of the tenth Khmer lunar month, in late September or October; the last three days are public holidays (10 to 12 October 2026; 29 September to 1 October 2027).

Where: every pagoda in Cambodia; in Phnom Penh, Wat Ounalom, Wat Langka and Wat Phnom are the easiest to reach.

Don’t miss: the pre-dawn rice-ball offerings around the pagoda halls on the final days, and the evening chanting by monks.

Pchum Ben, literally “gathering of rice balls”, is the time when Cambodians believe the gates of the underworld open and the spirits of the dead return to look for food from their living relatives. Ancestors who find nothing may curse the family for the year, so almost every Cambodian goes home to the provinces to take part. It blends Theravada Buddhism with much older ancestor worship.

For the first fourteen days, called kan ben, families from each neighbourhood take turns bringing food to their pagoda for the monks. The fifteenth day, Pchum Ben proper, is when everyone comes at once. Before dawn, people in their best clothes walk around the main hall throwing small balls of sticky rice, called bay ben, into the dark for the hungry ghosts who cannot receive food any other way. Later in the morning they offer meals, flowers and money to the monks, whose chanting transfers the merit to the dead. Many families try to visit seven pagodas over the festival.

Visitors are welcome to watch, and the atmosphere before sunrise, with candlelight, incense and thousands of people moving quietly around the halls, is unforgettable. In some villages the final days also bring local fairs and races.

Pchum Ben follows the Khmer lunar calendar. The fifteen days run through the waning half of the tenth lunar month and end on its fifteenth day, which falls in late September or October. The government declares three public holidays around the final day: 10 to 12 October 2026 and 29 September to 1 October 2027. The pre-dawn offerings happen on every one of the fifteen days, but the last two mornings are the busiest. Arrive at a pagoda between about 4am and 6am.

Phnom Penh is served by Techo International Airport, and Siem Reap by Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport; both towns have dozens of pagodas within a short tuk-tuk ride of the centre. Because so many Cambodians travel home for the festival, buses, minivans and domestic flights around the public holidays sell out days in advance, and Phnom Penh itself empties out. Arrive before the holidays begin, book onward transport early, and use a tuk-tuk or ride-hailing app to reach a pagoda before dawn, arranging the pick-up the evening before.

• Dress as for a temple, with shoulders and knees covered; many Cambodians wear white or pale clothing.
• Watch from the edge of the crowd, keep your voice low and don’t use flash during the chanting or the rice-ball offerings.
• If you want to take part, buy a small offering of food or flowers at the pagoda gate and follow what the families around you do.
• Expect many shops, market stalls and family restaurants to close for the three public holidays, especially in Phnom Penh.
• Smaller neighbourhood pagodas are more intimate than the big city temples, and Cambodians are usually glad to explain what is happening if you ask.
• Book buses and flights well ahead, and allow extra time for roads out of Phnom Penh on the day before the holidays.