Set a short drive outside Phnom Penh, Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is one of Cambodia’s most important memorial sites and an essential companion visit to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. During the Khmer Rouge period, it became one of the execution and burial sites for prisoners brought from S-21, and today it stands as a place of remembrance for the many victims of that era. It is often referred to as one of Cambodia’s best-known killing fields, though the atmosphere now is quiet, reflective and memorial in character rather than dramatic in presentation.

What makes Choeung Ek especially affecting is the contrast between the peaceful rural setting and the history attached to it. Paths lead through the grounds past mass grave sites, memorial markers and interpretive stops that help visitors understand what happened here. At the centre stands the Buddhist memorial stupa, which contains thousands of human skulls and is the most powerful visual focus of the site. It gives the place a clear sense of mourning, dignity and remembrance.

For most travellers, Choeung Ek is best visited together with Tuol Sleng, as the two sites explain different parts of the same history. In 2025, UNESCO added records associated with Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek to the Memory of the World Register, recognising their importance as documentary evidence of the Khmer Rouge period.

For many visitors, Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is one of the most moving and necessary visits in Phnom Penh. It is not an easy experience, but it is an important one, and it adds vital historical depth to any understanding of Cambodia.