Good Om Touk — Cambodian Water Festival
Boat races and water festival · Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The festival
The "Festival of Boat Racing" is Cambodia's largest event with the Khmer New Year. It celebrates a phenomenon unique in the world: at the end of the rainy season, the Tonlé Sap river reverses its course and returns the waters of the great lake to Mekong, opening the fishing season.
In front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, hundreds of decorated racing canoes, led by dozens of rowers, clashed for three days under the cries of hundreds of thousands of spectators massed on the Sisowath quay, between fireworks, illuminated boats and concerts. Tradition would go back to the great naval battles of the Angkorian era.
In 2026, public holidays (23–25 November) were maintained, but the government suspended the official celebrations of Phnom Penh (second consecutive year) to concentrate resources on humanitarian aid; the provinces, including Siem Reap, kept their festivities.
Good to know
Suspension of the celebrations of the capital announced by Royal Government circular in July 2026 (humanitarian and border priorities); the holidays of 23–25 November 2026 remain in effect and the provinces can celebrate normally.