Angkor has a strict dress code that all visitors to the Angkor Archaeological Park must follow. If you aren’t dressed appropriately, you may not be able to even buy a ticket for the site. The guards at the entrance to the temples may also indicate, if you are dressed improperly. We witnessed a couple of times, a guard asking people to cover their knees or their shoulders. Sometimes, this could be rectified by simply putting scarves on but other times people were turned away.
Either way, better be prepared before you go, as near the temples, the clothes tend to get very expensive for the tourists, who need to buy them on the spot.
The dress code I will explain below applies to all major temples within Angkor Archaeological Park near Siem Reap.
If you’re planning your visit, read my complete Angkor planning guide here.
What to Wear at Angkor Temples
The main restriction for clothes at Angkor is that your shoulders and knees must be covered. Here is what’s not allowed:
- Shorts not covering the knee,
- Short dresses,
- Sleeveless tops,
- Tank tops.
Keep in mind that these restrictions do apply to men, as well as women.
The acceptable attire includes trousers, long skirts or long shorts covering the knee. For tops, you should wear either short or long sleeve clothes, nothing sleeveless. Let’s go through them one by one.
Bottoms to Wear at Angkor
For the convenience purposes, trousers can be more comfortable. For me though, even when they were thin, they overheated me. You have an option of buying the very common elephant style trousers at the markets. You will find many people wearing them. But personally I don’t like them and they don’t suit me. Of course, if you like them, go for it, they look very comfy.
Maxi or midi dresses can be a great idea. I found that the skirts were more comfortable in heat than trousers. Of course, there’s one more thing to consider is the climbing, which was slightly complicated with the skirts I was wearing. I would put the skirt up to make it easier to climb. We didn’t have time for shopping and I hate browsing markets, so I was glad I came prepared.
The skirts you are wearing can have slits. There are no rules against them. That’s great, as long skirts aren’t really my style, so slits gave at least some respite.
I don’t recommend leggings at all, as they will be simply too hot.
Tops to Wear at Angkor
Tops should cover the shoulders. There are no rules about décolleté, I was fine with V-necks as well. But still be careful with this, as if the clothes are considered too revealing, it would be flagged. Any simple t-shirt will work fine. Another option is to wear a sleeveless top and just throw a scarf on – I have seen that scarves are considered fine.
Best Materials to Wear at Angkor
Given that Cambodia has a very hot tropical climate, you would be better off, if you wear linen or other breathable material, as you won’t be suffocating in heat. On the other hand, I did wear thin synthetic clothes and they were fine.
Whatever you wear, I advise to choose bright colors. They will look much better on photos. One day I wore a bright blue skirt and it looked great with the backgrounds, another day, I had a black and white striped skirt on and it looked far duller. See the photos and decide yourself.
Accessories to Bring to Angkor
That brings me to the major item that can help you in Angkor – scarf. The scarves really are very useful and you can make them work with many outfits. I did wear a sleeveless top one day and put a scarf around me. It looked quite cute and very much acceptable. But make sure that it doesn’t slip off your shoulders to avoid problems.
A scarf can also be a fashion accessory, it may lighten up your outfit.
A hat also wouldn’t be a bad idea to shield you from the sun and it may look lovely on the photos. I had a sun hat with me, but unfortunately I lost it, when it flew off during the tuk tuk ride.
Best Shoes to Wear at Angkor
You can wear whatever type of shoes you like. There are no rules about it. But I do suggest to wear covered shoes with support, as you will be walking in very dusty places and will be climbing stairs and stones a lot. I wasn’t able to walk easily in my flats, so I woke sneakers instead.
Wearing sandals would make climbing steep stairs and uneven surfaces difficult to navigate. But so many people did wear slippers and sandals, so it depends on your preferences.
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Super useful tips on what to wear at Angkor. Love the bright blue skirt and you’re right about it looking so vibrant in the photos!
Thank you! I was not sure also what would work, as I am not used to this type of clothes 😊