Choeung Ek and the quiet landscape of remembrance
Published on 08/23/2026 at 07:49 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Choeung Ek, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, is a former execution ground of the Khmer Rouge that has become a memorial landscape centred on a glass-sided Buddhist stupa. Between 1975 and 1979 the site served as a killing field linked to the prison known as S-21 or Tuol Sleng, and the memorial now stands over mass graves uncovered after the fall of the regime.
A former orchard turned memorial field
Choeung Ek lies in Dangkao District south of central Phnom Penh, in an area that was once a cultivated orchard and a Chinese cemetery.The memorial field was once an orchard The ground is largely open, with low trees and grassed areas punctuated by shallow depressions that mark the positions of former mass graves.
These graves were uncovered in 1979 and 1980 when the site was examined after the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed, revealing thousands of bodies in pits spread across the field.The remains of 8,985 people were exhumed from mass graves Some of the depressions remain visible in the grass, and in several places low boundaries and information boards identify individual grave sites within the wider orchard terrain.
The glass-sided stupa and the remains it contains
The most recognisable structure at Choeung Ek is a tall Buddhist stupa with acrylic glass sides that houses the human remains recovered from the surrounding ground.The stupa at Choeung Ek is filled with human skulls Inside, shelves rise through the interior, holding thousands of skulls and bones that visitors can view through the transparent panels.
Descriptions of the site report that more than 5,000 skulls form the core of this display, arranged on multiple levels inside the stupa so that the structure functions both as a shrine and as a visible archive of the dead.Over 8,000 skulls are visible behind glass panels The architectural form is similar to other Cambodian stupas, with a layered base and tapering roof, yet the transparent walls and the presence of bones give it a distinct memorial character.
From Khmer Rouge killing field to national memorial
Choeung Ek was used by the Khmer Rouge between 1977 and 1979 as an execution site for prisoners transferred from S-21, the security prison established in a former school in Phnom Penh.Mass graves containing 8,895 bodies were discovered at Choeung Ek Research on the Cambodian genocide describes around 129 mass graves within the site, linked to purges carried out under the leadership of Pol Pot.
The memorial stupa was erected in 1988 as a central element in the commemorative ensemble, formalising Choeung Ek as a place of national remembrance for those killed during the Khmer Rouge period.A glass-walled stupa at Choeung Ek forms the centre of the memorial Information panels around the grounds outline the history of the site, the role of S-21, and the broader context of the Cambodian genocide in the late 1970s.
Visiting Choeung Ek: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Choeung Ek stands south of central Phnom Penh in Dangkao District, in countryside reached by road from the city along routes signposted to the memorial.
- The terrain within the site is largely flat and grassy, with earth paths between the marked grave areas and steps leading up to the entrance of the stupa.
- The official language is Khmer and the currency is the Cambodian riel.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Choeung Ek
Where is Choeung Ek located in relation to Phnom Penh?
Choeung Ek is in Dangkao District to the south of central Phnom Penh, in a semi-rural area reached by road from the Cambodian capital.
What should visitors expect when exploring the site?
Visitors encounter an open field with marked grave depressions, explanatory panels and a Buddhist stupa filled with the human remains recovered from the surrounding ground.
What makes Choeung Ek distinctive among memorial sites?
The combination of an orchard landscape, visible mass-grave depressions and a glass-sided stupa containing thousands of skulls gives Choeung Ek a particularly direct connection to the events commemorated there.
