Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek: History, Tickets and Visitor Etiquette

Prepared by the NovAsia Editorial Team

Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek should not be approached as ordinary Phnom Penh attractions. Tuol Sleng preserves the former S-21 detention and interrogation centre, while Choeung Ek is the best-known execution and burial site associated with that system. Together, they show how state terror turned arrest, forced confession and killing into a systematic administrative process.

Both sites are open to independent visitors. As of 25 July 2026, admission for an international adult at Tuol Sleng was $5, with a further $5 for the audio guide. Choeung Ek charged $6, including its audio guide. Planning the visit, however, involves more than checking ticket prices. The displays include photographs of victims, cells, objects associated with torture, human remains and testimony concerning the killing of children. The material is distressing and deserves time, respectful behaviour and an honest assessment of your own limits.

For a first visit, it normally makes sense to begin at Tuol Sleng in the city and then travel south to Choeung Ek. This follows the historical relationship between the two places and helps the second site make sense. There is no obligation to see both in one day. Many visitors find that separating them allows more time to process what they have seen.

Two places within one system

On 17 April 1975, Khmer Rouge forces entered Phnom Penh. The city's residents were forcibly evacuated, and the capital was largely emptied. The regime later converted a former school complex into a secret security centre known as S-21, now preserved as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

S-21 was more than a prison. People were registered, photographed, detained in brutal conditions, interrogated and forced to sign confessions. Those arrested included former officials, soldiers, professionals, foreigners, members of the Khmer Rouge movement itself and their families. The regime's doctrine of collective guilt meant that one person's arrest could lead to the detention of relatives and associates.

The exact number of prisoners cannot be established with certainty. The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia relied on a revised list containing 12,273 names, while acknowledging that the true number of people detained and killed was higher. The museum gives a broader estimate of approximately 15,000 to 20,000 prisoners. These figures are not necessarily contradictory: the surviving archive is extensive but incomplete, and different estimates distinguish between documented individuals and the probable overall scale.

After interrogation and a decision to execute them, many prisoners were transported to Choeung Ek. In the trial of S-21 director Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, the court found that S-21 personnel killed prisoners both within the prison complex and at Choeung Ek. Duch was convicted in 2010 of crimes against humanity and serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and he was later sentenced to life imprisonment.

The expression "Killing Fields" is often used as if it referred only to Choeung Ek. In fact, it describes numerous execution and burial sites across Cambodia. Choeung Ek is the most accessible and internationally recognised site directly linked to S-21, not the country's only killing field.

In 2025, the former M-13 prison, Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek were inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Cambodian Memorial Sites: From centres of repression to places of peace and reflection. The inscription recognises their importance as evidence, places of remembrance and warnings about the consequences of organised state violence.

What remains at Tuol Sleng

The first impression of Tuol Sleng comes from its school architecture. The open courtyard, long balconies and rows of classrooms initially appear familiar. That familiarity becomes unsettling once the visitor understands how the buildings were repurposed.

Some rooms contain large cells with metal bed frames. Elsewhere, classrooms were divided into small brick or wooden cells. Barbed wire still covers parts of the open galleries. The museum does not need elaborate reconstruction: much of its power lies in the original buildings, surfaces and surviving objects.

One of the most important bodies of evidence is the photographic archive. S-21 staff documented arriving prisoners, compiled biographies and produced lists and confessions. The photographs restore individual faces to a history often described through large numbers. Men, women and children look back from images that were originally made as part of the prison's record-keeping system. The Tuol Sleng archives were added to UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register in 2009.

The museum also displays paintings by Vann Nath, one of the few surviving prisoners. His works depict detention conditions and torture as testimony from someone who experienced S-21, rather than as a later imagined reconstruction. Other rooms contain documents, clothing, prison objects and temporary exhibitions.

An audio guide usually provides a more coherent understanding of the site. The sequence of rooms offers few emotional pauses, and brief labels cannot always explain the relationship between the surviving evidence and later memorial interpretation. Visitors do not need to listen to every track, but the guide helps place individual rooms and objects within the wider system.

The White Lotus Room provides a quiet place to pause and recover after the exhibition. It operates at specified times on weekdays. This is not a minor convenience. When attention becomes mechanical or the material feels overwhelming, stopping can be more respectful than continuing without absorbing what is being presented.

What Choeung Ek preserves

Choeung Ek lies outside central Phnom Penh. Before the Khmer Rouge period, the area contained an orchard and a Chinese cemetery. It later became a site of mass execution and burial for prisoners transported from S-21 and other detention facilities.

Few prison structures remain. Visitors follow a marked route past depressions left by mass graves, memorial signs, a small museum space and the central memorial stupa. The audio guide is particularly valuable here because fields, trees and earth cannot explain their history without interpretation.

The Buddhist memorial stupa contains human remains. It is simultaneously a place of mourning, historical evidence and religious remembrance. Behaviour inside should be as restrained as it would be in a temple or cemetery. Follow signs and staff instructions, including any request to remove footwear.

The route passes close to mass graves. After heavy rain, fragments of clothing or human remains may become visible in the soil. Visitors must remain on marked paths and should never touch, lift or move anything. Even when no staff member is nearby, the ground remains a burial place rather than an archaeological display.

Choeung Ek has continued to improve its exhibition and audiovisual facilities through work involving UNESCO, Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and project partners. Availability and screening times may vary, so visitors should confirm arrangements at the entrance.

Tuol Sleng reveals documents, faces and the operation of the security centre. Choeung Ek reveals the final stage of that system. Each site can be visited separately, but together they make the connection between bureaucratic persecution and physical extermination much clearer.

Tickets, opening hours and transport

The basic visitor information current on 25 July 2026 was as follows:

Tuol Sleng is on Street 113 near Street 350 in Boeung Keng Kang III. Tickets are sold at the entrance. The museum accepts cash in US dollars and Cambodian riel. International visitors aged 10 to 17 pay $3, while children under 10 enter free with proof of age. Visitors holding a Cambodian K-class visa may enter free when they present confirmation.

The Tuol Sleng audio guide costs $5 for international visitors. At the time of checking, the official list included Khmer, English, French, German, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch and Italian. Individual museum guides were available in Khmer and English, with arrangements confirmed on site.

Choeung Ek is in Roluos village, Sangkat Choeung Ek, south of central Phnom Penh. Its official information listed a $6 ticket for international visitors, including the audio tour, and stated that payment was accepted in cash. Cambodian citizens enter free.

Prices, access arrangements and opening hours can change, particularly around commemorative events. Check official information shortly before travelling and carry small notes in dollars or riel. There is usually no need to buy a third-party "skip-the-line" ticket: both sites operate straightforward ticket desks.

There is no practical walking connection between Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek. A car or tuk-tuk booked through an app is the simplest option. Agree in advance whether the driver will wait at Choeung Ek or whether you will book another vehicle after the visit. Depending on traffic and road conditions after rain, the journey from central Phnom Penh can take roughly 30 minutes to an hour.

How to plan the visit

When visiting both sites in one day, start at Tuol Sleng. It introduces the structure of S-21, the photographic archive and the route from registration to execution. Choeung Ek then feels less like an abstract cemetery and more like the final part of a system already understood.

Allow around two hours for Tuol Sleng, and longer if you intend to complete the audio tour and temporary exhibitions. Choeung Ek usually requires between 90 minutes and two hours, excluding travel. Trying to fit both around several other Phnom Penh attractions tends to create unnecessary haste and emotional overload.

A practical sequence is:

1. Arrive at Tuol Sleng near opening time or during the first half of the morning.
2. Follow the main exhibition with the audio guide, taking pauses after the most difficult rooms.
3. Leave the memorial complex for water and food.
4. Travel to Choeung Ek and follow its marked route with the included audio guide.
5. Avoid scheduling a noisy entertainment activity or demanding meeting immediately afterwards unless you know how you are likely to respond.

This sequence is not compulsory. Anyone who finds documentary photographs and accounts of torture especially difficult may prefer to visit on separate days. The historical connection remains clear even when the visits are divided.

Heat also affects concentration. Parts of Tuol Sleng are open to the air, with exposed galleries and stairs, while much of Choeung Ek is outdoors. Morning visits are generally more comfortable. Closed shoes, water, sun protection and rain protection are useful throughout the year. Food should remain outside exhibition areas.

Visitor rules and respectful etiquette

Tuol Sleng publishes detailed visitor rules. Clothing should be appropriate for a memorial site, with shoulders and legs covered. A shirt or T-shirt with sleeves and trousers, a skirt or shorts below the knee are sensible choices. The same standard is appropriate at Choeung Ek, where the memorial stupa also has religious significance.

Food, alcohol, smoking and electronic cigarettes are prohibited at Tuol Sleng. Animals are not allowed except guide dogs. Weapons, music and unauthorised sound equipment are also prohibited. Pushchairs may be used on the grounds but not inside exhibition buildings. Upper floors are accessible only by stairs, while wheelchair access is possible on parts of the ground floor.

Personal and research photography is permitted at Tuol Sleng, while commercial filming requires approval. Permission does not make every photograph appropriate. Posed photographs beside cells, remains, victims' portraits or memorial objects, smiling group pictures and photographing distressed visitors undermine the purpose of the site.

Mobile phone use is prohibited inside Tuol Sleng's exhibition buildings. Elsewhere, keep devices silent and conversations quiet. Listen to audio guides through headphones, never through a loudspeaker.

At Choeung Ek, remain on the marked route, do not touch the ground, clothing fragments or human remains, and do not leave objects on mass graves. Follow local instructions at the stupa, including footwear rules. Any specific photography restriction shown on site takes priority over general guidance.

Respect is not limited to silence. Avoid loudly repeating graphic details, making jokes about people in archival photographs or arguing over victim numbers in front of survivors' families and other visitors. Historical figures require scholarly care, but a memorial is not the place for a performative debate.

Visiting with children

Tuol Sleng officially warns that its exhibitions may not be suitable for visitors aged 14 or under. This is guidance rather than a universal ban, but it should be taken seriously. The museum includes images of victims and violence, prison cells, torture devices and testimony about the killing of children. A teenager who knows the history from school may still respond very differently when standing in the place itself.

Choeung Ek permits children under continuous adult supervision. Admission, however, does not mean the route is suitable for every child. The memorial stupa contains human remains, and the audio guide describes mass execution in detail. Parents should understand the content in advance and consider both age and emotional maturity.

It is better to explain beforehand, in age-appropriate language, that this is a place of remembrance for people who were unlawfully imprisoned and killed. Children should know that they may decline to enter a room, remove the headphones or leave with an adult. In a family with two adults, taking turns can sometimes be the most practical choice.

Never leave a child unattended at the entrance, in a nearby café or in a vehicle with an unfamiliar driver. If the content is unsuitable, arranging reliable childcare or not visiting is more responsible than rushing a child through the exhibition.

Emotional preparation

The difficulty of these sites lies not only in the number of victims. Tuol Sleng preserves faces and documents; Choeung Ek preserves the physical landscape of killing and burial. Some visitors find the museum harder, while others are more affected by the quiet simplicity of Choeung Ek. Reactions are difficult to predict.

You do not need to listen to every audio track or enter every room. Respect is not measured by how long a person can look at disturbing material. If concentration disappears, or you experience nausea, panic or detachment, step outside, sit down and decide whether continuing is useful.

People who have experienced war, violence, detention or bereavement may find that the content connects directly with their own history. It can be sensible to discuss the visit with someone you trust, choose only one site or limit the most graphic sections. Deciding not to visit does not indicate indifference.

Leave unstructured time afterwards. Tuol Sleng has a space for quiet recovery, and at Choeung Ek it is possible to finish the audio route before returning to transport. Discussing the visit is usually more considerate once you are outside the memorial grounds.

Conclusion

Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek offer the clearest accessible account of how S-21 operated, from arrest and documentation through forced confession and execution. Begin with the former prison and continue to Choeung Ek if you are ready for several hours of difficult material. Seeing both in one day is optional, not a measure of commitment.

As of 25 July 2026, Tuol Sleng was open daily from 08:00 to 17:00, with adult international admission of $5 and a separate $5 audio guide. Choeung Ek was open from 07:30 to 17:30, with a $6 international ticket that included the audio guide. Carry cash and reconfirm official information before travelling.

The central rule is simple: behave as you would in a museum of evidence, a cemetery and a place of remembrance at the same time. Modest clothing, quiet voices, no staged photographs, attention to signs and a willingness to stop when necessary matter more than trying to complete every part of the route.

Sources

1. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum — Visitor Information and History of the Museum. Opening hours, admission prices, age guidance, accessibility and visitor rules. Checked 25 July 2026.
2. Choeung Ek Genocidal Center — Frequently Asked Questions and official visitor materials. Opening hours, admission, cash payment and guidance for children. Checked 25 July 2026.
3. Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia — Case 001 and Judgement in Case 001, 26 July 2010. Judicial findings concerning S-21, Choeung Ek and documented prisoner numbers.
4. UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Cambodian Memorial Sites: From centres of repression to places of peace and reflection. World Heritage inscription in 2025. Checked 25 July 2026.

Frequently asked

Should I visit Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek on the same day?

Yes, provided you are prepared for an emotionally demanding day. It usually makes sense to visit Tuol Sleng first and continue to Choeung Ek afterwards. If you are unsure, separate the visits.

Can children visit Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek?

Tuol Sleng warns that its exhibitions may not be suitable for visitors aged 14 or under. Children may enter Choeung Ek only under continuous adult supervision, but parents should assess the content carefully before deciding.

Is an audio guide useful if I already know the history of the Khmer Rouge?

Yes. The audio guides connect rooms, photographs, documents and burial sites with individual stories, and they are particularly valuable at Choeung Ek, where few original structures remain.