From 1975-1979 the ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot, controlled Cambodia. During their short reign, between 1 and 2.5 million Cambodians perished, some killed outright, others dying from disease, malnutrition and mistreatment. Many of the dead ended up in “killing fields” I that can be found across the country. The memorial at 1 Choeung Ek just outside Phnom Penh was an orchard! and a Chinese cemetery prior to 1975. During the Khmer Rouge regime it became one of the killing fields the site of the brutal executions of more than 17,000 individuals, most of whom first suffered through torture and deprivation in Toul Sleng Prison. Choeung Ek is now a group of mass graves and a memorial stupa containing thousands of skulls. Combine with a visit to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.

(15 km southwest of Phnom Penh - Take Monireth 8.5 km past the bridge at Street 271)

Prior to 1975, Toul Sleng was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power it was converted into the S-21 prison and interrogation facility.
Inmates were systematically tortured, sometimes over a period of months, to extract confessions, after which they were executed at the killing fields of Choeung Ek. S-21 processed over 17,000 people, seven of whom survived. The building now serves as a museum, a memorial and a testament to the madness of the Khmer Rouge regime. Much has been left in the state it was when the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in January 1979. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display. Paintings of torture at the prison by Vann Nath, a survivor of Toul Sleng, are also on display. The museum's famous and controversial “skull map” has recently been dismantled.

(Corner of Street 113 & Street 350 - $2.00 - Open everyday, including holidays, 8AM-5PM Closed for lunch)