APOPO Visitor Center

The APOPO Visitor Center in Siem Reap is the public face of APOPO's landmine clearance operations in Cambodia, where the Belgian non-profit organization trains African giant pouched rats, known as HeroRATs, to detect buried landmines by scent with greater speed and accuracy than traditional metal detectors. The free visitor center explains the science behind rat detection, the training process from birth through deployment, and the scale of Cambodia's ongoing landmine contamination problem through informative displays and short documentary films. On scheduled visiting days, guests can watch HeroRATs demonstrate their detection skills in a safe training area and meet the animal handlers. The center provides an uplifting and innovative perspective on humanitarian demining work and the remarkable animals that make it possible.