Choeung Ek Killing Fields

Choeung Ek is the most visited of Cambodia's many Killing Fields sites, located approximately 15 kilometers south of Phnom Penh. It served as the primary execution ground for prisoners transferred from Tuol Sleng prison during the Khmer Rouge period between 1975 and 1979. The site contains 129 mass graves, of which 86 have been excavated, and human remains continue to surface after heavy rains. A tall memorial stupa constructed in 1988 at the center of the site contains over 8,000 skulls. Visitors follow an immersive audio guide narrated by survivors that leads through the grounds and provides deeply personal accounts of what occurred here. Choeung Ek is regarded as one of the most significant genocide memorials in the world.