Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary

Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary is one of the most significant waterbird colonies in all of Southeast Asia, forming part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve on the northwestern edge of the lake. The sanctuary protects nesting sites for several globally endangered large waterbird species including the spot-billed pelican, the greater adjutant stork, and the milky stork, which gather here in their thousands during the dry-season nesting period from December to May. Visitors travel by boat from Siem Reap to the floating ranger station deep within the flooded forest, then transfer to smaller vessels that navigate silently beneath the tree canopy to reach observation towers above the nesting colonies. The cacophony of thousands of birds in the treetops overhead is an extraordinary wildlife spectacle found nowhere else in the region.