Banteay Srei Butterfly Centre
Tucked beside the road just before Banteay Srei temple, the Banteay Srei Butterfly Centre is a lush, net-covered tropical garden where dozens of Cambodian butterfly species flit freely around you. It's low-key, genuinely enchanting, and almost always overlooked by visitors rushing straight to the temple — which means you'll likely have it nearly to yourself.
What makes it worth the detour
The centre is part of a conservation effort to protect native Cambodian butterfly species and educate visitors about the country's biodiversity. Inside the netted enclosures, you walk through a living garden of flowering plants specifically chosen to attract and feed the butterflies at every stage of their life cycle.
Look for the chrysalis display boards near the entrance where you can see pupae at various stages of metamorphosis — a genuinely magical sight for children and adults alike. The staff are knowledgeable and will point out species you'd otherwise miss.
Pairing it with the rest of your day
The butterfly centre is located very close to the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB), a wildlife rescue facility that rehabilitates threatened Cambodian species including birds, gibbons and pangolins. The ACCB runs guided morning tours at 9:00 AM — pair it with the butterfly centre for a full wildlife morning before heading to Banteay Srei temple.
Both sites sit on the same stretch of road as Kbal Spean and the Cambodia Landmine Museum, making the entire Banteay Srei district easy to string together into a single, richly varied day without a single km wasted.
Banteay Srei Butterfly Centre on video
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