Choeung Ek Genocidal Center

Khmer Rouge trucks arrived nightly with blindfolded prisoners who were bludgeoned to save bullets, then dumped into pits that still yield teeth and bone after monsoon rains. A Buddhist stupa now encases more than 8,000 skulls behind glass as a national memorial.

Audio tours narrate survivor testimony while visitors walk boardwalks above sunken graves. The killing tree, against which infants were swung, remains the most harrowing stop — a place where silence feels mandatory rather than superstitious.

Open daily with audio guides included in admission; dress respectfully and expect an emotionally difficult visit of one to two hours.