Khmer New Year, or Songkran, is celebrated with massive water fights on the street. Credit: Shutterstock

Khmer New Year

Event in Siem Reap

Khmer New Year turns Cambodia into a joyful mid-April celebration of water fights, talcum powder, temple visits, family gatherings and fresh starts.

Khmer New Year is Cambodia’s biggest traditional festival: a three-day celebration of renewal, family, faith and good fortune. It is also one of the most fun times to be in the country, when streets come alive with music, dancing, games and spontaneous water fights.

For travellers, the most memorable tradition is often the playful splashing of water — and sometimes clouds of talcum powder — between friends, families and passers-by. The ritual symbolises washing away bad luck, bad spirits and the old year before the new one begins, but in practice it becomes a joyful national street party. Expect busy pagodas, decorated homes and a festive mood across Cambodia, with Siem Reap adding extra spectacle through Angkor Sankranta around the Angkor area.

Khmer New Year usually falls on April 13 or 14 and lasts three days, aligning with the traditional solar new year and the end of the harvest season. It’s a holiday shaped by both seasonal cycles and Buddhist ritual life.

New year, many names

Chaul Chnam Thmey is the Khmer name for Cambodia’s New Year, often simply called Khmer New Year in English. Songkran is the Thai name of the Buddhist New Year festival, while Angkor Sankranta is Siem Reap’s major Khmer New Year celebration around the Angkor temples.