AKP Phnom Penh, September 17, 2025 --

“Pchum Ben” Festival or the Festival for the Dead, which is the second biggest festival for the Cambodian people in the entire country after the “Chaul Chhnam Thmei” (Khmer New Year), will be celebrated this weekend. 

In fact, the whole festival lasts 15 days. During the first 14 days, called Kan Ben, people or villagers take turns to offer food to monks in nearby pagodas in hope that the offerings will reach the souls of their ancestors by virtue of the Buddhist monk sermons. But the most important is the last day of the Pchum Ben on which all Cambodian Buddhist followers, the rich as well as the poor, manage to prepare food and other offerings for their visits to pagodas.

The government officials, workers and employees will have three days off from Sept. 21 to 23.

According to the Ministry of Tourism's record, last year, approximately 1.8 million local and international tourists visited different tourist destinations across the country during the Pchum Ben Festival from Oct. 1 to 3.

By C. Nika