About Bon Om Touk (Cambodia Water Festival)
Bon Om Touk, the Cambodian Water Festival, is one of the country's biggest and most beloved celebrations, marking the remarkable moment when the Tonle Sap River reverses its flow back toward the Mekong at the end of the rainy season. Held over three days, it draws enormous crowds to the riverside in Phnom Penh and to towns across Cambodia for a festival of gratitude to the waters that sustain the nation's rice and fisheries. Its origins are traced to the era of the Angkor kings, when naval forces trained in longboat races.
The heart of the festival is the boat racing: brightly painted wooden longboats, each crewed by dozens of rowers from villages and pagodas, surge down the river in fierce heats watched by hundreds of thousands of spectators. Evenings bring illuminated floats, fireworks over the water and the Sampeah Preah Khe ceremony to salute the moon, along with eating Ok Ambok — flattened rice pressed and shared for good fortune. Food stalls, concerts and family outings fill the riverbanks.
Bon Om Touk takes place in November, on the full moon of the Buddhist lunar month of Kadeuk, so the exact dates shift each year. The countdown above tracks the days until the next Water Festival — add it to your own page to follow the build-up to Phnom Penh's thundering longboat races and riverside lights.
Upcoming dates
| 2026 | Tuesday, November 24, 2026next |
| 2027 | Saturday, November 13, 2027 |
FAQ
When is Bon Om Touk?
The Cambodia Water Festival is held over three days in November, around the full moon of the lunar month of Kadeuk. The exact dates follow the lunar calendar and shift from year to year.
Why is Bon Om Touk celebrated?
It gives thanks for the waters of the Tonle Sap and Mekong and marks the unique reversal of the Tonle Sap's flow at the end of the rainy season, which signals the start of the fishing season and a bountiful harvest.
How is Bon Om Touk celebrated?
With dramatic longboat races on the river, illuminated float parades, fireworks, a salute to the moon and the sharing of Ok Ambok flattened rice, as huge crowds gather along the Phnom Penh riverside.
What is special about the Tonle Sap during the festival?
At the end of the monsoon the swollen Tonle Sap River reverses direction and drains back into the Mekong — a rare natural phenomenon that the festival celebrates and that defines the timing of the holiday.