Stilted communities keep fixed houses on posts; floating communities build on rafts that rise with the water. Around Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake, both answer to a lake that deepens from under 3 ft (1 m) to as much as 30 ft (9 m) every year. The Mekong drives the cycle: each wet season it pushes the Tonle Sap River backwards into the lake, and in the dry season the lake drains. Follow the water level, and the type of village follows.
What Are Cambodia’s Stilted and Floating Communities?
Stilted communities stand on fixed posts above the ground; floating communities sit on rafts, pontoons, or drums that rise and fall with the water; mixed communities hold both. This page uses the three terms as a working classification.
| Type | How the house stays above the water | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stilted | Fixed posts 20–30 ft (6–9 m) tall | Kampong Phluk |
| Floating | Rafts, pontoons, or drums under the house | Chong Khneas, Mechrey, Kampong Luong |
| Mixed | Posts along the canal and rafts at the lake mouth | Kampong Khleang |
How Does the Tonle Sap’s Flood Pulse Shape Life?
Each wet season the rising Mekong pushes the Tonle Sap River backwards into the Great Lake. The lake grows from about 965 sq mi (2,500 km²) to as much as 6,200 sq mi (16,000 km²) and deepens from under 3 ft (1 m) to 20–30 ft (6–9 m). The inflow begins in late May or June, peaks in August and September, and stops by late October; the lake then drains toward the delta until May.
Stilts must clear the high water, and floating houses follow the water as it falls. The lake yields 300,000–400,000 tonnes (330,000–440,000 US tons) of fish a year, and fish supply more than 60% of the animal protein Cambodians eat.
Why Do Published Figures for the Lake and Villages Differ?
Published figures disagree because sources measure different years, areas, depths, or populations. The following are the working figures used in this guide.
| Item | Figures in circulation | This page uses |
|---|---|---|
| Lake area, dry season | 2,215; 2,500–2,700; about 3,000 km² | About 965 sq mi (2,500 km²) |
| Lake area, wet season | 13,260; 14,000–16,000; above 17,500 km² | Up to about 6,200 sq mi (16,000 km²) |
| Depth, dry to wet | 0.5–1 m to 6–9 m; higher figures also circulate | Under 3 ft (1 m) to 20–30 ft (6–9 m) |
| Kampong Phluk post height | 6–9 m; about 8 m; about 10 m | 20–30 ft (6–9 m) |
| Kampong Phluk residents | 3,202 census; 3,707 commune profile; other estimates | Both official figures labelled by source |
| Kampong Khleang residents | 6,000; over 20,000; 10,709 census | 10,709 census figure |
How Do Stilted and Floating Houses Cope With Changing Water?
A stilted house lifts its floor on posts 20–30 ft (6–9 m) tall at Kampong Phluk, and 33–39 ft (10–12 m) tall at Kampong Khleang. A floating house rides on rafts, pontoons, or drums, so it rises with the water and needs no height.
In the wet season, boats tie up at the posts. In the dry season, the ground beneath a stilted house becomes workspace, and fish dry on racks there. Floating villages shift along the shore with the lake level; shops, schools, clinics, pagodas, and churches can all be built on the water.
Which Villages Are Stilted, Floating, or Mixed?
Of five lake communities, Kampong Phluk stands on stilts; Chong Khneas, Mechrey, and Kampong Luong float; and Kampong Khleang combines both.
| Village | Type | Where it sits | What the water does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kampong Phluk (Siem Reap) | Stilted | Prasat Bakong district | Boats reach the flooded forest at high water; ground dries at low water |
| Chong Khneas (Siem Reap) | Floating | 7–9 mi (11–15 km) south of the city, near Phnom Krom | Houses, shops, and port shift with the lake level |
| Mechrey (Siem Reap) | Floating | Puok district, about 16 mi (25 km) from Siem Reap | Houses and floating pagoda move with the water |
| Kampong Luong (Pursat) | Floating | Krakor district, about 22–25 mi (35–40 km) from Pursat | Houses, clinics, fuel station, and shrines shift with the lake edge |
| Kampong Khleang (Siem Reap) | Mixed | Soutr Nikom district, about 31–34 mi (50–55 km) from Siem Reap | Posts line the canal; floating houses sit at the lake mouth |
Who Lives in These Communities, and How Do They Earn a Living?
Khmer, ethnic Vietnamese, and Cham families share the lake villages, and fishing sustains most households. About 1.2–1.5 million people live on the floodplain, and 70–80% of households rely on fishing, fish processing, or fish farming.
Families turn the catch into prahok, a fermented paste ripened for 3–12 months, and into smoked and dried salted fish. The work peaks in December–February as the lake drains. Every village named here has a Buddhist pagoda; some also hold a church or mosque. Kampong Luong has Khmer and Vietnamese hamlets, a floating pagoda, and a water market.
Why Do Some Families Live on the Water and Not on Land?
Families live on the water because the fishery lies beside the house and because Cambodian law reserves land ownership for Khmer nationals. Many ethnic Vietnamese families therefore live on boats and floating houses. A 2023 resettlement project in Kampong Chhnang set aside 443 ha (1.7 sq mi) for families moving ashore.
What Threatens the Communities, and How Do They Adapt?
The flood pulse is weakening. Reverse flow into the lake fell from 11.7 cubic miles (48.7 km³) in 1962–1972 to 7.6 cubic miles (31.7 km³) in 2010–2018. The wet-season water level dropped by 3 ft 5 in (1.05 m) in 2010–2019 against 1996–2009, while lake area fell by 20.6%.
Researchers weigh the causes differently, including irrigation, channel incision, sand mining, and upstream sediment trapping. These figures measure change; they do not forecast the end of the villages.
Many villages have no waste collection, and latrine waste enters the water. Pilot systems such as the HandyPod use a septic drum and water hyacinths. Authorities also move some floating households ashore.
When Should You Go, and Which Village Suits Which Water Level?
Visit at high water, from about September to October, to see boats replace streets; visit at low water, from about February to May, to walk beneath the stilts. The months shift by year.
| Water stage | About when | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Rising | June–August | Water climbs the posts; floating houses lift off the dry bed |
| High | September–October | Boats replace streets; floating houses sit farthest from dry shore |
| Falling | November–January | Posts emerge; houses are towed to deeper water; fish processing fills racks |
| Low | February–May | You walk beneath stilted houses; village water can drop below 3 ft (1 m) |
Kampong Phluk and Kampong Khleang suit both extremes. Chong Khneas is the nearest floating village to Siem Reap; Kampong Luong and Mechrey show floating houses that follow the lake.
How Do You Visit Without Disturbing Daily Life?
Hire a boat owned in the village, ask before photographing a person, and stay out of classrooms during lessons.
| Habit | Reason |
|---|---|
| Hire a boat from a village owner | The fee reaches a resident of the village |
| Ask before photographing; never photograph a child without consent | The person or parent gives consent |
| Stay outside schools during class hours | Lessons run on the water as on land |
How Can You See These Communities From a Mekong River Cruise?
The Calypso Mekong programme uses one Aquila 44 power catamaran, 44 ft 1 in (13.44 m) long, with three cabins and up to six guests. It sails between Saigon and Siem Reap in the flood season, from about mid-August to December.
| Place on the route | Where it falls | What guests do |
|---|---|---|
| Andong Russei | Road stop before the lake | Watch women shape pots without a wheel beneath stilt houses |
| Kampong Luong | Night at anchor on day 7, 10, or 14 of the 8-, 11-, or 15-night programme | See the floating pagoda, water market, and hamlets by local boat |
| Chong Khneas, then Kampong Phluk or Kampong Khleang | Final dock of outbound sailing; optional half day at Kampong Phluk | See a floating port, then a stilted or mixed village |
For routes, seasons, and vessel choice, read the Mekong River Cruise Guide.
Questions About the Lake Communities
Is Kampong Phluk a floating village?
No. Kampong Phluk is a stilted village: its houses stand on posts 20–30 ft (6–9 m) tall. Boats replace its streets at high water, so visitors sometimes call it floating.
Kampong Phluk or Kampong Khleang for a half-day trip?
Kampong Phluk suits a half day; Kampong Khleang suits a full day. Kampong Khleang lies 31–34 mi (50–55 km) from Siem Reap and stands on posts 33–39 ft (10–12 m) tall.
What is the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve?
The Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve is a protected area around the lake, designated by UNESCO in 1997 and established by royal decree in 2001. Prek Toal is a core area and a Ramsar site.
Which other places sit near the lake communities?
Prek Toal is a core area where waterbirds breed; Angkor is a short drive away; and Phnom Penh is where the Tonle Sap River meets the Mekong.
What Do These Communities Show About Living With a Reversing River?
Stilted villages lift the floor above the water, floating villages let the water rise with them, and mixed villages do both. All three depend on a flood pulse that measurements now show is weakening. The villages are not static scenery: they are communities adapting houses, work, travel, and daily life to a river that changes direction.