Siem Reap: Lotus Silk Farm Tour, Boat Ride & Artisan Workshop

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.99 (307 reviews) 99% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/26

Duration2h 30m

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN · FR

Mobile ticketAccepted

Lotus silk secrets, slow boat rides and Khmer craft hands-on

You’ll feel lotus stems between your fingers as artisans guide you through ancient Khmer techniques near Siem Reap. Glide by boat through blooming fields, fold sacred flowers, then create your own paper and jewelry before sharing tea in a quiet garden. It’s gentle and real—something you’ll carry home long after.

2h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Lotus silk farm immersion and workshops

Shuttle from Biolab Café
Tour lotus fiber extraction
Boat journey through lotus fields
Create lotus paper, yarn, bracelet
Enjoy lotus tea ceremony
Browse cultural boutique

The Experience

The first thing that hit me was the quiet—just this soft hum of voices, the click of scissors, and the smell of fresh stems as we stepped into the lotus silk farm outside Siem Reap. Our guide, Sreyneang, waved us over to a table where women sat pulling impossibly thin threads from green lotus stalks. She let me try it too. I snapped my stem on the first go (they laughed), but the texture—kind of sticky and cool—stayed on my fingers for ages. I’d read about lotus silk before but seeing it made by hand, right here, felt different.

We piled into a wooden boat after that, gliding through water thick with floating pink blooms. The air was heavy and sweet—lotus everywhere—and Sreyneang folded one for me in this way her grandmother taught her. There was this moment where everything slowed down: just the paddle dipping in the water, dragonflies skimming past, and I realized how much patience goes into every part of this process. She handed me a bouquet and said something about purity in Buddhism—I didn’t catch all of it but her smile kind of said enough.

Back at the workshop, we tried making our own pieces. My paper looked more like a soggy napkin than art (Sreyneang pretended not to notice), but spinning yarn from those fibers was strangely calming. We strung bracelets with seeds while someone’s radio played old Khmer pop in the background—one of those small details you don’t expect to remember but do. Tea came out last: floral and earthy, with these crumbly homemade biscuits that reminded me of my aunt’s kitchen back home. I still think about that taste sometimes.

What’s included

Your day includes round-trip shuttle pickup from downtown Siem Reap at Biolab Café, all entry fees and taxes covered, hands-on creation of three heirloom pieces guided by expert bilingual staff (English or French), a fresh bouquet of lotus flowers from your boat ride through blooming fields, plus lotus tea and homemade biscuits served in their garden before heading back to town.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for back problems

Operated by Lotus Silk Farm