Choeung Ek, Genocide memorial site in Kandal Province, Cambodia.

Choeung Ek is a memorial site in Kandal Province, Cambodia, dedicated to the victims of terror during the late 1970s. The central structure is a glass-walled stupa that holds more than 8000 human skulls and bones recovered from mass graves scattered across the grounds.

The Khmer Rouge used Choeung Ek as an execution and burial site between 1977 and 1979, bringing prisoners from the S-21 detention centre by truck at night. The grounds had earlier served as a Chinese community cemetery and orchard. After the regime fell in 1979, returning villagers and Kandal Province officials began exhuming the mass graves.

This place preserves the memory of those who died here, with Buddhist traditions shaping how visitors and local communities approach the site. People light incense and observe moments of silence as they walk through the grounds.

Audio guides in several languages explain 15 stations across the grounds and help visitors understand the site. Most people spend around two hours here, and sturdy footwear is recommended for the unpaved paths.

Of the at least 129 mass graves found at Choeung Ek, 86 remain untouched. Grave No. 7 held 166 bodies buried without their heads, and more than 100 naked women and children were found in Grave No. 5. Bone and clothing fragments still surface after heavy rain.