Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre

Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre (BBC) is one of the most visited tourist spots in the country, with the largest butterfly exhibition in the Southeast Asia. A visit to Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre is a great way to take a short break from the temple tours and spend some time in spectacular surroundings filled with rare and vivid butterflies. Situated about 25km from Siem Reap, it is a project with a difference, as the centre also contributes to the welfare of the community by training local people to rear butterflies for sale locally exhibits as well as abroad.

In other words, it has been primarily developed as a poverty mitigation project, and the revenues generated by way of admission fees and butterfly farming are used to employ impoverished people in Siem Reap’s remote villages. Most significantly, the centre and its activities render a livelihood to poor families without causing any species extinction or destruction to the natural habitat. In a way, the project itself is a nature-conserving initiative that educates people on the importance of raising income through the preservation of nature.

The key highlight of Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre is its large netted enclosure with a variety of free-flying butterflies – most of which are indigenous to the country. It is truly a great experience to feed butterflies here and see them fluttering from one flower to another. Another interesting attraction is the pupae stage. Some of the species featured here are Atlas Moth, Blue Glassy Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Five-Barred Swordtail, Great Mormon, Gaudy Baron, Lime Butterfly, Orange Emigrant, Peacock Pansy, Red Helen and Tailed Jay.

Visitors can also obtain valuable information on other stages of butterfly metamorphosis. If you’re lucky enough, you may sometimes catch sight of a caterpillar morphing into a chrysalis (pupa). Above all, the BBC stands out for its stunning plant and floral varieties that include, but not limited to, multihued orchids and red ixora chinensis. So if you ever plan to take a tour to Siem Reap or Cambodia, this butterfly centre is definitely an attraction not to miss out on.