PNH to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

The former S-21 prison used by the Khmer Rouge, now a genocide museum and memorial. An essential but sobering visit to understand Cambodia's history.

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, known as S-21, is a former secondary school that was converted into a secret prison and interrogation center by the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. It is one of Cambodia's most important and haunting historical sites, preserving the memory of the estimated 17,000 people who were detained, tortured, and sent from here to the Choeung Ek killing fields — of whom only a handful survived.

The museum occupies the original school buildings, largely preserved as they were found by Vietnamese forces who liberated the site in January 1979. The rooms are displayed in different configurations — some contain the iron bed frames where prisoners were shackled, others display thousands of black-and-white mugshot photographs of the victims taken upon arrival. The detailed records kept by the Khmer Rouge serve as powerful testimony.

Visiting Tuol Sleng is a profoundly moving experience that provides essential context for understanding modern Cambodia. The museum is often visited in conjunction with the Choeung Ek Killing Fields (15 km south of the city), where prisoners from S-21 were taken for execution. Audio guides in multiple languages help visitors understand the full scope of the Khmer Rouge's atrocities and Cambodia's ongoing path of healing.