Tuol Sleng torture center 🇰🇭

Located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Tuol Svay Prey High School was converted by the Khmer Rouge regime into a former internment facility known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). Operating from 1976 until its fall in 1979, an estimated 20,000 people were imprisoned here, with only twelve known survivors. Today, this site serves as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, memorializing the tragic actions of the regime.

When you visit, you will witness five converted buildings enclosed in electrified barbed wire, where former classrooms were transformed into tiny prison cells and torture chambers. Iron bars and barbed wire still cover the windows to show how escapes and suicides were prevented. As you walk through the complex, you can view the physical torture implements on display that were once used during interrogations to force false confessions from inmates.

You will also see inmate portraits and historical documentation from when prisoners were photographed upon arrival and forced to detail their life stories. A visit offers you a deeply solemn, direct look into Cambodia's history, honoring the memory of those who suffered behind these walls before many were ultimately taken to extermination centers like Choeung Ek.

What to see at Tuol Sleng torture center

• Five converted complex buildings surrounded by iron bars and barbed wire
• Former high school classrooms transformed into tiny prison cells and torture chambers
• Original physical torture implements on display throughout the interrogation rooms
• Inmate photo portraits and detailed autobiographical records captured upon arrival

Visiting tips

Prepare yourself for a deeply somber experience as you walk through the preserved cells and view the displayed torture implements.

How long: 1-2 hours · Best time: Daytime

How to get there & what’s nearby

Tuol Sleng torture center is easy to reach on Phnom Penh’s public transport. For where to stay, the weather and full itineraries, see our Phnom Penh travel guide.