Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia The Floating Villages Of Tonle Sap Editorial Photo

The heart of Cambodia, the giant freshwater lake named Tonle Sap hosts a number of small floating villages. Adapting completely to the nature of the environment they live in, locals spend most of their lives floating on the water. This water is their primary source of life and food in their homes. Fascination with this lifestyle attracts tourists from around the world to Cambodia, in order to witness life on the Tonle Sap.The small communities living on the lake represent a combination of movable houses and permanent structures. The movable houses comprise the floating villages, and they can be relocated when the water levels rise. The stilted villages, on the other hand, are constructed as permanent structures. The tall, thin stilts that hold the house high enough, to keep the household dry during the wet season. The exceptionally long ladders are made to reach the water when the level is low.