Sights in South Coast
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Koh Ta Kiev
There are quite a few islands dotting the gulf within day-trip distance of Sihanoukville. For snorkelling, Koh Ta Kiev is one of the best.
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Bokor Hill Station
The eerie ruins of the old French hill station of Bokor, high atop Phnom Bokor (1080m), are known for their cool - even chilly - mountain climate and dramatic vistas of the coastal plain, one vertical kilometre below.
The road up to Bokor was built from 1917 to 1921 by Cambodian indentured labourers, many of whom perished. By the early 1920s a French holiday settlement had been established and a grand hotel-casino, the Bokor Palace, was inaugurated in 1925.
The hill station was twice abandoned: first when Vietnamese and Khmer Issarak (Free Khmer) forces overran it in the late 1940s while fighting for independence from France, and again in 1972 when the Lon Nol regime left …
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Koh Kong Safari World
Animal welfare may not be the primary consideration at Koh Kong Safari World, run by Koh Kong International Resort (the casino-hotel a few kilometres away at the border), but the Disneyesque gateway - in a style that Bavaria's mad King Ludwig II would have found irresistible -doesn't hint at anything sinister.
The park has the usual zoo animals but it also puts on the sort of live-animal shows banned in most countries, with performances reminiscent of a 19th-century circus sideshow. Every morning, and into the early afternoon, birds ride tiny bicycles, orang-utans dressed up as boxers throw punches and a man puts his head inside a crocodile's mouth.
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Botum Sakor National Park
Occupying almost the entirety of the 35km-wide peninsula across the Gulf of Kompong Som from Sihanoukville, this 1834-sq-km national park, encircled by mangroves and beaches, is home to a profusion of wildlife, including elephants (about 20 of them, according to recent camera-trap evidence), tigers, deer, leopards and sun bears. The highest point is a 402m hill in the park's almost inaccessible interior.
Although a road is being built down the park's eastern side (it will eventually go all the way round the peninsula's coastline), the best way to see Botum Sakor is by boat. To get to the mangrove forests on the east coast and the almost deserted beaches on the park's sout…
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Rovieng Ranger Station
Another impressive collection of seatless cars and ox carts loaded with illegal wood fills the yard at Rovieng, but the most valuable contraband here is aromatic moras preuv oil, extracted from the roots of the endangered Disoxylon loureiri tree and kept in scores of plastic jerry cans. It has a delightful, sandalwood-like scent and keeps away both mossies and rats but interests smugglers because it can be used to make the drug ecstasy.
Other impounded objects stored here include chainsaws, snares (including some specially designed to catch pangolins) and guns.Bulletin-board photos show clandestine sawmills, stills used to make moras preuv oil, confiscated bush meat and a…
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Stung Phong Roul Waterfall
Although well off the beaten path, this is one of Cambodia's most spectacular waterfalls, with five big drops arrayed around a vertiginous curve in the river. Clambering around is tough but worth it, as there are some good swimming holes at the right time of year.
The uppermost waterfall is a dramatic 10m high. Flat rock ledges border clear, surprisingly cool pools and are ideal for a romantic picnic. If you sit quietly with your feet in the water, little fish - God knows how they got up here - may nibble your toes.
Stung Phong Roul Waterfall is about 20km northeast of Sre Ambel in the foothills of the Cardamom Mountains. As the crow flies, Kirirom National Park is 20km fu…
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Koh Kong Island
Cambodia's largest island, about 25km south of Krong Koh Kong, towers over seas so crystal clear you can make out individual grains of sand in a couple of metres of water. Its seven pristine beaches, all of them along the western coast, get so few visitors that sand crabs scamper obliviously up and down the beach and the shoreline is dotted with colourful shells of the sort you usually see only in souvenir shops.
There's a police post near the 20km-long island's northern end, above the second beach you come to, so skippers may be reluctant to stop nearby - or even stick around the area too long. It's forbidden to explore the thickly forested interior. The island is not pa…
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Southern Cardamoms Protected Forest
In an effort to protect the southern Cardamom Mountains from poaching, logging and encroachment by turning the forest into a source of jobs and income for local people, the Wildlife Alliance is launching an ambitious project to transform the Southern Cardamoms Protected Forest (1443 sq km), whose southern boundary is NH48 between Krong Koh Kong to Andoung Tuek, into a world-class ecotourism destination.
Over the next few years, the Wildlife Alliance - with Dutch government funding - plans to do the following:
Establish two visitors centres - built of natural materials (except wood!) - with displays on the Cardamoms' geography, flora and fauna. They will be situated on the…
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Bokor National Park
Bokor's moist evergreen forests - with dry dipterocarp and mixed deciduous forests in the north - shelter a wide variety of rare and threatened animals, including the Indian elephant, leopard, Asiatic black bear, Malayan sun bear, pileated gibbon, pig-tailed macaque, slow loris, red muntjac deer, lesser mouse deer, pangolin , yellow-throated martin, small Asian mongoose and various species of civet, porcupine, squirrel and bat.
Over 300 species of bird, including several types of hornbill, also live here. Don't expect to see much wildlife, though - most of the animals are nocturnal and survive by staying in more remote parts of the park.Long kept off the tourist map due t…
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Chenla Temple
The steep walk up to the temple takes about 2½ hours return. The trail is not clearly marked, so it's a good idea to hire a local lad (or five) with a machete. Along the way you're likely to see locals out collecting leaves and roots for the preparation of traditional medicines. Bring plenty of water and thick eyebrows (or at least a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from your forehead). The descent over smooth rocky inclines will help prepare your leg muscles for the next ski season.
The linga originally in the inner chamber is now in Paris' Musée Guimet but a number of flora- and fauna-themed bas-relief panels can still be seen, eg on the lintels of the three false doorwa…
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Tatai Waterfall
When driving east from Krong Koh Kong along NH48, the first bridge you come to - after about 20km - spans the Tatai River (Stung Tatai). Set in a lushly forested gorge a bit upstream from the bridge, Tatai Waterfall is a thundering set of rapids in the wet season, plunging over a 4m rock shelf. In the dry season, when water levels drop, you can walk across much of the ledge and take a dip in the gently-flowing river.
The water is fairly pure, as it comes down from the high Cardamoms, where there are very few human settlements.To get to the falls from Krong Koh Kong, you can either take a moto (the turn-off from NH48 is a couple of kilometres west of the Tatai River bridge…
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Popokvil Falls
This two-tiered waterfall is a fine place to bathe on a sunny day. The upper falls, the best place to swim, are 14m high. The lower falls, 18m high, can be reached by a path and a wooden stairway. The name translates as 'Swirling Clouds' and much of the time mists do indeed whorl just above the falls.
A shady, 11km trail links Wat Sampeau Moi Roi with Popokvil Falls. This route, which takes four or five hours, should not be undertaken without a guide, as there's always the possibility of an unexpected encounter with a three-legged female tiger nicknamed Tripod, who has been known to roam the ridge along here.
From the hill station, the falls are about 15 minutes by road. A…
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Areng River Valley
The nearby Areng River Valley, some of whose inhabitants belong to the Khmer Daeum minority community, is home to the dragonfish (Asian arowana), almost extinct in the wild, and the world's most important population of critically endangered Siamese crocodiles, toothy critters that don't eat people.
In 2007 researchers found 23 Siamese crocodile eggs in a nest on the Areng River, in the Central Cardamoms Protected Forest. They took 12 eggs to a protected site where, 45 days later, all hatched; after being blessed by monks, they were released back into the river. Observations confirmed that all 11 eggs left behind also hatched. It's hard to believe but these 23 hatchlings r…
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Ta Mok's House
Takeo Province's most notorious native son, Ta Mok - AKA 'The Butcher' - served as the Khmer Rouge's chief-of-staff in the 1960s and was later commander of the Southwestern Zone, where he presided over horrific atrocities. Paranoid about his personal security, he had an elaborate house built in the middle of the lake and, it is said, had the architects and builders executed upon completion of each floor, which included hidden rooms and escape passages.
Today, Ta Mok's House - about 1km north of town at the end of a causeway - is occupied by a police training facility but can be viewed from the outside. Ta Mok, who had two more residences near Anlong Veng, died in prison i…
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Bokor Palace
The highlight of a visit to the hills station is the shell of the Bokor Palace , which has been stripped of everything of value. You can explore all four levels and the rooftop terrace, from which there's a magnificent view over dense jungles that stretch almost to the sea.
It's possible to wander up and down the corridors, around the kitchens and through the ballroom to the suites above, past variegated ceramic floors, tiled bathrooms and a giant fireplace where cocksure colonial French and wealthy Khmers could warm up on a nippy night.On cold, foggy days it can get pretty creepy up here as mists drop visibility to nothing and the wind howls through the building.
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mid-20th-century villas
From Kep's northern roundabout, NH33A heads north past the mildewed shells of handsome mid-20th-century villas that speak of happier, carefree times - and of the truly terribly Khmer Rouge years. Built according to the precepts of the modernist style, with clean lines, lots of horizontals and little adornment, they once played host to glittering jet-set parties and may do so again someday, though for the time being many shelter squatters (and, some say, ghosts).
Don't even think of buying one - they were all snapped up for a song in the mid-1990s by speculators well-connected in Cambodia's murky corridors of military and civilian power.
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King Sihanouk's Palace
On top of the hill northwest of Kep Beach is a palace built by King Sihanouk in the early 1990s. Before his overthrow in 1970, Kep was one of his favourite spots and he used to entertain visiting foreign dignitaries on an outlying island nicknamed Île des Ambassadeurs. The king may have harboured thoughts of retirement here but his poor health and Cambodia's political instability meant that he never actually stayed at the palace, which remains unfurnished.
Access is from the east; it's usually possible to walk around the grounds - after tipping the guard, if necessary.
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temple
On top, 142 steps up, is a temple whose foundations date from the 6th century. Rebuilt in the 11th century, it's 12m square and 18m high. The entrance faces due north, with blind doors - decorated with bas-relief naga - on the other three sides. The lower section is laterite, while the upper reaches are made of red bricks. The finest carvings have been taken to museums in Angkor Borei, Phnom Penh and Paris.
About 50m northeast of the temple, a huge 'floating boulder' sits balanced on just three points. Vietnam can be seen 8km to the southeast.
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Wat Sampeau Moi Roi
About 250m northwest of the church, a road leads through a three-towered gate to lichen-caked Wat Sampeau Moi Roi, known as Five Boats Wat because some say the five oddly-sculpted rocks nearby resemble boats (although what they were smoking at the time is up for debate). Built in 1924, it affords tremendous views over the jungle to the coastline below, including Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island. Four cement supports that once anchored a Khmer Rouge radar station still stand just outside.
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main beach
At the 250m-long, tree-lined main beach, which faces west towards the setting sun, you can dine on seafood, lounge around on raised bamboo platforms and stay in thatched bungalows. North American travellers of a certain age may be tempted to hum the theme tune from Gilligan's Island. Many people say Koh Tonsay is a 'tropical paradise' but don't expect the sanitised resort version - this one has shorefront flotsam, flies, chickens, packs of dogs and wandering cows.
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Kirivong Waterfall
Kirivong Waterfall, 2.5km west of the southern edge of Kirivong town, is popular with locals, especially on warm weekends, but it's nothing to write home about - unless you like telling your friends about all the litter you've seen. Until it's cleaned up (there are plans…), the only reason to head out there is to check out the market stalls selling the area's most famous product: topaz and quartz, either cut like gems or carved into tiny Buddhas and naga.
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Catholic church
The old Catholic church at Bokor Hill Station looks like the priest locked it up only yesterday. Inside, bits of glass still cling to the corners of the windows and the altar remains intact; drawings of what appear to be Khmer Rouge fighters adorn the walls. Near the kitchen, one window holds the rusty outline of a cross. A bit up the hill, past the rusted green base of some Khmer Rouge military hardware, a sheer drop overlooks virgin rainforest.
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Ream National Park
Situated 13km east of Sihanoukville, Ream National Park is a great place to view Cambodia's wildlife. The sandy beaches, mangrove forests, monkeys and dolphins make it a favourite among locals.
A moto to the park's headquarters should cost USaround US$2. From here, guided walking tours with rangers can be arranged from USaround US$5. Boat tours around the park cost around US$20 for a boat holding four people.
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Bamboo Island
Bamboo Island has basic accommodation, with boat trips out there encompassing spots of snorkelling along the way. (Though those who have just arrived from Thailand will be disappointed.) The island is surrounded by clear waters and the bungalows are sweet with shared bathrooms and breezy terraces. There is also a large restaurant. A boat out here costs USaround US$8 return.
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archaeological museum
The modest, new archaeological museum, a bit east of the road bridge, occupies a Khmer-style building set to open in 2008. Featured are locally discovered Funan- and Chenla-era artefacts, including human bones, pottery, jewellery and stone carvings. The dark-red statues are copies of important works now in Phnom Penh's National Museum or Paris' Musée Guimet.
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