The Cardamom Mountains

The Cardamoms cover a large stretch of southwest Cambodia in rainforest, mangrove and river systems, and they hold Asian elephants, gibbons, sun bears, clouded leopards and one of the region's last populations of Siamese crocodile. For a long time the story here was logging, poaching and wildlife trafficking. What has changed is the arrival of community-based ecotourism, most visibly at Chi Phat, a village reached by boat where former loggers and hunters now work as guides, boatmen and homestay hosts, and where the income is explicitly tied to leaving the forest standing. Visitors trek to waterfalls and burial jar sites, kayak the river, cycle forest tracks and sleep in hammocks at jungle camps.

History

The mountains hold many sites of the 15th to 17th centuries, above all jar burials, a practice not otherwise recorded in Khmer history: ceramic jars about 60 centimetres tall and rough log coffins set on remote rock ledges, with glass beads probably traded for forest products such as wood and resin, and local legend calls the bones royal. In the Kanam cave near Kravanh, red ochre paintings show elephants with riders, deer and wild cattle, likely tied to the capture and training of wild elephants, a tradition that lasted among the peoples here until the 1970s (Wikipedia, Cardamom Mountains).

Highlights

• Chi Phat community project - homestays, guided treks and river trips run by the village.
• Jungle hammock camps - overnight stays deep in the forest with local guides.
• The burial jar sites - mysterious highland jar and coffin sites in the mountains.
• River kayaking and mangrove trips - paddling the Preak Piphot and coastal mangrove channels.

When to go

November to April, the dry season, when tracks are passable and the rivers are safe. From June to October rain makes trekking and river travel difficult, and some camps close.

What to expect

This is basic travel: hammocks, cold water, long humid walks and leeches, with genuinely rough roads to reach the trailheads. Wildlife sightings are uncommon; the appeal is the forest, not a safari. Check that any project you book is genuinely community-run, since the label gets attached loosely, and be wary of anything offering close elephant contact.

Nearby

Koh Kong and the coast lie west; Sihanoukville and the southern islands are along the coast.

Key facts