Cambodia's far southwestern province, vast and sparsely populated, boasts deserted beaches, offshore islands and lush rain-forests with ecotourism potential as vast as their mountains, streams and hamlets are remote.
Once Cambodia's Wild West, its frontier economy dominated by smuggling, prostitution and gambling, Koh Kong is striding towards respectability as ecotourists scare the sleaze away. The town serves as the gateway to the Koh Kong Conservation Corridor.
Sights & Activities
Koh Kong's main draw is seeking adventure in and around the Cardamom Mountains and the Koh Kong Conservation Corridor.
Wat Neang Kok
A rocky promontory on the right (western) back of the estuary is decorated with life-size statues demonstrating the violent punishments that await sinners in the Buddhist hell. This graphic tableau belongs to Wat Neang Kok, a Buddhist temple. To get there, cross the bridge and turn right about 600m past the toll booth. The statues are 150m beyond the temple.
Peam Krasaop Wildlife
Anchored to alluvial islands - some no larger than a house - the millions of magnificent mangroves of this 250-sq-km sanctuary's protect the coast from erosion, serve as a vital breeding and feeding ground for fish, shrimp and shellfish, and provide a home to myriad birds (www.ramsar.org). The area, which is part of the Koh Kong Conservation Corridor, is all the more valuable from an ecological standpoint because similar forests in Thailand have been trashed by short-sighted development.
To get a feel for the delicate mangrove ecosystem - and to understand how mangrove roots can stop a tsunami dead in its tracks - head to the 600m-long concreted mangrove walk (6:30am to 6 pm), which wend its way above the briny waters to a 15m observation tower. The walk begins at the sanctuary entrance, about 5.5km southeast of the city centre. A moto/remork costs US$5/10 return.
Koh Kong Conservation Corridor
Stretching along both sides of NH48 from Koh Kong to the Goulf of Kompong Som (the bay north of Sihanoukville), the Koh Kong Conservation Conrridor encompasses many of Cambodia's most outstanding natural sites, including the most extensive mangrove forests on mainland Southeast Asia and the southern reaches of the fabled Cardamom Mountains, an area of breathtaking beauty and astonishing biodiversity.
While forests and coastlines elsewhere i Southeast Asia were dramatically altered by developers and well-connected logging companies, the Cardamom forests were protected from much of this due to their sheer remoteness and, at least in part, by Cambodia's long civil war. As a result, much of the area is still in pretty good shape, ecologically speaking.
Koh Kong Island
Cambodia's largest island towers over seas so crystal clear you can make out individual grains of sand in a couple of meters of water. Its west coast shelters seven pristine beaches fringed with coconut palms and lush vegetation, just as you'd expect in a tropical paradise. At the sixth beach from the north, a narrow channel leads to a Gilligan's Island-style lagoon.
The island, about 25km south of Koh Kong City, is not part of any national park and thus has few protections against rampant development, which may soon arrive.
Tatai River & Waterfall
Tatai is located about 18 km east of Koh Kong on NH48, the Phun Daung (Tatai) Bridge spans the Tatai River. Nestled in a lushly forested gorge up stream from the bridge is the Tatai Waterfall, a thundering set of rapids in the wet season, plunging over a 4m rock shelf. Water levels drop in the dry season but you can swim year-round in refreshing pools around the waterfall.
A short kayak away from the waterfall is the supremely tranquil Rainbow Low (www.rainbowlodgecambodia.com)
About 6 km downriver from the bridge is a more upscale rain-forest retreat, the Four Rivers Floating Ecolodge (www.ecolodges.asia)
You can access Tatai Waterfall by car or motorbike. The clearly marked turn-off is about 15 km southeast of Koh Kong, or 2.8 km northwest of the Tatai Bridge. From Koh Kong, a half-day moto/remork excursion to Tatai to go one-way to the bridge. If traveling from Phnom Penh to one of the resorts, tell the driver to let you off at the bridge.
BOTUM SAKOR NATIONAL PARK
Occupying almost the entirety of a 35 km wide peninsula, this 1834-sq-km national park, encircled by mangroves and beaches, is home to a profusion of wildlife, including elephants, deer, leopards and sun bears.
It's not yet geared up for tourism, but at the sleepy park headquarters, on NH48 about 3;5 km west of Angdoung Tuek, it should be possible to arrange a hike with a ranger (US$5 a day). Long-tail boat excursions from Angdoung Teuk or Sihanoukville are also possible.
Grandiose tourist development is on the cards for the park's beach-lined west coast and a 12-island archipelago offshore: in 2009 a Chinese company broke ground on a US$5 billion project, but it may take decades to complete. A few islands - namely Koh Sdach - have resorts, accessible by boat from Sihanoukville.
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