Kratie and Mondulkiri Explorer

This morning, your Cambodia travel guide and driver will come to pick up you at hotel at 8:00AM – 8:30AM then provide a long drive (approximately 9 hours). From your hotel, we depart Phnom Penh and travel northeast to our first stop at the spider town of Skuon. This town is 55km north of Phnom Penh and is famous for eating habits of the residents: they hunt and eat spiders.

After that, continue our drive to Kampong Cham, the third largest city in Cambodia. During dry season (January to June), we can visit the Kampong Cham’s iconic bamboo bridge. Each year, Kampong Cham residents construct a temporary bamboo bridge to connect Kampong Cham town to Koh Paen Island. Have your lunch at a local restaurant (at your own account).

Our road journey continues on the east bank of the Mekong River, passing along many rubber and pepper plantations. We will stop along the way to witness rubber collecting and pepper plantation.

Arrive at the village of Snoul, the gateway to the wilds of Mondulkiri highland. From Snoul village, we head northeast towards the Sen Monorom, the quite provincial capital city of Mondulkiri, passing through patches of lush forest and areas of cultivation and plantations. If we are lucky, we might see wild monkeys who are living in forest along the way. Arrive in Sen Monorom in the late afternoon, check in at your hotel and free at leisure.

Overnight in Mondulkiri.

Mondulkiri mean “where the mountains meet” a suitable name for such a remote, hilly province. It is the most sparsely populated province in Cambodia, with just four people per square kilometre. After breakfast, we will drive 9km to the minority ethnic village of Bunong. From village, we take a soft trek into the forest, to experience the jungle and see elephants in their natural habitat.

Along the way, the guide will give you more information about the history, mission, the area's challenges and future prospects of Mondulkiri Elephant Project. Here, the elephants spend all their time in the protected forest, live away from elephant rides and hard physical work. You will be able to feed the elephant buckets of bananas before follow them as they walk through the forest eating bamboo. Elephants could eat up to 300 kg of vegetation per day in order to sustain themselves. Have a picnic lunch by the waterfall (at your own account).

In the afternoon, the mahout will bring the elephant to the river for a wash. You are welcomed to get in the water and help to wash the elephants. It is not allowed for tourists or mahouts to ride the elephants or sit on them when they are being washed. On the way back, we will visit villages of the hill tribe people who live within the forests. In the late afternoon, we will return to Sen Monorom with an option to go up the hill of Sen Monorom for an amazing panoramic view of the Sea Forests.

Overnight at hotel in Mondulkiri.

This morning, we head east towards the magnificent waterfall of Bou Sra, one of the most famous waterfalls in Cambodia. It is located in Pechr Chenda District, 38 kilometres from the provincial town of Sen Monorom along a red soil road. In rainy season, the water flow was powerful and clean and the surrounding natural environment is kept clean. In dry sea, you could access both stages of the waterfall.

Along the way, we will stop to visit a village of Pnong, the largest indigenous highland ethnic group in Cambodia. Stroll around village, chat with local people and learn a little about their way of life. We also visit a local coffee farm to enjoy a cup of coffee (speciality of Mondulkiri provine).

After lunch in Sen Monorom (at your own account), we leave behind the wilds of Mondulkiri, travel to Krong Kracheh (Kratie), the capital of Kratie Province in eastern Cambodia. Upon arrival Kratie town, we take a short 10 minutes boat ride from the town to the beautiful island of Koh Trong. Check into your hotel on island. The rest of day is free at leisure to discover this small paradise. Maybe catch a swim off the beach on the west side while enjoying the spectacular sunset on the mighty Mekong river.

Overnight on Koh Trong Island.

After breakfast, we drive north along the river banks to Kampi Village which is 15 km from Kratie town center. This village is one of the best places to observe the rare Irrawaddy Dolphins along the Mekong. Embark on a small local boat which will take us upstream to look for these interesting creatures. As soon as we have spotted the first dolphin, our boatmen will follow the dolphin watching guidelines provided and only use oars when near the dolphins. We will follow the dolphins silently (1 to 1.5 hours).

After that, we disembark and take a short transfer (22 km) to Sambour Village for a visit to Wat Sorsor Mouy Roy which is well-known for its history and as a place of pilgrimage for residents of Kratie. It was first built in the 16th century by King Chann Reachea to commemorate the memory of his daughter Vorakpheak. Have lunch at a local restaurant (at your own account).

After lunch, we will head back to Koh Trong, a sort of ecotourism paradise. A 9 km (6 mile) loop road around the island's perimeter provides the perfect opportunity to discover villages on this island. Along the way, we could stop for a rest in a village, enjoying local fruit while observing the daily rituals and routines of the traditional village life. Free to have your dinner with diversity of delicious Khmer food.

Overnight at hotel on Koh Trong island.

In the morning, our guide and driver will provide a transfer to Siem Reap City, the provincial capital and gateway for the temples of UNESCO World Heritage Angkor Complex. The drive will take approximately 7 hours.

Have lunch at a local restaurant on the road (at your own account). En route, we will visit Kampong Khleang floating village, the largest and least-visited floating village on Tonle Sap Lake. It is located about 55km from Siem Reap town and are home to over 5000 people who have been living here for generations, make a living from the fishing industry. We will ride in a boat pass through canals, visit stilted homes and school in this incredible town.

Afterwards, continue our drive towards Siem Reap which takes one and half hours to drive. The services wrap up.