Bokor Mountains

Bokor National Park

In Vietnamese language, Bokor National Park, 10 kms from Kampot to the Southwest, Cambodia, now Kampuchea, is referred by the Vietnamese pilgrims as the sacred site of hermits, many of whom became well-known to the Buu Son Ky Huong and the Hoa Hao Buddhists adherents and eympathisers. Phật thầy Tây An Đoàn Minh Huyên, Huỳnh Phú Sổ, Bổn sư núi Tượng Ngô Tư Lợi, Phật Trùm, Phật sống Cử Đa, Sư vãi bán khoai, they were all from the Bokor Mountains .

Bokor National Park is an unmissable trip out from Kampot. Explore the romantic, highly atmospheric old casino — a legacy from Cambodia’s colonial days — as well as impressive waterfalls (during rainy season), plus a stunning, winding journey that takes you more than a kilometre above sea level. This is a full, thrilling day and we thoroughly recommend doing this under your own steam rather than with a group, so that you can take the time to explore at your leisure.

Established by the French as a hill station in 1925, Bokor has been abandoned twice, during World War II and the Khmer Rouge period. The area including Bokor ‘mountain’ was established as a national park in 1993, with its 1,500 square kilometres spanning four Cambodian provinces. Despite substantial illegal logging, it’s still home to leopard cats, gibbons, hornbills, civets and sun bears.