Southern Cambodia

Kep

Cambodia's top seaside destination until eclipsed in the 1960s by Sihanoukville. Today's Kep is slowly being rediscovered by travellers and offers a unique, laid-back atmosphere.

Kep Beach
A single, kilometre long crescent of sand near the tip of the Kep peninsula. Dining platforms and seafood vendors line the road behind the beach.

Kep Mountain (National Park)
There is an easy trail going full circle around the hill above Kep in the National Park. It's a wonderful piece of jungle, in which it is quite probable to see some monkeys and other animals. The trail is about 8km long. If you don't want to walk, the path is wide enough to ride a bicycle or a motorbike.

Kampot Pepper
An absolute must is to visit the Pepper plantation at Phnom Voir Mountain, about 20 minutes drive from Kep. This pepper used to be the number one pepper in the world and all the good French restaurants had it.

Colonial Villas
There are around 100 or more old French villas, mostly destroyed by the Khmer Rouge army and some of them overgrown by the vegetation - quite a spooky feeling. Some of them have been restored, but most of them are in possession of rich military officials who are waiting to sell it at the highest price.

Caves
Around Kep there are 3 major caves, some with small shrines inside. The most impressive and biggest one is near Kompong Trach with beautiful limestone formations.

Rabbit Island
The Island is only a 20 minute boat trip away from Kep beach. One of the nicest remote islands worth seeing in Cambodia.

Angkaul Beach
The Angkaul beach, located 45 minutes to the east near the Vietnamese border, was once the swimming beach for the Cambodian Elite in the 1960ties. The trip there might be long, but it is worth every minute. The around 2km long beach is clean with white sand and totally deserted except some fishermen. Truly a paradise beach and not worth to miss.

Kampot

Kampot has a relaxed and sleepy atmosphere. It is a great place to go and just soak up the atmosphere and catch your breath for a couple of days, either in town, at the beach or along the river.

Crabs
No visit to Kep/Kampot is complete without having a least one meal of the fresh crabs, reputedly the best in Cambodia.

Bokor Mountain
A major reason for many travellers to venture to Kampot is its close proximity to Bokor National Park with its ruined French colonial resort town at the top Bokor Mountain in the Elephant Mountain range. This is one of the most spectacular sites in Cambodia and well worth a visit.

While Bokor National Park is also an important wildlife reserve the average visitor is unlikely to see much of interest. Tiger are present but very rare, although Gibbon can often be heard. The area is of note for bird watchers as the only accessible site for the Chestnut-headed Partridge as well as species such as the Blue Pitta and Orange-headed Thrush.

Since July 2010, access to Bokor is intermittent due to the construction of a new road. A visit can therefore not be guaranteed.