Tonle Sap Lake

The Tonle Sap ("Large Fresh Water River," commonly translated as "Great Lake") is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia and the development of ancient Angkor. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997.

This vast ecosystem is unusual for two reasons: its flow changes direction twice a year and the portion that forms the lake, expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May (Cambodia's dry season), the Tonle Sap drains into the Mekong River in Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June and the water level of the Mekong River rises, the Tonle Sap River backs up to form an enormous lake.

For most of the year the lake is fairly small, around one meter deep with an area of approximately 3’000km2. During the monsoon season, however, the Tonle Sap River, which connects the lake with the Mekong River, reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to almost 16’000 km2 and its depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests which provide a perfect breeding ground for fish.

The pulsing system with the large floodplains, rich biodiversity, and high annual sediment and nutrient fluxes from Mekong makes the Tonle Sap one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world, supporting over three million people and providing over 75 percent of Cambodia's annual inland fish catch. At the end of the rainy season, the flow reverses and the fish are carried downriver.

The area is home to many ethnic Vietnamese and numerous Cham communities, living in floating villages around the lake.

Kampong Phluk
A cluster of three villages of stilted houses built within the floodplain of the Tonle Sap Lake, about 16 km southeast of Siem Reap. The villages are primarily Khmer and have about 3000 inhabitants between them. Flooded mangrove forest surrounds the area and is home to a variety of wildlife including crab-eating macaques. During the dry season when the lake is low, the buildings in the villages seem to soar atop their 6-meter stilts exposed by the lack of water. At this time of year many of the villagers move out onto the lake and build temporary stilted houses. In the wet season when water level rises again, the villagers move back to their permanent houses on the floodplain, the stilts now hidden under the water. Kampong Phluk’s economy is, as one might expect, based in fishing, primary in shrimp harvesting.

Chong Kneas
Chong Kneas is probably the most well known floating village in Cambodia, located approximately 30 minutes away from the town of Siem Reap where the Siem Reap River empties into the Tonle Sap Lake.  Along the way, rice paddies and stilted houses line the lakeside road, and in the distance Phnom Krom hill looms with its ancient temple crowning the top. Chong Kneas itself can only be reached by boat. Complete with schools, restaurants, shops and even a hospital, all moored on this massive lake, this fascinating village offers an interesting inside view on an unusual life on an unusual the lake.