Yeak Loam Lake

Beung Yeak Laom is located in Yeak Loam commune, Ban Loung district, about 5 kilometers south of Ban Loung provincial town. A lake in the middle of a mountain, it was formed many centuries ago from a volcano. The lake is about 800 meters in diameter and 48 meters deep during the dry season. The water is clear and suitable for swimming. There are two places along the bank where visitors can relax and enjoy a panoramic view of the lake and the flora and fauna. A tourist information center is on the west bank, and handicrafts made by hill tribes living nearby are available for sale. Beung Yeak Laom is a place of worship for the hill tribes. They believe there is a powerful spirit who owns the surrounding land and forest. Beung Yeak Laom is popular with tourists who like to swim or hike in

the forest surrounding the lake. Because there are no vendors, visitors should bring along their own food and beverages. Is the natural lake, which locates at the middle of mountain in Yeak Loam Commune, Ban Lung district from the Ban Lung town. The lake has square shape, approximate 800m diameter and 48m depth during the dry season, and occurs by volcano for centuries. The lake has clear water as the sea suitable for swimming, and there are tow harbors protruded to the above of the water for tourists to view the scenary and birds that are swimming along the stretch of the forest surrounding the lake. information to tourists, and also for displaying souvenirs and handicrafts made by ethnic minorities. At the western bank of the lake, there is a tourist information center where for guiding and giving information center where for guiding and giving information to tourists, and also for displaying souvenirs and handicrafts made by ethnic minorities.Beung Yeak Laom is located in Yeak Laom commune, Ban Loung district, about 5 kilometers south of Ban Loung provincial town. A lake in the middle of a mountain, it was formed many centuries ago from volcano. The lake is about 800 meters in diameter and 48 meters deep during about dry season. The water is clear and suitable for swimming.

Bou Sra Waterfall

Bou Sra Waterfall is a magnificent sight, tumblingthrough a gorge set in the jungle near the Bunong town of Bou Sra. It can now be reached by a 35 kilometre road that is now virtually paved all the way from Sen Monorom, cutting the journey time down to around half an hour, depending on your driving. The non-paved sections are still quite tricky, and need to be approached carefully (slowly). As you approach Bou Sra, you’ll spot coffee and pepper plantations along the way. We did visit at perhaps the worst possible time. The dramatic three-stage falls create a natural and relatively safe

swimming pool, which is popular with both locals and visitors alike during the warmer months. Beautiful nature photography is a possibility here, as is just hanging out and enjoying lunch in a relatively pristine and quiet piece of natural Cambodia. Sadly, when we visited in April 2016 in the midst of the second annual drought in a row to hit Cambodia, the falls were reduced to not much more than a trickle. Locals said they had never seen the falls reduced to such a low level. But there were still plenty of families picnicking, snapping selfies, and generally enjoying themselves under the shady trees.The site is managed by the owners of the Mayura, who have put in a visitors’ centre, proper walkways and the highest zipline in the region. They’ve also instituted a waste-management system, so the spot is mercifully free from the great piles of plastic that tend to accumulate on other Cambodian beauty spots.

Preah Vihear Temple

Preah Vihear Temple (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ Prasat Preah Vihear) is an ancient Hindu temple built during the period of the Khmer Empire, that is situated atop a 525-metre (1,722 ft) cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. In 1962, following a lengthy dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over ownership, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled that the temple is in Cambodia.[1] Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire's spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the

conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east. The temple gives its name to Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, in which it is now located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihan National Park which borders it in Thailand's Sisaket province and through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[2][3] Prasat Preah Vihear is the compound of words Prasat, Preah and Vihear, which mean the "religious offering of sacred shrine". In Sanskrit, Prasat (प्रासाद) (ប្រាសាទ) means "religious offering" which could even be taken as synonym of "temple" in this context, Preah (ព្រះ) mean "sacred" or "beloved", and "Vihear" (វិហារ) from the Sanskrit word Vihara (विहार) means "abode" or "shrine" (the central structure of the temple). In Khmer, "phnom" (ភ្នំ) means mountain, and Cambodians occasionally refer to it as "Phnom Preah Vihear" (ភ្នំព្រះវិហារ). These versions of the name carry significant political and national connotations (see below: New dispute over ownership). The temple was built at the top of Poy Tadi, a steep cliff in the Dângrêk Mountain range which is the natural border between Cambodia and Thailand. The Temple is currently listed by Cambodia as being in Svay Chrum Village, Kan Tout Commune, in Choam Khsant District of Preah Vihear Province of northern Cambodia. The temple is 140 km from Angkor Wat and 625 km from Phnom Penh. The Temple was listed by Thailand as being in Bhumsrol village of Bueng Malu sub-district (now merged with Sao Thong Chai sub-district), in Kantharalak district of the Sisaket Province of eastern Thailand. It is 110 km from the Mueang Sisaket District, the center of Sisaket Province.

Kulen Mountain

The Phnom Kulen mountain range is located 30 km northwards from Angkor Wat. Its name means "mountain of the lychees".[3] There is a sacred hilltop site on top of the range. Phnom Kulen is considered a holy mountain in Cambodia, of special religious significance to Hindus and Buddhists who come to the mountain in pilgrimage. It also has a major symbolic importance for Cambodians as the birthplace of the ancient Khmer Empire, for it was at Phnom Kulen that King Jayavarma II proclaimed independence from Java in 804 CE. Jayavarman II initiated the Devaraja cult of the king,[4]:99–101 a linga cult, in what is dated as 804 CE and declaring his independence from Java of whom the Khmer had been a vassalage state (whether this is actually "Java", the Khmer chvea used to describe Champa, or "Lava" (a Lao kingdom) is debated, as well as the legend that he was earlier held as a ransom of the kingdom in Java. See Higham's The Civilization of Angkor for more information about the debate).[5] During the Angkorian era the relief was known as Mahendraparvata (the mountain of Great Indra).[6] Kbal Spean is known for its carvings representing fertility and its

waters which hold special significance to Hindus. Just 5 cm under the water's surface over 1000 small linga carvings are etched into the sandstone riverbed. The waters are regarded as holy, given that Jayavarman II chose to bathe in the river, and had the river diverted so that the stone bed could be carved. Carvings include a stone representation of the Hindu god Vishnu lying on his serpent Ananta, with his wife Lakshmi at his feet.[7] A lotus flower protrudes from his navel bearing the god Brahma. The river then ends with a waterfall and a pool. Near these mountains is Preah Ang Thom, a 16th-century Buddhist monastery notable for the giant reclining Buddha, the country's largest.[7] The Samré tribe was formerly living at the edge of Phnom Kulen, quarrying sandstone and transporting it to the royal sites.[8] The Khmer Rouge used the location as a final stronghold as their regime came to an end in 1979. Chup Preah is a stream flowing into the mountain’s valley. Ku Len Mountain has two waterfalls. The first is between four and five metres high and 20 to 25 metres wide. The second waterfall is 15 to 20 metres high and 10 to 15 metres wide. These sizes apply to the dry and rainy seasons. Preah Ang Thom houses a large statue of Buddha. It was built in the 16th century and is eight metres high. Preah Ang Thom is the sacred and worshipping god for Ku Len Mountain. There are also two large Cham Pa trees nearby. Besides Preah Ang Thom, Chhok Ruot, footprints of Preah Bat Choan Tuk, Peung Chhok, Peung Ey So and Peung Ey Sey, can also be seen. The Linga is along the river of Siem Reap and has a lot of figures of Yoni and Linga spreading out at the bottom of the river. The Terrace of Sdach Kum Ling has a small brick-built ruined temple in its centre. It was covered by lava for hundreds of years.

Kirrirom National Park

Kirirom National Park (Khmer: ឧទ្យានជាតិគិរីរម្យ - Outtyeancheat Kirirom) and officially recognized as Preah Suramarit-Kossamak Kirirom National Park (Khmer: ឧទ្យានជាតិព្រះសុរាម្រិត-កុសុមៈ គិរីរម្យ - Outtyeancheat Preah Suramarit-Kossamak Kirirom) is a national park in Cambodia. It is located mostly in Phnom Sruoch District, Kampong Speu Province, while a smaller section is in neighboring Koh Kong Province.[2]The meaning of "Kirirom" is "Happy Mountain". This name was given to the 

area by King Monivong in the 1930s. The ancient name of the place was Phnom Vorvong Sorvong for the main two hills there were connected with the Cambodian popular legend about two heroic princely brothers, Vorvong and Sorvong. Preah Soramrit Kosamak Kirirom National Park is on Kirirom Mountain, in Oamrei Phong village, Kirirom commune, Phnom Sruoch district, about 117 kilometers southwest of Phnom Penh. The mountain is 700 meters high. A natural site, it once was Preah Kosamak town. This well conserved park, abundant in fresh air, has waterfalls and is full of tall pine trees and orchid flowers. There are not many types of larger wildlife in evidence on Kirirom, but it is an ideal spot to glimpse some of the country's unique bird life and birdwatchers even come from overseas to visit. The national park is more interesting during or just after the rainy season, not that many fires on the ground and waterfalls having well water.

Bokor Mountain

Bokor Hill Station (in Khmer: កស្ថានីយភ្នំបូកគោ Kosthany Phnom Bokor) refers to a collection of French colonial buildings (hotel & casino, church, royal residence etc. ), constructed as a temperate mountain luxury resort and retreat for colonial residents in the early 1920s atop Bokor Mountain in Preah Monivong National Park, about 37 km (23 mi) west of Kampot in southern Cambodia. Abandoned for long periods of time, modern infrastructure has made the location easily accessible as re-development is taking place. It was used as the location for the final showdown of the movie City of Ghosts (2002) and the 2004 film R-Point.[1] To the north-east are the Povokvil Waterfalls. The Damrei Mountains have long been considered sacred and venerated by the Cambodians. The hill
station was built as a resort by colonial French settlers to offer an escape from the heat, humidity and general insalubrity of Phnom Penh.[2] Nine hundred lives were lost in nine months during the construction of the resort in this remote mountain location.[3] The centrepiece of the resort was the grand Bokor Palace Hotel (which has never been a casino) inaugurated in 1925. It has been complemented by the villa of the "Résident Supérieur", a post office (now demolished), a catholic church. It is also an important cultural site, showing how the colonial settlers spent their free time. Bokor Hill was abandoned first by the French in late 1940s, during the First Indochina War, because of local insurrections guided by the Khmer Issarak. It was only in 1962, for the reopening of the "Cité du Bokor", that a casino was established in the new hotels near the lake, (Hotels Sangkum and Kiri). Some buildings were added at this time: an annex for the palace, the mayor's office and a strange mushroomed concrete parasol. The Bokor mountain is abandoned again in 1972, as Khmer Rouge took over the area. During the Vietnamese invasion in 1979, Khmer Rouge entrenched themselves and held on tightly for months. In the early 1990s Bokor Hill was still one of the last strongholds of Khmer Rouge.[4]

Beach

Sihanoukville (Khmer: ក្រុងព្រះសីហនុ, Krong Preah Sihanouk), also known as "Kampong Som" (Khmer: កំពង់សោម), is a coastal city in Cambodia and the capital city of Sihanoukville Province, at the tip of an elevated peninsula in the country's south-west on the Gulf of Thailand. The city is flanked by an almost uninterrupted string of beaches along its entire coastline and coastal marshlands bordering the Ream National Park in the east. The city has one navigatable river, the mangrove lined Ou Trojak Jet running from Otres pagoda to the sea at Otres. A number of thinly inhabited islands – under Sihanoukville's administration[1] – are near the city, where in recent years moderate development has helped to attract a sizable portion of Asia's individual travelers, young students and back-packers. The city, which was named in honour of former king Norodom Sihanouk, had a population of around 89,800 people and approximately 66,700 in its urban center in 2008.[2] Sihanoukville city encompasses the greater part of six communes (Sangkats) of Preah Sihanoukville Province. A relatively young city, it has evolved parallel to the construction of the Sihanoukville

Autonomous Port, which commenced in June 1955, as the country's gateway to direct and unrestricted international sea trade. The only deep water port in Cambodia includes a mineral oil terminal and a transport logistics facility.[3] As a consequence, the city grew to become a leading national center of trade, commerce, transport and process manufacturing.[4][5][6] Sihanoukville's many beaches and nearby islands make it Cambodia's premier seaside resort with steadily rising numbers of national visitors and international tourists since the late 20th century.[7] As a result of its economic diversity, the region's natural environment, and the recreational potential, an increasing number of seasonal and permanent foreign residents make Sihanoukville one of the most culturally varied and dynamic population centers in Cambodia.[citation needed] As of 2014 the tourism sector remains insignificant in comparison with neighboring Thailand. Sihanoukville's future will largely be defined by the authorities' capability of a successfully balanced management in order to protect and conserve natural resources on the one hand and the necessities of urban and insular development, increasing visitor numbers, expanding infrastructure, the industrial sector and population growth on the other.[8][9][10]