Cambodia’s Natural Beauty

The indigenous peoples of the Tampuen tribe in northeastern Cambodia say that Yaklom Crater Lake is a gift from the spirits, and sitting in the fading light of day looking over its tranquil, crystal-clear water, it’s easy to see why. No one knows when or how this circular lake, surrounded by jungle, came into being, so perhaps the locals are right – either way, it is an exquisite and deeply spiritual place.

This part of Cambodia is about as far removed from the spectacular temples of Angkor Wat as you can get – a wild jungle territory with spectacular waterfalls, lava fields and rolling hills. The huge Virachey National Park, stretching up to the Laos and Vietnam borders, is still largely unexplored, and elephants, tigers and leopards are thought to roam within its isolated splendor. This was the setting for the jungle kingdom ruled by Marlon Brando in the film Apocalypse Now, and movie-grade atmosphere abounds – lazy brown rivers, steamy jungle, trailing creepers, and small tribes with their own unique customs and languages. 

It may surprise some to learn that Cambodia boasts no fewer than seven national parks and nine animal sanctuaries. However, protection of habitats is not new in Cambodia. Prior to 1957, about one third of the country had been subjected to the some form of inventory and classified into 173 forest reserves and six wildlife reserves. Many sites recently declared protected areas were well known to Cambodian society as places of recreation and nature conservation early in the century. A 10,800-hectare area (42 square miles) around Angkor temples was declared a national park in 1925, the first in Southeast Asia.

In 1993, King Norodom Sihanouk decreed a new National Protected Areas System, giving the Ministry of Environment authority to supervise, develop, and manage an area of more than 3 million hectares (11,600 square miles) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture. The System designated seven national parks, nine wildlife sanctuaries, three protected landscapes and three multiple-use management areas – fragile and critical habitats constituting a total of 19% of the country. From mangrove swamps and flooded forests, to jungle and deciduous woodland, a wide range of local flora and fauna can still be found.   

Cambodia’s stunning diversity 

For lovers of nature, a fascinating range of diversity awaits: 

The giant Tonle Sap lake region is probably one of the better known areas, if only because of its proximity to the temples of Angkor. Most people who visit Angkor, however, may only take a two-hour “tourist” boat trip to the floating villages along the lakeshore, thereby missing the chance to appreciate what is perhaps one of the most unusual and diverse ecosystems in the world.  Where else can you find a river that reverses its direction twice a year, causing a lake to quadruple in size between the dry and wet season?  This amazing phenomenon is caused by the pressure of the mighty Mekong, the “mother of Southeast Asia”, which meets the Tonle Sap river at Phnom Penh, and during the rainy season reaches such a force that it flows back up the Tonle Sap and floods the lake.   

The result is a landscape that varies significantly on a monthly (sometimes weekly) basis – and when the river starts flowing downhill again, the flooded forest around the water’s edge becomes a haven for rare fishing birds – ibis, pelican and storks – attracted by the fish spawning in the roots of the trees. Designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in October 1997, this unique and fascinating area is preserved by working in harmony with the people who live there, linking conservation, eco-tourism and environmental education. 

By way of contrast, the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains ranges, stretching along the west coast, are densely forested and sparsely inhabited, one of the last forest wilderness areas in mainland Southeast Asia. Isolated by their remoteness and rugged terrain, and forgotten during years of conflict in Cambodia, the Cardamoms have at their core a virtually undisturbed forest covering over 10,000 square kilometers (3,900 square miles). Conservation study teams have found the forest ecosystem to be virtually intact, with animals and plants potentially new to science, and relatively high densities of globally threatened species such as gaur, pileated gibbon and tiger, and the critically endangered Siamese crocodile. As a result of tireless work to increase local eco-awareness, many local people – previously hunters – are now working as rangers, supported by local conservation organizations, and helping to protect these precious resources.  

And not all of Cambodia’s large mammals live on land. Around 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, near the small town of Kratie, can be found the home of the rare Irrawaddy freshwater dolphin – an oceanic creature that can live in freshwater and is among the world's most endangered mammals. These small, snub-nosed dolphins were once plentiful, but now possibly only 100 remain.  Although Cambodian fishermen have long respected, even worshipped, the dolphins, the Khmer Rouge regime took its toll – animals were killed to make lamp oil and for meat.   

Since 1997, an active educational campaign, supplemented by the opening of an educational centre in Kratie in 2001, has seen the dolphins’ numbers grow again. Since the opening of a dolphin “viewing park” north of the crumbling colonial town in 1999, it is possible to take a small wooden boat into the murky waters of the Mekong, where patience and silence will be rewarded by a few glimpses of these shy creatures as they surface to draw breath. 

Where the elite escaped the heat 

For a country so small, there is remarkable diversity in climate, too – close to the sea, you can find the Bokor National Park, site of a thousand-meter plateau (3,300 feet) that during the time of the French colonial rule was a luxury holiday resort. Today, all that remains are the crumbling ruins of an elite life – an abandoned hotel and casino, the shell of a Catholic church, the former holiday home of the King of Cambodia – often surrounded by a swirling mist that rolls in from the sea and envelops everything in a surreal, Wuthering Heights-esque atmosphere.   

The climate during the ascent changes noticeably, and as you travel on the (very) bumpy road up, or take a slow trek down, this is witnessed in the change of tree and plant life: banana trees at the bottom, gorse bushes at the top. Over 200 species of bird have been recorded in the park, including globally threatened species, such as the green peafowl, chestnut headed partridge, rufous winged buzzard and the grey headed fish eagle. It is also one of the few places where the Great Hornbill still thrives, and the only location in Cambodia where the blue eared kingfisher and crow billed drongo have been recorded.  

For the Cambodian people, however, their beautiful country is more than just terrain; it is a central part of their way of life. The landscapes of Cambodia have provided the Cambodian people with a wealth of natural resources for many centuries – by way of illustration, of the 2,300 species of plant described in Cambodia, approximately 40 percent have a traditional use, primarily as food and medicine. These resources remain of fundamental importance to the subsistence of Cambodia’s predominantly rural population.   

To ensure that these natural splendors remain for the benefit of future generations, but continue to sustain the people for whom self-sufficiency is the only possible way of life, requires a harmonious partnership among local people, government bodies, conservation organizations and commercial operations, such as travel companies. Local ways of life have remained for generations; the real threat is the businessmen – the logging companies, the luxury resort owners. The popular adage “take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints” is never truer than in a place that is poised on the brink of discovery by the consumerist world. 

As Buddha said, "The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its live activity; it offers protection to all beings and shade even to those who destroy it."  

Let us strive never to forget that and always to be in awe of the fragile beauty that is nature.