Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains and its endangered flora and fauna may well be under threat from illegal logging and poaching, but the vast blanket of tropical rainforest remains one of Southeast Asia’s most pristine expanses of wilderness.
Thanks to recent improvements to access and the development of community-led projects, visiting the area is getting easier.
Spanning more than 4.4 million hectares of rainforest in southwestern Cambodia, the Cardamom Mountains remains Southeast Asia’s largest remaining rainforest. Inhabited by a swathe of endangered wildlife, the expansive woodland is also home to about 25,000 people, many of whom are ethnic minorities.
As with the rest of Cambodia, the area comes with a bitter recent history and was not so long ago one of the last strongholds for Khmer Rouge soldiers.
After the fall of the Pol Pot-led regime in 1979, many of the soldiers fled to the forest, continuing to fight their battle with the few pockets of locals living there.
The mid-1990s brought with it peace, with the final Khmer Rouge fighters giving up their battle in 1994.
However, many remained living in the remote jungle for several years.
With peace restored, this paved the way for the start of rampant logging and poaching – issues that continue to threaten the future of the forest today.
Despite this, the Cardamoms remain home to a vast array of rare animals and tropical flora.
And thanks to the recent upgrade of roads and more community-based tourism projects cropping up, the tourist stream is starting to slowly trickle into the remote area.
It’s all about nature
While much of the dense forest remains off limits to tourists – or humans in general – there are plenty of pockets to explore that showcase the area’s biodiversity in all its glory.
Its rugged landscape, which takes in mountains, marshes, plains and gushing rivers, make it the perfect stomping ground for the vast collection of rare and endangered species that call it home.
These include elephants, tigers – although spotting one is highly unlikely – sun bears, Siamese crocodiles, gibbons and clouded leopards.
If you want to get up close and personal with some of these incredible animals, then nature organisation Wildlife Alliance (WA) offers a special experience.
Working in the Cardamoms, as well as across the country, to preserve and conserve Cambodia’s wildlife, WA rescues animals from the clutches of poachers and traffickers, and rehabilitates them at Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre, outside Phnom Penh.
Once ready to return to their natural habitat, WA sends them to its wildlife release stations in the heart of the Cardamoms and guests are invited to join rangers on their mission.
Sun bears, gibbons and clouded leopards are regular guests.