Top 7 things to do in Kampot

Kampot is one of Cambodia’s most alluring destinations. Travelers love this quiet river town that stretches along the Prek Teuk Chhou River and has a beautiful collection of Chinese and colonial merchant houses. A stay in Kampot will take you to a fascinating countryside of rice fields, salt marshes and pepper plantations. It will also be an opportunity to go to the Bokor Plateau and discover all the little treasures that this endearing city has to offer.

Visit a pepper plantation

A stay in Kampot is unthinkable without visiting a pepper plantation. Kampot pepper is one of the best peppers in the world! Like the great wines, Kampot pepper owes its particular flavor to its terroir. It is grown ecologically in the South of Cambodia, where small farmers produce it. White pepper has a subtle aroma and its notes of citrus and eucalypts seduce great chefs and amateurs. Black Kampot pepper releases fruity and menthol notes. Green pepper is to be consumed on-site, harvested before maturity, and still tender, it is less spicy than black but has an extraordinary aroma. By visiting a pepper plantation, you will discover the entire transformation process of this Cambodian agricultural product which was the first to have benefited from a PGI.

Discover Preah Monivong National Park

Preah Monivong National Park is located West of Kampot and is the opportunity for a great excursion. It is situated on a plateau that rises to 1000 m above sea level, overlooking the Kampot plain and the offshore islands. Also called Bokor National Park, it is one of the largest protected areas in the country populated by a large number of birds and mammals, including elephants and tigers. During the colonial era, the French built a health resort in the 1960s, of which the Bokor Palace Hotel and its casino were the emblem. Abandoned for decades, the building is now a luxury hotel of questionable taste, but the view of the Gulf of Thailand and the islands is breathtaking. You can see the remains of the French presence including a church, the old town hall and some old colonial residences. Some hiking trails to appreciate the beautiful lush nature and to discover the Popokvil Falls, a two-level waterfall where you can swim.

See the salt marshes

Just outside Kampot, on the road to the quiet seaside resort of Kep, there are hugeexpanses of salt marshes. Go and discover them from December to April, during the dry season, when dozens of salt workers fill plots of land with seawater, and then let the water evaporate to recover the salt crystals. The salt collected will then be stored with yokes in the long wooden buildings. It's a wonderful spectacle to see on these gigantic mirrors that carpet the beautiful countryside of Kampot.

Phnom Chhnork Temple

Phnom Chhnork is a Hindu troglodyte temple located on a hill about 8 km northeast of Kampot in a beautiful corner of the countryside, in the heart of a patchwork of rice fields. Stairs lead you to a magnificent cave evoking a mineral cathedral. The cave houses a small temple dedicated to Shiva built in the 7th century, during the Funan period. Many stalactites have formed around the small brick building, one of which resembles an elephant. Go there at the end of the day to enjoy the beautiful light and to observe the bats leaving the cave.

Teuk Chhou Rapids

A popular destination for Cambodian families, especially on weekends, who like to come here for picnics and swimming. The rapids run over the rocky bed of the Teuk Chhou River in a lush natural setting. A pleasant place to relax and taste some Cambodian snacks offered by street vendors.

Take a bike ride to Trey Koh Island

Discover the magnetic Kampot countryside by bike, covered with a superb mosaic of rice fields bristling with sugar palms and dotted with small villages. Trey Koh Island, located just south of Kampot, is a very pleasant excursion destination to get lost in this countryside. The island is a true concentration of Cambodian rurality with its houses on stilts, rice fields, salt marshes, pagodas and mosques frequented by the Cham community.

Prek Teuk Chhou River walks

By kayak or paddle, discover the Prek Teuk Chhou River that crosses the city of Kampot. But above all, don't miss a cruise at sunset. You go up the narrow meanders of the river while watching the fishermen heading out to sea. The journey through a tangle of vegetation where wooden houses on stilts nestle also allows you to see the massive silhouette of Elephant Mountain, which houses the old Bokor colonial-era climatic station.

Best season to go to Kampot

During the dry season from November to May.

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