Koh Kong
Cambodia’s southwestern province is a fast-developing ecotourism hub sandwiched between the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Thailand and the rolling, jungle-covered mountains of the Cardamom range.
Remote, mountainous, and densely forested, with an undeveloped coastline lapped by the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Kong is the poster child for everything that’s special about Cambodia’s rugged and unspoiled wilderness.
Spanning a huge swathe of the Cardamom Mountains and one of the largest and most biodiverse tracts of tropical rainforest left in Southeast Asia, Koh Kong feels wild, isolated, and more than a little bit mysterious. Its forests are so dense that they’re largely impenetrable — concealing 40,000-year-old cave paintings, burial jars belonging to unknown cultures, and at least 62 endangered animal species (not to mention countless more that have yet to be cataloged).
To visit Koh Kong is to journey into a world where humans have yet to leave their mark — though it’s a world that’s threatened daily. Among those leading the fight to protect the forests are some incredible ecotourism initiatives, which work with local communities to raise awareness of deforestation and provide alternative, sustainable income sources for loggers and poachers. With their luxury floating lodges and safari-style tent camps hidden deep in the jungle, these projects offer a peaceful, beautiful, and frankly rather magical experience of the Cambodian wilderness, and we can’t recommend them enough.
