Day 1 : Phnom Penh – Kompong Cham - Kratie

Soon after sunrise, we drive towards the province of Ratanakiri, a genuine preserved area, with its wild lush vegetation. So, we make for the North-East of the country, near Lao and Vietnam.

You have lunch at a roadside restaurant

At Kompong Cham, you take the pretty little road that runs along the River Mekong. You stop at a few villages and farms.Arriving at Kratie in the afternoon, you settle down at the hotel near the banks of the River Mekong.

In the late afternoon you go to Kampi (25 kilometres away) to admire the sunset and the last fresh water dolphins living in the River Mekong. A colony of over 60 animals are still dwelling in that place. To go near them, you’ll sail on a small fishing boat, on the watch for any water movement which might foretell that this exceptional animal is coming up.

You have dinner in the town.You spend the night at Kratie, either at the Santephaep hotel or a similar one.

Day 2 : Kratie - Banlung - Ratanakiri

Just after breakfast, you visit the isle of Koh opposite Kratie on the River Mekong. You’ll enjoy that early morning walk, under the shade of the trees, relishing the very resting atmosphere of this splendid little island.
Here, the inhabitants seem to lead a very happy life on their island. They are specialized in growing excellent fruit, locally called “Kroye Plong”, which are very famous all over Cambodia. Of course, there are also rice-fields in that area.

You take a good road, lately drawn and asphalted by the Chinese to promote the trade links between China and Cambodia via Lao. You follow that way as far as Stoeng Treng then you have to be content with a sand track for covering in three hours the 130 kilometres to Banlung, the chief town of that province. The quality of the track varies according to the season, but anyway, it is better not to be prone to back aches.

You have a cold lunch outdoors on the track side.You reach Banlung in the late afternoon and put up at a superb charming hotel “The red lands Lodge”, on the bank of a little lake. After a short rest, you walk about the town little market in all directions, which gives you an unforgettable immersion in the local daily life !

You have dinner in the town.

The night is spent at Banlung either at the red lands Lodge or a similar one.

Day 3 : First adventure day at Ratanakiri

In that Cambodia area you have better travel by four-wheel drive or pirogue or on foot (if you are fond of walking).

So you’ll start exploring that beautiful Ratanakiri province, in the company of a local guide too. A few kilometers from the town you’ll stop to discover the rubber-tree plantations that are plentiful in that area. After a short drive through the jungle, you arrive at a small landing stage. You board a pirogue and row up the river “Se San” as far as the odd cemetery of the Tampun ethnic community, far down in the jungle. You also enter Katchun, an animist village. The villagers are very warmly welcoming but extremely surprise to see foreigners coming to them.

Your river cruise goes on and takes you as far as a Chinese and Lao village that settled on the river bank during World War II.

You have a picnic lunch at Koh Sramouch.
On your way back, you stop at the foot of a beautiful waterfall right in the jungle.

You are back at your Banlung hotel in the late afternoon.

Dinner in the town.

Night in Banlung at the Red lands Lodge or a similar one.

Day 4 : Second adventure day at Ratanakiri

You start your second day in that province by visiting a village of the Kreung animist ethnic group. Its inhabitants make a living out of rice growing and gathering cashew nuts. All the houses are made of timber from the nearby woods.

At some distance from that place, you leave your vehicle and ride an elephant which takes you for about one hour’s forest and hilly trip.

Then you drive on to the East, towards the Vietnamese border and, all of a sudden, near a khmer village, you perceive stone-seekers. When unpolished, those rough stones are deep back. Then, having been intensely heated up, they become deep blue and you will find them at the jewellers’ under the name of zircon, a choice precious stone.

Then your four-wheel drive will take you through the jungle to the village of the Jarai ethnic group with its long houses where many families dwell.You travel on by pirogue again on the river Se San” to reach a Jarai cemetery different from the Tampoun’s.

You have a picnic lunch on a sandy uninhabited island on the river.

On your way back, you’ll land on the river bank to mix with the village dwellers of another local ethnic group.
You’ll retrieve your vehicle which will go a short way round to Boeng Yeak Lom a volcanic lake surrounding by mountains and lush vegetation. There, you’ll be able to have a swim.
Then you are driven back to the hotel at Banlung.

Dinner and night at the hotel, either at the Red lands Lodge or a similar place.

Day 5 OPTION 1 :
Journey back to Phnom Penh : Banlung – Stoeng Treng – Kratie – Phnom Penh

After your breakfast, you leave that province to reach Phnom Penh via Kompong Cham.
You have lunch on the road side. You arrive in the Cambodian capital later in the evening.

You have dinner and spend the night in Phnom Penh, which is not included in that programme. With an extra fee Coral-discover can also organize for you the next day transfer either to the airport or to the landing stage on the River Mekong for another journey to Vietnam.
(GET IN TOUCH WITH US FOR THAT OTHER PROGRAMME)

Day 5 OPTION 2 :

After breakfast you leave that province to reach Stoeng Treng, a border town situated on the River Mekong bank, in the North East of Cambodia.You have lunch at a Cambodian restaurant in the town. After lunch, you will have one hour’s drive to reach the border. Having gone through the passport and custom’s controls, you will travel on to Lao.

(GET IN TOUCH WITH US FOR THAT OTHER PROGRAMME)