OVER LAND TO HIDDEN MOUNTAIN

Depart Phnom Penh to Kompong Cham. Drive to Chhup, the biggest rubber plantation in the country, established during the French colonial time by the French tire maker Michelin. Continue to Snuol where you will have lunch at local restaurant.

Drive to Sen Monorom, the province capital of the Mondolkiri province with scenery and a climate quite unlike anywhere else in the country. Arrival in Sen Monorom in the late afternoon. Check in at guesthouse. Sen Monorom will be the base from which to explore the surroundings hill tribe villages and the waterfalls. Dinner at guesthouse or local restaurant and overnight at guesthouse.

Breakfast at local restaurant. Early morning, visit the local market where many of the Phnong people from the nearby villages are coming to trade with their distinctive baskets they carry on their back. Full day visit to the nearby hill tribes villages and the pretty waterfalls just a few km away from the sleepy capital. There are hundreds of minority villages around Sen Monorom. One of the largest and easiest to access being Phlung village inhabited by Phnong chunchiets. The curious huts have woven wooden walls and thatched roofs almost to the floor. Three or more families often live in just one hut. You will be lucky to see more than a handful of people during daytime, as they are all out working in the fields. Lunch box will be provided Elephant trekking with the experienced Phnong mahouts to explore the jungle. Dinner at guesthouse or local restaurant and overnight at guesthouse.

Breakfast at local restaurant. Drive to Bou Sra about 40 km northeast from Sen Monorom. This double drop waterfall is one of the largest and most impressive in Cambodia. Discover the Phnong village of the same name. On the way back see numbers of hill tribe villages and the scenery countryside. Lunch box will be provided.            Dinner at guesthouseor local restaurant and overnight at guesthouse.

Breakfast at local restaurant. Leave this isolated forested province and drive to Kratie via Snuol. Arrive in Kratie at lunch time.  Lunch at local restaurant.

In the afternoon, explore the small provincial town of Kratie with its good examples of sumptuous colonial architecture. This tiny town on the Mekong is an unexpected delight, with a relaxing, indolent atmosphere. North of Kratie, visit Wat Phnom Sambok to see the Buddhist monasteries and to enjoy the magnificent views of the surrounding countryside from the hilltop. Further north along picturesque countryside roads stop at the best riverside vantage point from which to view the rare freshwater Irrawady dolphins which can be best seen late afternoon until sunset. Then, drive back to Kratie. Dinner at local restaurant and overnight hotel.

Breakfast.In the morning depart to Steung Treng. Stop along the road at Sambor district (45 km from Kratie) to visit the "Hundred Pillar" pagoda of Wat Trasor Muoy Roy and visit also Wat Vihear Kork. Lunch at local restaurant in Steung Treng.

Continue your scenic drive to Banlung, capital of Ratanakiri, nicknamed "The Red City" because of the omnipresent laterite and check in at Terres Rouges Lodge (superb house made of precious wood located by a lake and in the middle of one acre of garden). Arrive and check-in at Terres Rouges Lodge. Dinner and overnight at  Lodge.

Breakfast at the lodge. In the morning, depart direction northwest and cross bamboo forests before reaching the village of Voeune Sai located on the left bank of the Sea- San River. Enjoy the stunning view of the Chinese village on the other side of the river. This place could be regarded as Chinese enclave in Cambodian territory as most of the villagers who are in their thirties now don't even speak Khmer. Upstream of the Se San are a certain number of Tampoun villages that practice funeral statuary. If weather conditions permit, take a scenic boat trip to the village of Ka Choan and visit its superb totems. Alternatively this marvelous place can be reached by jeep. Dinner and overnight at Lodge.

Breakfast at the lodge. Travel north today cross the curious extent of volcanic rocks of Veyrum Plang: a lava field in the forest with a small waterfall nearby (only in the wet season though) and what locals call tiger caves. Continuing to Taveng, cross different types of landscapes: primary forest, clear forest, bamboo forest and "African" bush. Stop at a few nice Kroeung villages located quite far away in the forest. The Kroeung people have the particularity of erecting bachelor houses standing on very long bamboo poles, these houses will remain so till the young man finds a wife, then, they are destroyed. The right time to see them is usually from February to August. Lunch at a small waterfall lost in the forest and then further visits of villages. Dinner and overnight  Lodge.

Breakfast at the lodge. This will be a long day, since we go far east, next to the Vietnamese border. First, we stop in some villages, in order to watch the tribal customs, and also to try buying some traditional handicraft. We drive through rubber and cashew nut plantations, then we stop at the village of Bokeo for a drink. We continue north towards Andong Meas (the Gold Well) to catch the beautiful Se San river and take a boat ride to discover Jarai villages and their funeral statues.

After a one-and-a-half-hour boat ride in the heart of an amazing nature resembling the Amazon forest, we visit an abandoned Jarai village which has a cemetery full of outstanding works of art. Statues doomed for destruction by the jungle stand by the dead in their last journey. Dinner and overnight at  Lodge.

Breakfast at the lodge.Early shopping in the Banlung market. A short drive will bring you to the volcanic lake of Yeak Laom, a picturesque place surrounded by pristine rainforest. Enjoy swimming in or strolling around the lake before transfer to the airport. Flight Banlung - Phnom Penh. Arrive in Phnom Penh and transfer to hotel.

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