*Travel Tips>>>General - Asia Pacific Travel Tips

What are cambodia's natural sites?

Travel Info
the famous, where it located.

Travel Tips

The indigenous peoples of the Tampuen tribe in northeastern A 10,800-hectare area (42 square miles) around Angkor temples was declared a national park in 1925, the first in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia鈥檚 stunning diversity
For lovers of nature, a fascinating range of diversity awaits:
The giant Tonle Sap lake region is probably one of the better known areas, if only because of its proximity to the temples of Angkor. Most people who visit Angkor, however, may only take a two-hour 鈥渢ourist鈥?boat trip to the floating villages along the lakeshore, thereby missing the chance to appreciate what is perhaps one of the most unusual and diverse ecosystems in the world. Where else can you find a river that reverses its direction twice a year, causing a lake to quadruple in size between the dry and wet season? This amazing phenomenon is caused by the pressure of the mighty Mekong, the 鈥渕other of Southeast Asia鈥? which meets the Tonle Sap river at Phnom Penh, and during the rainy season reaches such a force that it flows back up the Tonle Sap and floods the lake.

The result is a landscape that varies significantly on a monthly (sometimes weekly) basis 鈥?and when the river starts flowing downhill again, the flooded forest around the water鈥檚 edge becomes a haven for rare fishing birds 鈥?ibis, pelican and storks 鈥?attracted by the fish spawning in the roots of the trees. Designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in October 1997, this unique and fascinating area is preserved by working in harmony with the people who live there, linking conservation, eco-tourism and environmental education.

By way of contrast, the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains ranges, stretching along the west coast, are densely forested and sparsely inhabited, one of the last forest wilderness areas in mainland Southeast Asia. Isolated by their remoteness and rugged terrain, and forgotten during years of conflict in Cambodia, the Cardamoms have at their core a virtually undisturbed forest covering over 10,000 square kilometers (3,900 square miles). Conservation study teams have found the forest ecosystem to be virtually intact, with animals and plants potentially new to science, and relatively high densities of globally threatened species such as gaur, pileated gibbon and tiger, and the critically endangered Siamese crocodile. As a result of tireless work to increase local eco-awareness, many local people 鈥?previously hunters 鈥?are now working as rangers, supported by local conservation organizations, and helping to protect these precious resources.

And not all of Cambodia鈥檚 large mammals live on land. Around 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, near the small town of Kratie, can be found the home of the rare Irrawaddy freshwater dolphin 鈥?an oceanic creature that can live in freshwater and is among the world's most endangered mammals. These small, snub-nosed dolphins were once plentiful, but now possibly only 100 remain. Although Cambodian fishermen have long respected, even worshipped, the dolphins, the Khmer Rouge regime took its toll 鈥?animals were killed to make lamp oil and for meat.

Since 1997, an active educational campaign, supplemented by the opening of an educational centre in Kratie in 2001, has seen the dolphins鈥?numbers grow again. Since the opening of a dolphin 鈥渧iewing park鈥?north of the crumbling colonial town in 1999, it is possible to take a small wooden boat into the murky waters of the Mekong, where patience and silence will be rewarded by a few glimpses of these shy creatures as they surface to draw breath.

Where the elite escaped the heat

For a country so small, there is remarkable diversity in climate, too 鈥?close to the sea, you can find the Bokor National Park, site of a thousand-meter plateau (3,300 feet) that during the time of the French colonial rule was a luxury holiday resort. Today, all that remains are the crumbling ruins of an elite life 鈥?an abandoned hotel and casino, the shell of a Catholic church, the former holiday home of the King of Cambodia 鈥?often surrounded by a swirling mist that rolls in from the sea and envelops everything in a surreal, Wuthering Heights-esque atmosphere.

The climate during the ascent changes noticeably, and as you travel on the (very) bumpy road up, or take a slow trek down, this is witnessed in the change of tree and plant life: banana trees at the bottom, gorse bushes at the top. Over 200 species of bird have been recorded in the park, including globally threatened species, such as the green peafowl, chestnut headed partridge, rufous winged buzzard and the grey headed fish eagle. It is also one of the few places where the Great Hornbill still thrives, and the only location in Cambodia where the blue eared kingfisher and crow billed drongo have been recorded.

For the Cambodian people, however, their beautiful country is more than just terrain; it is a central part of their way of life. The landscapes of Cambodia have provided the Cambodian people with a wealth of natural resources for many centuries 鈥?by way of illustration, of the 2,300 species of plant described in Cambodia, approximately 40 percent have a traditional use, primarily as food and medicine. These resources remain of fundamental importance to the subsistence of Cambodia鈥檚 predominantly rural population.

To ensure that these natural splendors remain for the benefit of future generations, but continue to sustain the people for whom self-sufficiency is the only possible way of life, requires a harmonious partnership among local people, government bodies, conservation organizations and commercial operations, such as travel companies. Local ways of life have remained for generations; the real threat is the businessmen 鈥?the logging companies, the luxury resort owners. The popular adage 鈥渢ake nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints鈥?is never truer than in a place that is poised on the brink of discovery by the consumerist world.

As Buddha said, "The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its live activity; it offers protection to all beings and shade even to those who destroy it."

Let us strive never to forget that and always to be in awe of the fragile beauty that is nature. Source(s): http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/archi...
Other Travel Tips

In Phnom Penh:
Silver Pagoda, Independence Monument, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Royal Palace, Central Market (it's in an art deco building) and Phnom Chisor Temple.

Sorry I can't help you with any other parts or cities in the country but I've included a link to the Cambodia Department of Tourism.
http://www.tourismcambodia.com/attractio...
You can get the information that you want and lots more at
http://www.travelinfocentre.com/destinat...