For the ride, for the scenery, for the cool mountain air, for the adventure, for relaxation (and now for gambling). All good reasons to travel the the top of Bokor Mountain. And now, there’s a world class resort and casino with 2 restaurants, a luxury hotel, dorm rooms, and tent camping on a lake.
Bokor Hill Station
A 32 kilometre road takes you up 1,101 meters up from road 3 near Kampot. At the top is the Bokor Mountain Hill Station, in Bokor National Park. Originally a small resort town, and one of the King’s residences, it is now a tourist destination and National Park. Except for the many tourists and Park personnel, and a few hundred construction workers, hotel staff, monks, farmers (hydroponic) and a few private residences, that is. Most famous for the abandoned Casino (now a luxury hotel) at the top of the mountain, there is also an abandoned church, buildings for the former King, a big hydroponics greenhouse farm, a waterfall, Buddhist Wat, and either a view of fog or a view of Southern Cambodia’s Islands and Vietnam’s island Phu Quoc.
There are stories of wild animals on the mountain, including lions and tigers and bears, and elephants, but if you actually see them, please let us know. You might see some giant birds or parrots, squirrels, wild monkeys, (not so wild now, as people feed them bananas on the road), and some of the smaller large cats.
Getting up to Bokor National Park
From Kampot, take route 3 about 8 kilometres towards Sihanoukville. (not route 3 towards Phnom Penh). On the right side, you will see a large plaque welcoming you to Bokor National Park. You can’t miss it. Just up the road is the Bokor ranger station. There is no fee to go up the mountain.
You can take a motorcycle or car up to the top. If you don’t have your own bike, big dirt bikes can be rented in Kampot for less than $12/day and 100cc automatic motos for $4 – $5. Some people ride bicycles up. (We think it would be better to put a bicycle in another vehicle on the way up, and then ride DOWN the mountain.) Gas is $1 a litre, which gets you up to 1 hour per litre on a 100cc motorcycle. You can turn your engine off on some motorcycles and coast down the mountain. The drive up is now smooth and quite nice. You may want to bring some warm clothes (and a raincoat) as the temperatures, especially at night are much cooler, and there is often fog or rain at the top. It’s about a 40 minute drive to the top from the route 3 entrance. There’s now a gas station, coffee shop and mini-mart at the top entrance to Bokor.
You can also get a ride in a car or van for a day trip, including lunch for $10 to $25. Most tours leave from downtown Kampot. Some, they’ll pick you up at your hotel. You’ll find tour signs everywhere in town. Many include the “firefly boat tour” in the evening on The Kampot River.
Walking up the mountain is not really an option. However, there are walking trails on top from a couple hours walk to a full day.
There are some sights to see on the way up, and at the top, such as the waterfalls, the Bokor Hydroponics Farm, and the old King’s “staff” accommodations, and the old Church, so you might want to take a few rest breaks along the way. (and stop at the “Lookout Points” as you get higher and higher). You should also bring something to eat and drink, which is really helpful if your vehicle breaks down or you just want to take your time on the road. Raincoats and warm clothes are really helpful too.
Most people stay in hotels in Kampot, Cambodia, and take the day tour up the mountain. That’s changing a bit now, with the new Resort at the top. Though rooms start at $70 or so, up to $3,000. (now, there are $5 dorm rooms as well.) You can also take the trip from Kep, Cambodia, but it’s about 90 minutes more travel time, round trip. Most tourist rent an automatic motorcycle and zip up the Mountain.
Before you go up the mountain, check out the Activities and Hotel pages for more info.