Rattanakiri Trekking

Rattanakiri Trekking

Day 1: Phnom Penh - Ratanakiri
Transfer by car to Banlung (8 hour drive). On arrival at Banlung check in at hotel. Rest of the day is free at leisure. Ovenight at Terres Rouges Lodge.

Day 2: Banlung Trekking
Banlung, capital of Ratanakiri, nicknamed "the Red City" because of the omnipresent red soil. We leave by jeep on a bumpy road to the village of Taveng, crossing the volcanic rocks of Veyrum Pleng: a lava field in the forest with a small waterfall nearby (only in the wet season though) and what locals call tiger caves. As we go north to Taveng, we cross different types of landscapes; primary forest, clear forest, and bush. We 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 stilts, 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. Dinner & night at Terres Rouges Lodge.

Day 3: The Jarai territory
Breakfast at the hotel. This will be a long and dusty (or muddy) day, since we leave far eastward, towards the Vietnamese border. We first stop in some Tampoun villages in order to observe the tribal customs as well as to tempt to bargain some traditional handicrafts as baskets, pipes, gourds, machetes... We cross rubber trees, cashew nut or coffee plantations before we stop at the village of Bokeo where we have some refreshment. We then go back up towards Andong Meas (the gold well) to reach the superb Se San river and to have a ride in a local Dugout to discover some Jarai villages.
Back to the Lodge for dinner.

Day 4: Excursion to the waterfalls & the volcanic lake
Breakfast at the hotel. Trip to the surrounding waterfalls and the excursion to the volcanic lake "Yak Laom". Enjoy your swim at the lake. Rest of the day is free at leisure. Dinner and Overnight at the Lodge

Day 5: Ratanakiri - Phnom Penh
Transfer back to Phnom Penh (8 hour drive). End of services.