Trekking in Ratanakiri
Most adventurers visit the province for trekking in Ratanakiri in the stunning Virachey National Park north of the province’s capital Banlung, which is one of the largest protected parks in Southeast Asia. Compared to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, which both have enormous tourist attractions, Ratanakiri is far more rural and sees significantly fewer visitors.
About the Virachey National Park
The Ministry of Environment formed Virachey National Park in 2004 and it’s one of two ASEAN Heritage Parks in the world. Virachey National Park, one of seven national parks in Cambodia, has the greatest area at 3.325 square kilometers. It houses a large variety of Cambodia’s still-existing fauna and wilderness such as elephants, clouded leopards, sun bears, pangolins, tigers, gibbons, giant ibis and many more. The park offers multiday guided trekking programs that include nighttime outdoor camping.
Trekking in Virachey National Park
There are many trekking options into the park available ranging from 1 day to 7 days and more from different travel agencies. Depending on what you want to experience and see you need to plan certain days. Trekking to the popular Phnom Veal Thom Grassland for instance takes you around 2 days to reach. Besides just trekking, there are many activities in the park like bamboo rafting on a river, swimming at waterfalls, wildlife viewing, learning about the flora and fauna from the guides or eating indigenous dishes that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.
Please note that you can’t enter the park by yourself. You need to book a tour with an agency and be accompanied by a park ranger and guide.
Other Trekking Options
If you don’t have the time for a lengthy trek into the national park or want to save money, you can book a day tour through the buffer zone between the Tonle San River and the park to one of the waterfalls and indigenous and Laos people villages.