Kampot

Laid-back Kampot fuses the bucolic character of backcountry Cambodia with a well-rounded offering of riverside hotels and hostels for travellers, complete with the promise of some of the country’s most charming French colonial edifices, great access to the slopes of jungle-clad Bokor Mountain, and bustling Southeast Asian marketplaces crammed to the brim with regional black pepper and pungent durian fruit.

Kampot tour guides often first look to the northwest, where the misty ridges of the Preah Monivong (or the Bokor) National Park converge with the dense Cambodian jungle. Here, it is possible to spot gibbons, wild elephant herds, and occasionally even tigers, while the dilapidated French Hill Station offers glimpses into the region’s human past. Still on the outer peripheries lie the salt fields and pepper farms, along with fishing villages spouting fresh produce, all combined to cook up fantastic local fare. Closer to the town itself, visitors can seek out laid-back local beer bars abutting the ubiquitous petanque courts, a collection of kaleidoscopically colourful Buddhist stupas, a host of curious avant-garde statues and the fascinating cave temple of Phnom Chhngok.