Lake and rivers visitor route

Six stops from the Mekong through Kampong Cham to the Tonle Sap, then along its western shore through Kampong Chhnang and Pursat to Battambang. Travel to Cambodia has the practical side of a visit.

Start at stop 1: MekongFollow in the Explorer

Illustration, as an impression, of a broad river at dusk.

1. 1

   Mekong

   The great river of mainland Southeast Asia, with about 480 kilometers of its course in Cambodia, from the Laos border to Vietnam.

2. 2

   Kampong Cham

   A province on the Mekong lowlands whose floods renew the plain with silt each rainy season; areas of red soil suit rubber and pepper.

3. 3

   Tonle Sap

   For part of each year the river runs backward from the Mekong into the lake, which swells to become the largest in Southeast Asia.

4. 4

   Kampong Chhnang

   A province in the Tonle Sap region known for its pottery; a report summarized by Open Development Cambodia gives the meaning of its name as "Port of Pottery".

5. 5

   Pursat

   A province on the Tonle Sap known for its marble carving and for the shrine of Khleang Moeung, one of Cambodia's best-known guardian spirits.

6. 6

   Battambang

   Many Khmer people link the city's name to the legend of Lok Ta Dambang Kranhoung, whose lost stick gave the place its name by the tale.

End of the trail

The six stops follow one body of water, the Mekong and the lake it fills each flood season, through provinces known for rubber and pepper, pottery and marble.

Follow in the ExplorerStart again at stop 1: Mekong

Other trails through these places

• Capital to Angkor visitor route Place trail · 6 stops · shares 2
• Angkor visitor route Place trail · 10 stops · shares 1