Have you heard about Ramsar wetlands? I believe there are at other regions in the world, especially in India, but did you know that we also have such sites in Cambodia? There are 5 Ramsar wetlands sites in Cambodia (read more about the site here), each place is unique. There are two in Stung Sen in Great Lake, one at Koh Kong as biggest mangrove forest, one in Battambang in Great Lake and last one is in Stung Treng province along the Mekong river which I will show you in this post. - Koh Han Community Based Ecotourism destination. On the side note, I was lucky to visit 4 of them and I found the one in my recent trip the most amazing and unique. Check the photos in my post for view of the site. This is one of the attractions along the Mekong river in Stung Treng province (a list of what to see in Stung Treng is here) which I wrote earlier in Connect. Thanks to my work as a tourism specialists, all these trips were paid for and in the mean of Supporting Local Business/Communities.
Special features:
- The majority of islands in this area are 6 months visible, 6 months inaccessible. Too much water in rainy season especially August and September when many islands are under water/flooding (about 7m-10m above this ground, water up to the neck of the trees). January is the righteous time for this visit.
- Unique trees only grow in this areas, known locally as ដើមអញ្ចែង covered in banyan trees
- Fish with fresh and great taste
- White sands can be seen and played at many places around the community
Best season to visit:
- November - May, every year (the water is clear/transparent, the weather is colder, the Mekong river current is small)
How to go:
- Book a car from Phnom Penh to Stung Treng, then take another 30 km on national road and red road to get to the parking of Koh Han. After that, you need to hire a boat to go any island.
- Support local business by booking for the trip through management community there first before arrival to ensure you have the boat to bring you around. There are 9 boats available for rent, with a local boatman with boat experience.
- You can also book through other private company like Mekong Bird (private owned-resort) to do day trip but I wouldn’t recommend. They don’t use local service.
What you can do while on the island?
- Relaxing, chitchatting
- Camping, bon fire and lantern flying
- Birdwatching and bird photography
- Swimming and enjoy the river
- Kayaking (single or with groups of people)
- Walking along the underwater forest, enjoy unique trees
- Filming and great photograph shootings
- Sunrise/sunset views
- Maybe fishing??
Safety tips while on trip
- Always wear life jacket when going on boat (water current can be strong and weak at places in the Mekong river)
- Always go with the community boats - hire locals (he/she knows the way, acts as a guide, knows how to control the boat against the water current)
- Bring more drinking water
- Bring sunscreen
- Bring hat and insect repellent
- Bring blanket (just in case of colder weather at night)
- Since the island is underwater during rainy season, no venom creature on the island
- Bring camera for birds
- Bring as many pairs of swimsuit as possible, you will swim a lot!
- Good to bring a kid or go as a family but always watch your kids
- There is a mobile toilet for rent available
Please enjoy a series of photos below - all were taken from iPhone 7+, with some editing in Lightroom app. I just couldn’t help modelling myself in these photos. A link to see more of the photos are here: Stung Treng
Big tree covered by banyan trees
Kayaking
Camping and picnic
Underwater forest in dry season
Coffee and Picnic: I was discussing how we can support this community. The community leader was very active and supportive. She will send her members to join the cooking and coffee training arranged by us and also considering sending their boatmen for local guide training.
Crystal clear water, smooth sand just like the one at the sea but I enjoyed the river breeze than the sea one, no salty substance, fresh air and relaxing
Lantern flying at night
Public toilet
Me and the Unique tree - this tree grows only in this area, can survive both hot and rain, 6 months each. It doesn’t exist anywhere else. You have to come here to see the tree.
There are several trees like this on the island of Koh Takhoun and the tail of Koh Han. There are also several islands so you need to tell them you want to see the tail of Koh Han.
Me, the tree, known locally as Deum Anh Chheng អញ្ចែង
Crystal clear water
I hope you also like it.
da ging es um einen riesigen Wels
