The Best of Cambodia - Birds, Mammals & Temples

The Kingdom of Cambodia sits on the tropical peninsula of Indochina and borders Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. This fascinating country offers an enticing blend of a long and rich history, a culture full of mystique and intrigue, and a wonderful diversity of birds, mammals and other wildlife. In search of the latter, we will explore forest-clad temples, vast lakes, open grasslands, dipterocarp woodland, verdant tropical rainforests and the mighty Mekong River, on a tour which truly seeks to combine Cambodia’s remarkable wildlife with its rich heritage, history and architecture.

Our holiday begins with a flight into Siem Reap, a resort town in north-western Cambodia and the gateway to the ruins of Angkor, the seat of the Khmer kingdom between the 9th and 15th centuries. Angkor’s vast complex of intricate stone buildings includes the world-famous Angkor Wat, the magnificent main temple. During a 4-night stay here we will visit Angkor Wat, the Bayon Temples and Angkor Thom City complex. As we explore this breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Site we will, of course, also appreciate the special birds, mammals and other wildlife to be found here. The surrounding forests are home to a wealth of exciting species including Forest Wagtail, White-throated Rock-thrush, Hainan Blue Flycatcher and Black Baza. The endangered Pileated Gibbon is possible too, as well as troops of the more common Northern Pig-tailed Macaque.

Just to the south of Angkor Wat lies the lake of Tonle Sap, south-east Asia’s largest freshwater lake. The flooded woodlands of Prek Toal, in its north-western corner, hold an internationally important colony of over 50,000 breeding storks, herons, egrets, ibises and pelicans, of which at least 10 species are globally threatened! A boat trip into the forest, and through the smaller channels, will allow us to enjoy the reserve’s birdlife and will also offer superb photographic opportunities for those with a camera. Hundreds of Painted and Openbilled Storks fill the trees and feed in the surrounding wetlands and we hope to find the rare Milky Stork amongst them. Lesser and, hopefully, Greater Adjutant (half the world’s population breed here) should also be found, whilst Spot-billed Pelicans, Black, Yellow and Cinnamon Bittern are just some of the many other avian highlights. On another day, we explore the open grasslands and rice fields of Ang Trapeang Thmor in search of such enigmatic and difficult to see species as Sarus Crane and Bengal Florican, along with Pied Harrier, button-quails, a variety of raptors and perhaps a roosting owl or two.

Leaving Siem Reap we travel to the Tmatboey Ecolodge located in the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. During our 3- night stay we will explore the reserve’s rich mosaic of seasonally flooded grasslands, open woodlands, wetlands and arguably the most important remaining tract of deciduous dipterocarp forest in all of Asia! The endangered Giant and White-shouldered Ibises are present here and we hope to see both of these incredibly rare species. Woodpeckers are well represented too, with up to 17 species possible including Grey-capped Pygmy, Rufous-bellied and the huge Great Slaty Woodpecker. Crested Treeswift, Green Bee-eater, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Golden-fronted Leafbird and Brown Prinias are a few of the many woodland species to look out for whilst, after dark, Oriental Scops Owl is just one of several owls we hope to find.

Moving on, we will visit the remote and spectacular Preah Vihear Temple for an overnight stay en route to Boeng Toal. A night spent in a tented camp at Boeng Toal will provide us with an exciting opportunity to visit a unique vulture feeding station. Critically endangered Red-headed, Slender-billed and White-rumped Vultures are being conserved here with a careful feeding programme and we have an excellent chance to see all three. Next on our journey through Cambodia is the mighty Mekong River, home to the rare Irrawaddy Dolphin and the range-restricted Mekong Wagtail. After one night in Kratie on the edge of the river, we will end the tour with three nights in Senmonorom. From here we explore the Seima Wildlife Reserve and Dak Dam Highlands, the largest surviving block of tropical rainforest in south-east Asia, home to such rare mammals as Black-shanked Douc Langur and Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon. Birding gems include the Bar-bellied Pitta, Indochinese Barbet and possibly the rare Green Peafowl.

Following a most varied and exciting tour of this special country, we travel to Phnom Penh for our final night in Cambodia with time to experience the capital and visit some of its famous sites — including the Royal Palace — before boarding our overnight flight home.