South Coast - Cambodia - page 331

Trail bikers and intrepid moto riders can bypass the newer highway and take the rugged
road around the park's east coast via the scenic fishing village of Thmor Sor, which is
largely built on stilts over the alluvial bay here, stretching almost a kilometre out to sea.
Chi Phat
In an effort to protect the southern Cardamom Mountains from poaching, logging and land
grabbing by turning the rainforest into a source of jobs and income for local people, Wild-
life Alliance ( www.wildlifealliance.org ) has launched a multiphase project to transform the
Southern Cardamoms Protected Forest (1443 sq km), whose southern boundary is NH48
between Koh Kong and Andoung Tuek, into a world-class eco-tourism destination.
Once notorious for its loggers and poachers, the river village of Chi Phat (population
630 families) is now home to Wildlife Alliance's pioneering community-based ecotourism
project (CBET), offering travellers a unique opportunity to explore the Cardamoms eco-
systems while contributing to their protection.
A variety of outdoor adventure activities are on offer. Visitors can take one- to five-day
(four-night) treks through the jungle, go sunrise birdwatching, explore the local waterways
by kayak, hire motos or mountain bikes to visit several nearby waterfalls and shoot (with a
camera) monkeys and hornbills with a former poacher as a guide. Destinations include an
area with mysterious, ancient burial jars and the Areng Valley. On overnight trips it is pos-
sible to sleep in hammocks or at one of five campsites set up by Wildlife Alliance,
equipped with ecotoilets, field kitchens, and comfortable hammocks with mosquito-proof
nets.
Of particular interest are the multiday mountain-bike safaris deep into the Cardamoms
and the sunrise birdwatching trip. The latter involves an early wake-up call and a 1½-hour
longtail boat ride before you jump in traditional stand-up rowing boats (with rower) and
silently paddle along the placid Stung Proat , an unlogged tributary of the Preak Piphot
River. Silver langurs, long-tailed macaques, greater hornbills and other rainforest
creatures can often be seen along the banks of Stung Proat. Gibbons are hard to spot, but
can often be heard calling to each other through the forest canopy.
It is also possible to visit Wildlife Alliance's million-tree nursery, where it nurtures sap-
lings for its impressive reforestation program. This is a very educational experience and
involves the chance to make a lasting mark with a plant-a-tree initiative. Adventurous