Cambodia Nature , About Cambodia

The Nature of Cambodia
Cambodia, country in Southeast Asia, is rich in natural and cultural resources which has been considered as the great potential for tourism and economy development. Cambodia covers an area of 181,035 sq km (69,898 sq mi). Most of the country consists of a low-lying alluvial plain that occupies the central part of the country. To the southeast of the plain lies the delta of the Mekong River. To the east of the plain, ranges of undulating hills separate Cambodia from Vietnam. To the southwest a mountain range, the Chuŏr Phnum Krâvanh, fringes the plain and forms a physical barrier along the country’s coast. Cambodia’s highest peak, Phnom Aural (1,813 m/5,948 ft) rises in the eastern part of this range. To the north, the Chuŏr Phnum Dângrêk mountains separate Cambodia from Thailand.

Rivers and Lakes
There are two big river in Cambodia. One is the most important river is the one Mekong River and Tonle Sap Great Lake:

* Tônlé Sap (Great Lake), is the largest in Southeast Asia. From the northwest, the Tônlé Sap drains into the Mekong via the Tônlé Sab River, entering the Mekong at Phnom Penh. Each year during the monsoon season (approximately May to October), the waters of the Mekong increase and reverse the flow of the Tônlé Sab, which begins to drain into the lake. The lake then expands dramatically, flooding the provinces along its banks. When dry weather returns, the river reverses its course again and flows back into the Mekong, draining the northwestern provinces. At the height of the flooding, the Tônlé Sap reaches more than 10,000 sq km (4,000 sq mi), or about four times its size in the dry season. The lake is one of the richest sources of freshwater fish in the world.
* Tonle Mekong: the longest river in Southeast Asia and the tenth largest in the world. The Mekong flows from north to south through Cambodia and is navigable for much of its course. Mekong River is about 500km. Other rivers in the country include the Tonle Srepok and the Tônlé Sab. Cambodia’s principal lake.


Natural Resources
Cambodia’s total land area, only 21 percent is cultivated. Areas surrounding the Mekong and the Tônlé Sap are the most fertile regions. The country's once-ample timber resources have been poorly managed and are being rapidly depleted by local and foreign entrepreneurs. Although Cambodia is not rich in mineral resources, Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia contains limited quantities of zircons, sapphires, and rubies. The central part of the country contains commercial deposits of salt, manganese, and phosphate. The Gulf of Thailand is thought to contain petroleum deposits, but the extent and accessibility of the reserves have yet to be determined.

Climate
The country enjoy tropical climate with warm and humid temperature. In the monsoon season, abundant rain allows for the cultivation of a wide variety of crops. This year-round tropical climate makes Cambodia ideal for developing tourism. Travelers need not to fear natural disasters such as erupting volcanoes or earthquakes, and the country is not directly affected by tropical storms. Cambodia has sun almost year round. The average temperature is about 27 degrees Celsius; the minimum temperature is about 16 degrees. December and January are the coolest months, whereas the hottest is April.

* The Rainy season :
From June till October 27-35.C (80-95.f)
* The Dry season (cool):
From November till February 17-27.C (80-95.F)
* The Dry season (Hot) :
From March till May 29-38.C (84-100.F)
Environmental Issues

Plants and Animals
Forests cover 53 percent of Cambodia’s land. The densest forests thrive in the mountains and along the southwestern coast. Higher plains and plateaus contain savannas covered with high, sharp grass. Plants growing in Cambodia include rubber, kapok (a tree with seeds that yield a cotton-like fiber), palm, coconut, and banana, all of which are exploited commercially. Wildlife in Cambodia includes elephants, deer, wild ox, panthers, bears, and tigers. Cormorants, cranes, parrots, pheasants, and wild ducks are also found, and poisonous snakes are numerous. Logging and mining activities, along with unregulated hunting, have diminished the country’s wildlife rapidly.

Cambodia Nature , About Cambodia

Cambodia National Park Guide , About Cambodia

Cambodia National Park Guide

National Park, Cambodia
Cambodia, country in Southeast Asia, is rich in natural and cultural resources which has been considered as the great potential for tourism and economy development. Cambodia covers an area of 181,035 sq km (69,898 sq mi). Most of the country consists of a low-lying alluvial plain that occupies the central part of the country. To the southeast of the plain lies the delta of the Mekong River. Ninety percent of Cambodia’s 12.8 million people live and derive income from the floodplain lowland in the centre and south which occupies less than 30 percent of the country. Most protected areas are relatively isolated and located in areas of low population density. The significant exceptions are the protected areas on the western border of the country in provinces with high populations densities largely due to recent immigration, and the protected areas within Siem Reap Province, including parts of the Tonle Sap Multiple Use Area

On 1 November 1993, King Norodom Sihanouk issued a Royal Decree concerning the Creation and Designation of Protected Areas, resurrecting Cambodia's commitment to developing a national system of protected areas following decades of civil conflict. The Parks were selected as a "natural and scenic area of significance for its scientific, educational and recreational values".

* Phnom Kulen (Holy legendary place of Khmer)
* Kirirom National Park (Pain forest and limpid stream)
* Bokor National Park (1000m high plateau near South Caost)
* Riam National Park (Mangrove swamp and wild animals )

The Ministry of Environment is responsible for management and protection of all national parks in Cambodia. But the parks are threatened by various illegal activities, including charcoal production, hunting fishing and logging. These issues are being addressed through a combination of law enforcement, education and community development programs. Donations to future Park management will be gratefully accepted and can be made at Park headquarters.

Phnom Kulen, SIem Reap
The most sacred mountain in Cambodia, Phnom Kulen consists of thick jungle, a holy waterfall and reams of ancient carvings and temples. The mountain itself represents a linga of which the stream that runs through Siem Reap has its origin.


Kirirom National Park Koh Kong
The park is situated 120 km west of Phnom Penh, in the Kampong Speu province. It covers an area of 35.000 hectares (350 km²) and is estimated to be composed of natural and semi-Kirirom National Parknatural vegetation. The park is a mountain resort (800 m above sea level), known for its pine tree covered hills, water falls and lakes. It was a favourite retreat for King Sihanouk in the 1960s. Unfortunately, the king’s villas, roads and other infrastructures were all destroyed during the Khmer rouge era. The park was declared a national park after the government troops won it back in 1992. The park is only open to visitors since 1997. Visitors are mainly Khmer people coming at the week-end or for holidays.

It’s the only Cambodian park that can be visited on a one day return trip from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh or as a stop over on the way to the coast. I visited the national park in 2002. I was doing an internship in Cambodia and I went to Kirirom for a mushroom inspection. Being a scientific mission I had a special permit made by the national park authorities. That allowed me to go anywhere in the park. The Kirirom landscape includes mountains and hills, up to 800 m in altitude, and water sheds and talwegs, where the water is drained to the lower part of the park. The pine trees forest, which is peculiar of this park, is only found between 600 and 800 m altitude, with a clear undergrowth of graminaceous. That’s where Nepenthes smilesii thrives. It grows among low graminaceous on sandstone soil covered with pine needles.

The number of plants you will find is varying in my opinion according to the competition with graminaceous. In some places the last ones are so present that nepenthes are absent. Colour of plants ranges from almost totally green to green with red marks and to totally red. They are rarely all red or all green but generally green with red marks. The biggest specimen I found had 30 cm long pitchers. If you go down to 600 m altitude, you don't find anymore nepenthes and the vegetation is much more dense.

The average annual rainfall in the Kirirom national park is about 2.000 mm. The best time to visit the park is just after the rainy season which occurs between May and October. Since its opening in the late 1990s the park's facilities have improved to attract more visitors. You’ll find the accommodation suiting your budget from the luxury resort to the simple guesthouse. You can also contact travel agencies in Phnom Penh that will arrange day trips to the park. If you wish to visit more than one or two areas, you are better have your own transport (4x4 car or motorbike).

Bokor National Park KamPot
Bokor, a 1000m plateau, is home to a wide variety of animal and plant species, spans 1,400 square kilometers. But the park is now under threat by illegal hunting and logging, and has only 50rangers to protect it. A new conservation project is now underway and gives hope to Bokor's future. Rangers are being trained and equipped to patrol the park and work cooperatively with local communities. This project needs your help, please do not litter in the park. Entrance fees are the only source of income for basic operating costs. Enjoy your visit.

Bokor National Park is located at the southern tip of the Elephant Mountains near the Cambodia Viet nam border. It was first accessed in 1916 and developed later as a famous altitude resort during the French Protectorate and Prince Norodom Sihanouk regime in the 60's. The hill station has been abandon twice in its history, once when the Vietnamese overran the place in the late 40's while fighting for independence against the French, and then again in 1972 when it was overran by the Khmer Rouge.

This Cambodian National Park was founded in 1993 and it consists of untouched jungle, waterfalls, rivers and much more. A fabulous view of both the Cambodian and Vietnamese coast and islands can be seen form the top as it is 1081 meters above sea level. Recently, the park has been receiving funding to focuses on protection, monitoring of wildlife and community out reach programs. Since this program began, poaching of endangered animals and illegal logging has diminished. The Hill Station has only been open to tourist since 1997. It consist of a collection of French colonial buildings (hotel, church, casino, a royal residence etc.) constructed in the 1920's. It now resembles a surreal abandoned mid-western town in an American horror film. This infamous hill station still has an untouched and mysterious feel to it. Bokor hill station founded by French in 1922 for summer resort,
At the present only church and this hotel "Bokor Palace" remained of the past.


Ream National Park Sihanoukville
Ream National Park is 21,000 hectares costal park, which include two islands situated 18 kilometers east of Sihanoukville. Mangrove forest supports a rich diversity of flora and fauna. You can visit the estuary, lowland evergreen forest, sandy beach and so on. Ream National Park is located 18 km from Sihanoukville and a must see while in Southern Cambodian. The park, which has been open since 1993, encompasses 21,000 hectares including 15 000 hectares of terrestrial and 6000 hectares of marine habitats. This Cambodian national park offers secluded beaches, mangroves forests, tropical jungles, 155 different species of birds, monkeys and during the months of December, January and February the infamous white fresh water dolphin.

The Sihanoukville Eco tour includes a boat trip down the Prek Tuk Sap River, through the mangrove forest, until it reaches the sea, before continuing on to Koh Som Poch beach and Thmor Thom Fishing Village. The duration of the boat trip is about 3 hours and on the way you can watch birds, take short jungle walks, swim, sunbathe and snorkel. A short walking tour of the fishing village offers an opportunity to learn about the life of a Cambodian fishing family. The Eco Tour also offers you a jungle trek to Meditation Mountain, which is a place of worship for many Khmers, and offers a great view of the park from the top. You will be guided by one of the park rangers, who will give you information on the flora, fauna and history of the area. The walk takes about 2 hours from start to finish and is relatively easy.

For those people that want more adventure we recomend the Bokor National Park trip which is home to Tigers and trully wild jungle. For those seeking a little less adventure or a more cultural experience we recomend that you check out the Sihanoukville Discovery and the Khmer Cooking class. Back to Top

Virachay National Park Ratanakiri
Virachay National Park is situated 45 kilometres north of Banlung. With a total land area of 332,500 hectares, there are many varieties of plants and trees and many different species of animals and birds to be spotted in the forest.
Services and activities. Visitors can participate in a number of activities with park rangers granting various services to help visitors discover Ream's diverse environment. Park Headquarters is 600m off National Road 4 on Airport Road, opposite the entrance to Keng Kong Airport. at Ma Ou Ranger Station. Boat Trip

* Thmor Tom Beach : $25 for 1 to 4 persons
* Koh Thmei Beach : $35 for 1 to 4 persons
* Koh Ses : $45 for 1 to 4 persons

Boat trips require a ranger guide ($5 for guides)
Extra person needs $5 for each

Jungle Walk

* Meditation Mountain walk : 2 hours
* Toul Creek walks : 2-3 hours
* $2 for 1 person per hou
* Walks require a ranger guide

Cambodia National Park Guide , About Cambodia

Cambodia Festivals , About Cambodia

Cambodia has a wealth of traditional and international festivals. Most of these are a time of great rejoicing for the predominantly rural populace, many of whom flock to the capital to join in the celebrations and witness the organized fireworks displays which accompany the festivals. It is at these times the nation unites with a shared common understanding of values and traditions and they are looked forward to with great expectation. Even in times of hardship people try even harder to make these times special. All the traditional festivals are influenced by the concepts of Buddhism, Hinduism and royal cultures. The following are the most important of the celebrations organized throughout the year.

Cambodia Festivals , About Cambodia

Khmer culture , About Cambodia

Identification: The name “Cambodia” derives from the French Cambodge, which comes from the Khmer word Kâmpuchea, meaning “born of Kambu.” During the socialist regimes of Democratic Kampuchea (DK) (1975–1979) and the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) (1979–1989), the country was known internationally as Kampuchea, but more recent governments have returned to using Cambodia, and the official name in English is now the Kingdom of Cambodia.Khmer as a noun or adjective can refer to the Cambodian language, people, or culture and thus suggests an ethnic and linguistic identity more than a political entity. From 1970 to 1975, the country was known as the Khmer Republic (KR).

Location and Geography: Cambodia lies between Thailand and Vietnam in mainland southeast Asia, with a smaller stretch of the northern border adjoining Laos. The most central region culturally and economically is the lowland flood plain of the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake. The Sap River meets the Mekong at Phnom Penh, where the river soon divides again into the Bassac and the Mekong, which flow through southern Vietnam to the South China Sea. Although Cambodia also has a coastline on the Gulf of Thailand, the coast is separated from the central flood plain by mountains; only since the 1950s have railroads and roads provided ready access to the coastal port towns.

The economy is dominated by wet rice agriculture. The iconic image of the countryside is one of rice paddies among which are scattered sugar palms. Until recently, much of the area outside the flood plains was forested.

The ancient capital of the Khmer Empire was at Angkor, close to present-day Siem Reap. In the fifteenth century, the capital was moved to the area of the intersection of the Sap and Mekong rivers, near present-day Phnom Penh, perhaps to enhance trade. The most densely populated areas now are along the rivers in the provinces near Phnom Penh.

Emergence of the Nation: The roots of the nation lie in the systematization of wet rice agriculture and the gradual development of a more extensive political organization that climaxed in the Khmer Empire in the period 802–1431. The Khmer Empire was not a nation in the modern sense and varied in size from king to king. However, at different times the empire ruled large parts of what is now Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The population of the empire included Siamese and probably other Austroasiatic peoples who gradually assimilated to the Khmer. Khmer culture and language were clearly dominant during that period, and the Khmer population extended well beyond the current boundaries.

The rise of Siam (now Thailand) as an empire and nation and the gradual expansion of Vietnam drastically decreased Khmer territory and led to a period when Cambodia was dominated by those kingdoms. It is generally accepted that if Cambodia had not been colonized by France, it would have been swallowed by its neighbors.

Linguistic Affiliation: The dominant Khmer language belongs to the Austroasiatic language family and is related to Vietnamese, Mon, and a number of other Asian languages. Khmer writing, derived from Indian systems, may have begun as early as the third century C.E.; the first dated inscriptions in Khmer are from the seventh century C.E. While Khmer is closer to Vietnamese than to Thai, a shared literate tradition related to a common religion and centuries of cultural contact has resulted in much vocabulary being shared with Thai. As in Thailand, Laos, and Burma, the language of Theravada Buddhist scriptures, Pali, often is studied by young men during temporary periods as monks and is an important influence on literary Khmer.

A scarcity of written materials resulting from the colonial dominance of French and later periods of political turmoil had left the educated population highly dependent on second languages, and in urban areas there is a great desire to learn English and French. Despite the efforts of France to promote the continued use of French as a second language, it is
Cambodia.

probably giving way to English. Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cham, who are often bilingual, freely use their own languages, and Vietnamese and Chinese newspapers are published in Phnom Penh.

Symbolism: The most important cultural symbol is the ancient Khmer temple Angkor Wat, along with the ancient Khmer Empire and its monumental antiquities. Pictures and bas-relief carvings of the four-faced tower of the Bayon at Angkor Thom and of âpsâras (celestial dancing girls) are ubiquitous in homes and public buildings. Since independence, every flag except the one used by the United Nations when it administered the country in 1993 has featured the image of Angkor Wat. Classical dance, also an important national symbol, consciously tries in costume and gesture to recreate Angkorean bas-reliefs.

The institution of kingship, which was reestablished in 1993, is an important national symbol, especially in rural areas, where devotion to the king never died out during the socialist period. It is not clear to what extent the symbolism of kingship can be separated from its current embodiment in Norodom Sihanouk.

In the 1980s, the government promoted the memory of the atrocities of 1975–1979 DK period, also known as the Pol Pot regime, including holidays to commemorate bitterness (20 May) and national liberation (7 January). However, the DK atrocities symbolize Cambodian identity much less for its people than they do for foreigners. Nevertheless, many Cambodians express a sense that their culture has been lost or is in danger, and this cultural vulnerability stands as a kind of national symbol.

National identity sometimes is mobilized around the idea of hostility to Vietnam. This derives in part from the ways in which national identity was defined by resistance groups during the PRK period, when there was a strong Vietnamese military and cultural presence.

Demography: According to a 1998 census, the population is 11.42 million. There are no reliable statistics for ethnic populations, although the Khmer population is certainly the largest. A 1993 demographic study estimated that Khmer represented 88.7 percent of the population; Vietnamese, 5.2 percent; Cham, 2.5 percent; Chinese, 1 percent; and others (Thai, Lao, and smaller minority groups in the north and northeast), 2.6 percent.

SOCIALIZATION
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Infant Care: Infant care is characterized by almost constant attention to the child, who is rarely left alone. The child is carefully observed to determine the character it is believed to already possess; it is considered from birth an active agent and its wishes, such as who should hold it, are observed and respected.

Child Rearing and Education: Children are socialized early to respect the authority of parents and older siblings. There is a strong cultural value of “study,” but little sense of study as oriented toward a specific goal or profession. Schools in Cambodia emphasize the copying of texts and memorization. Since the DK period, education has been plagued by the poor condition of buildings, lack of books and trained teachers, and the inability of the government to pay teachers. Boys sometimes enter the monkhood as an alternative to state education.

Higher Education: Tertiary education has only gradually been re-instituted since 1979 and is still on unsteady foundations. Over the course of the 1980s, different universities were reopened: The Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry in 1979, teacher training schools in 1980, a technical school in 1981, an Institute of Economics in 1984, and the Agricultural Institute in 1985. The University of Phnom Penh was not reopened until 1988. Tertiary education has been very dependent on foreign aid, foreign faculty, and overseas training of students.

Khmer culture , About Cambodia