For the ride, for the scenery, for the cool mountain air, for the adventure, for relaxation, for fun.  All good reasons to travel the the top of Bokor Mountain.

At the top is hotel tenting.  But most people just go up for the day. You’ll really want to check the Activities page for what to do and where to go. For us, the ride up the mountain, especially if you’re going on your own motorbike (scooter rented in town), is our favorite part.

Bokor Hill Station

A 32 kilometre road takes you up 1,101 meters up from road 3 near Kampot. At the top is the Bokor Mountain Hill Station, in Bokor National Park.  Originally a small resort town, and one of the King’s residences, it is now a tourist destination and National Park.  Except for the many tourists and Park personnel, and a few hundred construction workers, hotel staff, monks, empty buildings, and a few private residences, that is.

Most well known as a getaway from Kampot and Phnom Penh. Forests, cold mountain air, driving through clouds, for the abandoned Casino at the top of the mountain, there is also an abandoned church, buildings for the former King, a waterfall, Buddhist Wat, and either a view of fog or a view of Southern Cambodia’s Islands and Vietnam’s island Phu Quoc.

There are stories of wild animals on the mountain, including lions and tigers and bears, and elephants, but if you actually see them, please let us know.   You might see some giant birds or parrots, squirrels, wild monkeys, (not so wild now, as people feed them bananas on the road), and some of the smaller large cats.

Getting up to Bokor National Park

From Kampot, take route 3 about 8 kilometres towards Sihanoukville. (not route 3 towards Phnom Penh).  On the right side, you will see a large plaque welcoming you to Bokor National Park.  You can’t miss it. Just up the road is the Bokor ranger station.  There is no fee to go up the mountain.

You can take a motorcycle, tuk tuk or car up to the top.  If you don’t have your own bike, big dirt bikes can be rented in Kampot for less than $12/day and 100cc automatic motos for $4 – $5.  Some people ride bicycles up.

(We think it would be better to put a bicycle in another vehicle on the way up, and then ride DOWN the mountain.) Gas is $1 a litre, which gets you up to 1 hour per litre on a 100cc motorcycle.  You can turn your engine off on some motorcycles and coast down the mountain.

The drive up is now smooth and quite nice.  You may want to bring some warm clothes (and a raincoat) as the temperatures, especially at night are much cooler, and there is often fog or rain at the top.  It’s about a 40 minute drive to the top from the route 3 entrance. There’s now a gas station and mini-mart at the top entrance to Bokor, and a couple coffee shops halfway up the mountain.

You can also get a ride in a car or van for a day trip, including lunch for $15 to $30.  Most tours leave from downtown Kampot.  Some, they’ll pick you up at your hotel.  You’ll find tour signs everywhere in town.