Kirirom - Cambodia Trip

The meaning of "Kirirom" is "Happy Mountain". This name was given to the area by King Monivong in the 1930s. The ancient name of the place was Phnom Vorvong Sorvong for the main two hills there were connected with the Cambodian popular legend about two heroic princely brothers, Vorvong and Sorvong.

Kirirom extends over the eastern part of the Cardamom Mountains. Lying at 2,215 ft above sea level, Kirirom was Cambodia's first officially designated national park. It contains many footpaths through the forests with a number of small lakes and waterfalls and was once used as a refuge by the Khmer Rouge.

I took the bus from Ho Chi Minh city to Phnom Penh and then took another bus to Sihanoukville. It took about 2 hours to Kirirom Mountain Lodge, this is where I stay. It is in the middle of the pine forest, in a cool and dry climate. 

I just have one day to discover Cardamom mountains, which  range extends along a southeast-northwest axis from Koh Kong Province on the Gulf of Thailand to the Veal Veang District in Pursat Province, and is extended to the southeast by the Dâmrei Mountains. The northwestern end of the range in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, appears also as the 'Soi Dao Mountains and as 'Chanthaburi Range' in some maps. Dense tropical rainforest prevails on the wet western slopes which annually receive from 3,800–5,000 mm of rainfall. By contrast only 1,000 to 1,500 mm fall in places like Kirirom  on the wooded eastern slopes in the rain shadow facing the interior Cambodian plain. On the eastern slopes cardamom and pepper are still grown commercially.

Camera I used: Nikon D810 and lens nikon 24-70mm f2.8 + Tripod Mefoto A1340

He is Bouchaib, he's very kind and resourceful. He's the manager and also the master chef of the Kirirom. He supported me every things when I was in Kirirom - Cambodia.