Mondulkiri Province: Bunong Village Stay and Elephant Sanctuary

Mondulkiri Province offers several specific reasons to stay: a Bunong village, a full-day hike in protected forest, tours in another protected area, and Sen Monorom Waterfall. The activities vary in duration and type of experience. You can plan your trip around a village stay, elephant viewing, excursions, or camping.

Bunong Village Stay in Putang

In Putang, a Bunong village in Mondulkiri Province, it is possible to stay overnight in a private home in the village. During a stay in a Bunong village, you can try Bunong food and taste rice wine. Before your trip, ask the operator about the current availability of overnight stays and tastings.

Hikes, Tours, and a Waterfall

Mondulkiri Elephant & Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Sen Monorom. A full-day hike through the protected forest is offered there, during which visitors can observe the sanctuary’s two elephant herds. Set aside a full day and ask the operator for current tour details.

Phnom Prich Sanctuary offers half-day tours and full-day excursions, as well as camping in the forest. The difference is useful for planning: alongside full-day excursions, half-day tours are also available here, while the hike in Mondulkiri Elephant & Wildlife Sanctuary takes a full day. Camping in the forest is another option. Confirm the current arrangements in advance with local authorities or operators.

Sen Monorom Waterfall is located in Sen Monorom District in Mondulkiri Province, five kilometers from the provincial capital. This distance indicates the waterfall’s location in relation to the capital and adds another specific landmark to excursions in protected areas.

Cambodia in the Wider Travel Picture

Travelers considering other destinations in Cambodia beyond Mondulkiri will encounter different landscape and cultural highlights. Tonle Sap is a significant topographic feature of Cambodia and is fed by the Mekong and the Tonle Sap River. The Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve includes the lake, surrounding floodplains and freshwater marshes, as well as seasonally flooded rice fields and grassland. These wetlands offer a different landscape experience from the forest hike and village stay in Mondulkiri.

Angkor centers on an extensive temple landscape: the area covers about 400 square kilometers and includes numerous temples, waterworks such as basins, dams, reservoirs, and canals, as well as roads. The temple zone of Sambor Prei Kuk includes 186 brick temples with sandstone details. Its unique artistic style combines Hindu, animist, and Buddhist elements and heralded the Khmer style later developed at Angkor.

The temple of Preah Vihear is also among Cambodia’s cultural destinations and is dedicated to Shiva. Several sanctuaries are connected by paths and stairways along an 800-meter-long axis. The temple sits on the edge of a plateau overlooking Cambodia’s plain. Differences such as these between landscapes, village stays, and historic sites can help you choose the focus of your trip through the country.

Discover more destinations: Krong Saen Monourom, Kratié, Kampong Cham, Oddar Meanchey Province, Pursat, Ratanakkiri, Svay Rieng, Battambang.

For the broader travel overview: Cambodia.