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Two week trip to visit the best wildlife sites in Cambodia along with cultural highlights such as Angkor Wat. Really great holiday with a good mix of accommodation including some basic camping and amazing wildlife including two species of Gibbons and some iconic birds including Great Ibis, Bengal Florican and a visit to the vulture restaurant. Highlights included watching the river dolphins and seeing a mother and calf slicing through the water close to the boat. Also a male and juvenile gibbon playing together in a tree. The guides were excellent and really made the trip with their expert knowledge and skills at finding wildlife and explaining the ecology. We also fitted in time to experience the culture and visit markets, temples and try some brilliant local food.
C.T. Lincolnshire, Jan 20
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The Best of Cambodia - Birds, Mammals & Temples
Tour Code: KHM01A 17-day holiday in search of Cambodia’s birds and mammals, also enjoying the unique culture and majestic temples of this fascinating country.
£5,295 (Inc flights)
£4,495
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
The Kingdom of Cambodia, bordering Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, boasts one of the world’s great “bucket list” destinations, the extraordinary temple complex of Angkor Wat. Yet the teeming birdlife in the surrounding forests hints at an equally impressive natural heritage, and on this tour we will experience some extraordinary highlights. The huge nearby lake of Tonle Sap, for example, boasts large colonies of waterbirds, including Spot-billed Pelicans, while near Tmatboey Eco-lodge resides the barely believable treble of Giant and White-shouldered Ibis and Bengal Florican. We look for Irawaddy Dolphins on the Mekong and explore the rainforest at Seima Wildlife Reserve for Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon.
- Admire the extraordinary temple complex of UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor Wat
- Look for Irawaddy Dolphins on the Mekong
- Boat trips on the huge lake of Tonle Sap, overflowing with storks and pelicans
- Sarus Crane and a chance for Eld’s Deer at Ang Trapeang Thmor
- Incredibly rare Giant and White-shouldered Ibis at Tmatboey
- Visit a feeding station for three endangered vulture species
- Visit rainforests for primates, forest birds and possibly Elephant
The Kingdom of Cambodia sits on the tropical peninsula of Indochina and borders Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. This fascinating country offers an enticing blend of a long and rich history, a culture full of mystique and intrigue, and a wonderful diversity of birds, mammals and other wildlife. In search of the latter, we will explore forest-clad temples, vast lakes, open grasslands, dipterocarp woodland, verdant tropical rainforests and the mighty Mekong River, on a tour which truly seeks to combine Cambodia’s remarkable wildlife with its rich heritage, history and architecture.
Our holiday begins with a flight into Siem Reap, a resort town in north-western Cambodia and the gateway to the ruins of Angkor, the seat of the Khmer kingdom between the 9th and 15th centuries. Angkor’s vast complex of intricate stone buildings includes the world-famous Angkor Wat, the magnificent main temple. During a 4-night stay here we will visit Angkor Wat, the Bayon Temples and Angkor Thom City complex. As we explore this breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Site we will, of course, also appreciate the special birds, mammals and other wildlife to be found here. The surrounding forests are home to a wealth of exciting species including Forest Wagtail, White-throated Rock-thrush, Hainan Blue Flycatcher and Black Baza. The endangered Pileated Gibbon is possible too, as well as troops of the more common Northern Pig-tailed Macaque.
Just to the south of Angkor Wat lies the lake of Tonle Sap, south-east Asia’s largest freshwater lake. The flooded woodlands of Prek Toal, in its north-western corner, hold an internationally important colony of over 50,000 breeding storks, herons, egrets, ibises and pelicans, of which at least 10 species are globally threatened! A boat trip into the forest, and through the smaller channels, will allow us to enjoy the reserve’s birdlife and will also offer superb photographic opportunities for those with a camera. Hundreds of Painted and Openbilled Storks fill the trees and feed in the surrounding wetlands and we hope to find the rare Milky Stork amongst them. Lesser and, hopefully, Greater Adjutant (half the world’s population breed here) should also be found, whilst Spot-billed Pelicans, Black, Yellow and Cinnamon Bittern are just some of the many other avian highlights. On another day, we explore the open grasslands and rice fields of Ang Trapeang Thmor in search of such enigmatic and difficult to see species as Sarus Crane and Bengal Florican, along with Pied Harrier, button-quails, a variety of raptors and perhaps a roosting owl or two.
Leaving Siem Reap we travel to the Tmatboey Ecolodge located in the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. During our 3- night stay we will explore the reserve’s rich mosaic of seasonally flooded grasslands, open woodlands, wetlands and arguably the most important remaining tract of deciduous dipterocarp forest in all of Asia! The endangered Giant and White-shouldered Ibises are present here and we hope to see both of these incredibly rare species. Woodpeckers are well represented too, with up to 17 species possible including Grey-capped Pygmy, Rufous-bellied and the huge Great Slaty Woodpecker. Crested Treeswift, Green Bee-eater, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Golden-fronted Leafbird and Brown Prinias are a few of the many woodland species to look out for whilst, after dark, Oriental Scops Owl is just one of several owls we hope to find.
Moving on, we will visit the remote and spectacular Preah Vihear Temple for an overnight stay en route to Boeng Toal. A night spent in a tented camp at Boeng Toal will provide us with an exciting opportunity to visit a unique vulture feeding station. Critically endangered Red-headed, Slender-billed and White-rumped Vultures are being conserved here with a careful feeding programme and we have an excellent chance to see all three. Next on our journey through Cambodia is the mighty Mekong River, home to the rare Irrawaddy Dolphin and the range-restricted Mekong Wagtail. After one night in Kratie on the edge of the river, we will end the tour with three nights in Senmonorom. From here we explore the Seima Wildlife Reserve and Dak Dam Highlands, the largest surviving block of tropical rainforest in south-east Asia, home to such rare mammals as Black-shanked Douc Langur and Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon. Birding gems include the Bar-bellied Pitta, Indochinese Barbet and possibly the rare Green Peafowl.
Following a most varied and exciting tour of this special country, we travel to Phnom Penh for our final night in Cambodia with time to experience the capital and visit some of its famous sites — including the Royal Palace — before boarding our overnight flight home.
Outline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation:
Simple but comfortable tourist hotels and lodges with private facilities throughout, apart from one night at a tented camp where facilities are shared.
- Food:
All food included starting with dinner on arrival and ends with lunch on final day. Drinking water available throughout.
Reviews
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Cambodia was a fascinating place. We saw most of the very rare birds we targeted. The trip was an interesting mix of experiences. The guides, drivers and tour leaders were very good. Both Neil McMahon and Mardy Sean were really very good. Not only were they extremely competent bird watchers ,they dealt with logistical issues well and managed a mixed group with ease
P.S. Berkshire, Feb 2020
Dates & Prices
2025
Tour Leader: Mardy Sean
Mardy has led all of the Naturetrek tours to Cambodia to date and is extremely popular with his fellow leaders and group members alike. Mardy has studied the birds of Cambodia for many years and is dedicated to their conservation. He lists his all-time highlight as seeing the Giant Ibis in Tmat Boey, and loves sharing this special species with people from around the world. Mardy is known for sharing stories with clients about both the natural world and life in Cambodia, and also delivers the best ‘one-liners’ in Cambodia! Mardy has two children with whom he shares his love of wildlife.
2026
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The majority of our wildlife tours focus primarily on birds, allowing us to offer a huge choice of bird holidays. On most of our birdwatching tours we aim to see a wide variety of species, while taking time to enjoy other wildlife as well as cultural highlights and architecture.
Naturetrek Birdwatching Tours
We have one of the largest selections of professionally organised, small group birdwatching holidays around the world and all of our birdwatching tours are accompanied by at least one professional ornithologist leader with detailed knowledge of the area.
The majority of our bird tours have a relaxed, flexible approach which allows more time for photography, detailed wildlife exploration, leisure time and the region’s people, culture, history and architecture, while allowing the group to see a wide range of bird species.
Here is a small selection of our many bird holidays:
- Southern Morocco – an exploration of the birdlife in Morocco’s southern deserts, oases and mountains
- The Camargue in Spring – a short break to enjoy the spring birds of the Rhône Delta and Camargue wetland
- Wallcreepers & Cranes in Northern Spain – a 2-centre holiday focusing on Lammergeier, Wallcreepers, raptors, Cranes, bustards, sandgrouse and more!
- Madeira & Desertas Islands – A Seabird Extravaganza! – a short break focusing on special breeding seabirds, including a night on the remote Destertas Islands
- Peru – Macaws & Machu Picchu – searches for boobies, macaws and Inca Terns
- Spain & Morocco: Birding on Two Continents! – watch the spectacular spring bird migration from both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar
Our Bargain Birdwatching Selection
Our Bargain Bird Tours are intensive birdwatching holidays suitable for the serious birder. They are led by expert English-speaking local guides (and not accompanied from the UK by a tour leader). You can expect a higher-paced tour and to spend long hours in the field.
Our specialist recommends...
Byron Palacios - Tour Leader
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Mammal Watching Holidays
Many of the world’s mammals are instantly recognisable to us. Animals such as Lions, Tigers, elephants and bears capture our imaginations from an early age. At Naturetrek, we take great pleasure and pride in helping people to fulfil their lifelong dreams of seeing these iconic species in the wild. We also enjoy introducing our clients to some of the world’s more unusual mammals, many of which are just as fascinating.
Naturetrek Mammal Watching Tours
Many of our tours have a primary focus on mammals and we offer the widest choices of mammal-watching holidays across the globe, from the poles to the tropics. Our holidays are guided by at least one professional naturalist tour leader and usually benefit from additional guiding by expert local naturalist guides. We have holidays to see an incredible range of the world’s most sought-after mammals, such as orangutans, lemurs, bats, polar mammals, big cats, and mammals of the African savannah. A significant number of tours also targets some of the planet’s more unusual and elusive species, from pottos and pangolins to slender lorises and obscure cetaceans.
Here’s a selection of our mammal tours:
- India’s Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserves
- A cruise to Spitsbergen in search of Polar Bears
- A chance to see the ‘Big Five’ and much more in South Africa’s Kruger National Park
- Search for Blue, Fin and Sperm Whales in the Azores
- Close-up views of Brown Bear and Wolverine in Finland
- Enjoy the mammals of Kenya’s Masai Mara, while staying in luxury camps
- Search for elusive nocturnal mammals, such as Aardvark, Black-footed Cat and Aardwolf, in the Kalahari Desert
Bargain mammal selection
We offer a range of action-packed bargain holidays for the dedicated mammal enthusiast, which are exceptional value for money, from Belize to Zambia.
Our specialist recommends...
Paul Stanbury - Operations Manager
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Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
- The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
- Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
- Outstanding value and exceptional customer service
Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!
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Becky Dine wins our 2022 Writing Competition with this piece written after joining our 'The Best of Cambodia - Birds, Mammals & Temples' holiday.
