Kampot

A French-flavoured slow town in southern Cambodia, with sunsets on the Kampot River, pepper farms and Bokor Mountain, plus neighbouring Kep's crab market and Rabbit Island – ideal for an unhurried, off-the-beaten-path coastal trip.

Kampot and Kep are two neighbouring small towns on Cambodia's south coast, about 25 km apart and usually visited together. Kampot sits at the mouth of the Kampot River (Praek Tuek Chhu) and retains streets of French colonial-era shophouses. Laid-back in pace, it is famous for its world-renowned Kampot pepper and sea salt, with the 1,000-metre-high Bokor National Park rising behind it. Kep was developed as a seaside resort by the French in the early 20th century and is now known for crab stir-fried with pepper, its seafood market and the pier for boats to Rabbit Island. Climate: November to April is the dry season, sunny with little rain, and the best time to visit; January–May is the salt harvest season; May–October is the rainy season, with frequent afternoon downpours, but the hills are greener and there are fewer visitors. Getting there: buses or minibuses from Phnom Penh to Kampot take about 3–4 hours, or you can take Royal Railway's Phnom Penh–Sihanoukville line and get off at Kampot; from Sihanoukville Airport it's about 1.5–2 hours by road. Between Kampot and Kep, hire a tuk-tuk or rent a motorbike (about 40 minutes). Plan on 2–3 days: Day 1, Kampot's old town and a sunset river cruise (with fireflies); Day 2, Bokor Mountain in the morning, salt fields and pepper farms in the afternoon; Day 3, lunch at Kep's crab market plus Rabbit Island or a hike in Kep National Park. Good to know: US dollars and Cambodian riel are both accepted, with small change usually given in riel; the summit of Bokor is 5–8°C cooler than the lowlands and often foggy, so bring a jacket; if renting a motorbike, ride carefully and protect yourself from the sun; when buying pepper, look for the Kampot Pepper PGI geographical indication.

Top sights

• Kampot Riverside & Old Town – A French colonial arcaded old town along the river, where a boat at dusk brings sunset over Bokor Mountain and fireflies in the mangroves.
• Bokor National Park & Hill Station – A hill station at about 1,000 meters built during the French colonial era. Abandoned palace hotels, churches and drifting clouds create an…
• La Plantation Pepper Farm – Kampot's best-known organic pepper farm, offering free guided tours of pepper cultivation and tastings of black, white, red and green peppe…
• Kampot Salt Fields – Traditional sun-drying salt pans on the coastal plain. In the dry season you can watch salt workers carrying their harvest, and the pans tu…
• Teuk Chhou Rapids – Rapids in a river valley about 8 km north of Kampot. Riverside bamboo huts line the banks, and it is a favorite spot for locals to picnic a…
• Phnom Chhngok Cave Temple – A limestone hill containing a brick shrine from the pre-Angkorian era, around the 7th century, reached by walking across rice fields. Often…
• Phnom Sorsia – A limestone hill between Kampot and Kep with caves, including White Elephant Cave, next to a hilltop temple. The views take in the salt fie…
• Le Bokor Palace – A luxury hill-station hotel built by the French in 1925 on Bokor Mountain. It fell into ruin and became a famous ghost-hotel landmark befor…
• Bokor Old Catholic Church – A small, isolated stone church on the windswept summit plateau, its outer walls covered in orange lichen. It is the most atmospheric relic…
• Popokvil Falls – A two-tiered waterfall on the plateau at the top of Bokor Mountain. Its name means “swirling clouds,” and it is most impressive just after…
• Wat Sampov Pram – A Buddhist temple on a cliff edge on Bokor Mountain, named after five sailboat-shaped boulders beside it. It overlooks the Gulf of Thailand…
• Lok Yeay Mao Statue – A giant seated statue of the Khmer guardian goddess beside the Bokor Mountain road, regarded by locals as the protector of travelers and fi…
• Secret Lake (Tomnop Tek Krolar) – A reservoir built by forced labor under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. It is now ringed by rice paddies and pepper farms, and while the scen…
• Kampot Provincial Museum – A small museum in a former French colonial governor's residence on the riverfront, presenting the history of Kampot, its pepper and salt in…
• Phnom Kampong Trach (Wat Kiri Sela) – A limestone hill about 30 km east of Kep, close to the Vietnamese border. Its cave maze holds a temple and a reclining Buddha, and sunlight…
• Kampot Night Market – A small night market near the Durian Roundabout in the old town, with Khmer snacks, sugarcane juice, grilled skewers and clothing stalls. G…

Where to eat

• Holy Crab Restaurant – A seaside restaurant near the Kampot crab market, best known for its green pepper crab and crab meat amok.
• Rikitikitavi Restaurant – An upstairs riverside terrace restaurant in Kampot, known for lok lak, fish amok and sunset views.
• Twenty-Three Restaurant – A small modern European restaurant on Street 726 with a menu that changes with the market, and a top-rated pick in Kamp…
• Epic Arts Café – A nonprofit café that employs people with disabilities, known for breakfast, bagels and homemade cakes.

Itineraries

• Angkor to the Coast: Cambodia Grand Loop – Travel from north to south covering Angkor, Battambang, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Kep, and Koh Rong.
• Kep, Kampot & Koh Rong Sanloem Southern Coast – Head south from Phnom Penh to feast on Kep crabs, visit Kampot pepper farms, and relax on Koh Rong Sanloem.
• Chi Phat Cardamom Rainforest & Kampot – Travel from Phnom Penh to Chi Phat for community-based trekking, then head to Kampot for rivers and pepper.