Kirirom Mountain,Cambodia

 Kirirom National Park was initially established as a holiday resort and tourist city in 1945. The area was named Kirirom “Joyful Mountain” by the King at the suggestion of a monk from Phnom Penh.

The mountain, which is 700 meters in height, covers an area of 35,000 hectares. It is conveniently located in Phnom Sruoch District, Kampong Speu Province, and 120 km southwest of Phnom Penh. It can be reached by National Road Nº4.

The natural resort is filled with waterfalls/cascades, a hot grotto, and many categories of pines imported from Japan.

This park is also the home to many endangered species of animals such as Pleated gibbon, sun bear and tiger . You can take a ride in the traditional ox-cart ride or trek along the walking trails among the pine trees. Since this natural resort is located one hundred and twenty kilometers to the west of Phnom Penh, visitors can hire taxis to get here. Traveling along National Road No. 4 will also get you here.

The Kirirom National Park, whose official name is Preah Suramarith Kossmak, is about 80,000 acres of forested land on a rare plateau in southwestern Cambodia.


The elevation is about 2,200 feet, high enough to support a large pine forest quite distinct from most of the country's tropical jungle. Our last stop in the park was a newly renovated visitor’s center which was small but quite impressive.

What To See

Many visitors make the trip to Kirirom to explore the myriad of hiking trails that criss-cross the mountain. Typically, visitors start at the top of the mountain next to the visitor's center and make their way down the mountain, passing through fragrant pine trees, leafy green foliage, brightly singing birds and on rare occasions, wild deer or porcupines. Many of the paths culminate at a small mountain lake, surrounded by lush, green vegetation and small thatch picnic huts. A further stroll around the lake and down a short path leads to an ornately decorated Buddhist temple named Wat Jaa, where for a small donation, guests can buy some incense and make offerings or pray. The most popular attraction on Kirirom mountain for both locals and tourists alike is the Tea Farm Waterfall. The small but scenic waterfall is the perfect spot for a picnic or an afternoon swim, and for those who are interested to see how Asia's favorite hot beverage is produced, there is a tea farm on site which guests are welcome to visit.