Cambodia
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The price is per person and includes scheduled return flights London/Siem Reap, airport taxes, ground & boat transportation as described, accommodation on a full-board basis, local taxes, incidental tips, and the services of the leaders.
The price excludes holiday insurance, optional tips to local drivers/guides, drinks and other personal expenses. * Please note that guaranteed single rooms are not available for the three nights at Tmatboey Leaders: Paul Harvey with local guides |
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The Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia are justly famed as one of the top must-see historical sites on earth, but Cambodia's historical riches don't stop there - many other ancient temple complexes can be found, often overgrown by the luxuriant rainforests. In addition, Cambodia is increasingly being seen as one of Asias's top wildlife destinations, with its wetlands nearly as important for birdlife as its jungles. We've teamed up with one of Cambodia's top ecotourism organisations, the Sam Veasna Center (SVC). The aim of SVC is to provide sustainable alternative livelihoods for local communities in the provision of eco-tourist services. The communities in exchange for the income from ecotourism are asked to sign no hunting and land conversion agreements. When the local guides are not leading visitors they are training the communities in the remote areas of Cambodia, where our sites are located, in the provision of services and local guiding for the visitors we bring. The village is then able to earn an income. Every tourist who visits their sites makes a conservation contribution, the amount depending on which sites they visit. This money is used to finance development projects that benefit the whole village and demonstrate how conserving their environment can improve their livelihoods. On this tour we naturally start with Angkor Wat, but continue to a complex of similar size, but much less renown: Banteay Chmar. Next day will see us at one of the country's best wetlands, followed by a visit to one of the most remarkable places we've ever been to - a floating village, where the houses move up and down according to water levels! We'll have lunch in one of the floating houses. We then travel to a grassland area to look for one of the country's most charismatic birds, Bengal Florican (extremely difficult to see and highly endangered over most of its range) before finishing the tour with a stay at Tmatboey Lodge, with endangered Giant Ibis in one of their only two Asian breeding sites nearby. Although there are several long days on this tour with early starts, this is partly to make the most of the cooler times of day when bird life is at its most active, but is also due to a lack of suitable accommodation near to some of the best sites. During the middle of the day we will be resting. Cambodia is a developing country with a limited though rapidly changing infrastructure.This, together with the incredible seasonal changes as exemplified most graphically by the Tonle Sap Lake, means that schedules have to have a degree of flexibility. The rapid pace of development means that Cambodia will change irrevocably over the coming period and the next few years offer maybe the last chance to catch a country that is something of an anomaly in the 21st century. SVC's itineraries take in the WCS Conservation sites across Cambodia where SVC has been granted exclusive access to environmentally sensitive areas of special biodiversity. These sites by their very nature are often in remote areas where local communities have limited exposure to other Cambodians let alone foreigners. This cultural gap is bridged by the multi lingual SVC Guide but sometimes what seem like the simplest tasks can become very complicated - please have patience! Itinerary Day 1 We leave London on an overnight flight to Kuala Lumpur, arriving the next day and connecting with a flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia. Days 2 -3 We arrive at Siem Reap in time for lunch and a late afternoon trip to Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat and over two hundred other temples in the Angkor Great Park are truly a wonder of the world. Apsara, the Cambodian ministry responsible for the management and conservation of the temples has preserved at least some of the mature dry forest, and in places allowed undergrowth to become established, offering a habitat for an excellent variety of birds. These include Black Baza, Oriental Darter (in the moat!), Hainan Blue, Taiga and Asian Brown Flycatchers, White-throated Rock-Thrush, Blue Rock Thrush, Forest Wagtail, Olive-backed Pipit, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo, Asian Barred Owlet, Coppersmith Barbet, Ashy Minivet, Yellow-browed and Pale-legged Leaf-Warbler, while the forest rings to the cries of raucous Red-breasted and Alexandrine Parakeets and White-crested Laughing Thrush. Next day we'll make early morning and evening visits to Angkor with a break for lunch in the heat of the day. Two nights Siem Reap Day 4 We make a very early start for the Sarus Crane Reserve at Ang Trapaeng Thmor (ATT). Originating as a reservoir on the Angkorian Highway, ATT is now a Sarus Crane reserve administered by the Wildlife Conservation Society with over three hundred of these magnificent birds congregating to feed in the dry season, and with about two hundred other bird species noted in the area, several of which are globally threatened. By February the dry season will be well underway and a few pairs of Black-necked Storks frequent the site along with many large water birds, including Black-headed Ibis, Milky and Painted Storks, Spot-billed Pelicans, Oriental Darters, Asian Openbills and Greater and Lesser Adjutants. A few pairs of Bengal Floricans breed here during the dry months - but will be much easier to see later in the tour. Other grassland specialists here include Red Avadavat, Blue-breasted Quail, and three species of lark. Several species of duck including Comb Duck can be seen along with birds of prey rare in the rest of the country such as Black Kite, Eastern Marsh and handsome Pied Harriers. Numerous waders, rails and shore birds can be found in the marshy belts of aquatic habitat. Recently the critically endangered Eld's Deer has been seen regularly at the site. After a morning here we drive back via the temples of Banteay Chmar. This proposed world heritage site was built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, in honour of his son who died in a battle with the invading Chams. The temple walls, two by two and a half km in length, are surrounded by a 'baray' or moat. Tumbling stone towers, rest houses and Buddhist shrines adorned with reliefs on the walls and lintels, crumble amongst the jungle. Banteay Chmar is of the same scale and significance as the Bayon at Angkor Wat but off the beaten track, about 2 _ hours driving time from Siem Reap. Overnight Siem Reap Day 5 We make an early start from Siem Reap for Chong Khneas, about 10km by road, which acts as the Siem Reap port on the Tonle Sap Lake. We then transfer to a small covered boat for the journey to Prek Toal. Depending on the lake water levels the boat journey cuts through the flooded scrub surrounding Chong Khneas and a small band of primary forest lining the lake where the boat moors for breakfast. At Prek Toal we transfer to local small covered 'long-tail' boats (part of an initiative to help spread income from eco-tourism to the local village economy) and head off into the core reserve for a WCS observation platform next to a bird colony. The Tonle Sap is the largest natural lake in South East Asia, fed by the phenomenal annual backflow of water from the Mekong River. Situated in the North West corner of the lake, Prek Toal core bird reserve is home to the largest breeding colonies of water-birds in South East Asia. The reserve covers 22,000 hectares of seasonally flooded forest where only the tallest trees stand proud of the lake during the annual flood, providing a habitat for cormorants, pelicans, storks, and many other birds to roost and nest. The village of Prek Toal, adjacent to the reserve, floats (yes, floats!) at the mouth of the Sangke River where it flows into the lake. Every house is built on a platform of bamboo and moves according to the water level throughout the year. Schools, local restaurants, a church, even vegetable patches, pig-pens and crocodile farms all float. In Cambodia and throughout South-east Asia, Prek Toal is unmatched for the number and population of endangered water birds it supports during the dry season. Large numbers of cormorants, storks and pelicans are virtually guaranteed from January to May along with herons, egrets and terns. The sanctuary harbours seven species of global conservation significance: Spot-billed Pelican, Milky and Painted Storks, Lesser Adjutant, Greater Adjutant, Black-headed Ibis and Oriental Darter and has a globally significant population of Grey-headed Fish Eagle. We return to Prek Toal for a Khmer lunch in a floating house, possibly with time for a village tour by paddle-boat before returning to Siem Reap. Overnight Siem Reap Days 6 - 8 The critically endangered Bengal Florican and many other water-birds are found in the grasslands around the Tonle Sap Lake. Birdwatching trips like ours give an income to the villagers who assist the guide in locating the Floricans - we should be there for the peak morning display time before 9am. Greater Spotted and Imperial Eagles winter in the area feeding on the abundant rodents. There are large numbers of Eastern Marsh Harriers and a smaller number of Pied Harriers wintering in the area, along with a few Black Kites, Peregrines and numerous resident Brahminy Kites. After visiting the Florican grasslands we will head for the small town of Dam Daek and the temples of Beng Melea which we visit in the afternoon. Beng Melea, though smaller in size than Angkor, is a large temple from the Khmer Empire. Built by Suryavarman in sandstone from nearby quarries at Phnom Khulen, in the early 12th century, it is similar in design to Angkor Wat. Extensive carving depicts scenes from Hindu mythology. We continue on to Tmatboey Lodge (winner of the Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Award) for a three night stay. The Lodge consists of a central recreational thatched building and four surrounding bungalows each with two double en-suite rooms with solar powered electricity. The accommodation is relatively comfortable but basic. There are no single rooms available here. After settling in to the accommodation we can take a short walk through the open forest to where White-shouldered Ibis come to roost at sunset. Tmatboey is a remote Khmer village of 220 families situated in the centre of the Northern Plains of Cambodia, within the Khulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary: the country's largest protected area. The village is renowned as one of only two known nesting sites in Asia for the Giant Ibis that use large trees in the forest away from the village. White-shouldered Ibis are found closer to the village, within walking distance of the lodge, where they are reliant on the grassland clearings amongst the dipteropcarp forest. Woolly-necked Stork is relatively common and Grey-headed Fish Eagle and White-rumped Falcon occur at low densities. Pale-capped Pigeon is another highlight along with an amazing diversity of woodpeckers and Brown Fish Owl, Spotted Wood Owl and Brown Wood Owl. Recently night walks have also noted Collared and Oriental Scops Owls. The next day will start early around 4 or 4.30am with a quick cup of tea or coffee, then a drive and a walk to less disturbed areas of forest where Giant Ibis have been located, and returning for breakfast at the Lodge. The Tmatboey Ibis Site is a conservation project set up by WCS together with the Cambodian Government and Tmatboey village. Once it was realised that the site had potential for wildlife tourism a local committee was elected which built the guest accommodation and, with training from SVC, provides the services for the birdwatching groups that visit. In return for the income that this brings, the villagers have signed no hunting and land conversion agreements. We'll also find time for a village tour, which takes in local trades as well as the school, a market garden, a still for sugar palm wine, and points out the projects that the visitor's conservation contributions have assisted. Three nights Tmatboey Lodge Day 9 After a last morning's birding and breakfast at Tmatboey, the group will return to Siem Reap via Koh Ker Temple. Koh Ker dates back to the tenth century when during the reign of Jayavarman IV it was the capital of the Khmer Empire. The temple is comprised of a premier pyramidal complex towering with seven tiers over nearby monuments, prasats and the huge baray (pool - now empty in the dry season) of Rahal in the surrounding forest. Birds here include Violet Cuckoo, White-rumped Falcon, Collared Falconet and Oriental Pied Hornbill. Overnight Siem Reap Day 10 We travel to the airport for our return flight to London via Kuala Lumpur, arriving on Day 11. Accommodation & Food Accommodation in Siem Reap will be a 'boutique' hotel with all rooms en suite. Other accommodation at Tmatboey is as described in the text. Food outside Siem Reap is generally Khmer and for the most part safe. Bottled water is carried with the SVC transport and available everywhere. Climate & Clothing The cool dry season lasts from December to March. This is the best time to visit Cambodia when the daytime temperatures are low thirties and the heat is dry. Night time temperatures are typically in the low twenties though occasionally in a cold snap it will drop to 13o or 14oC Loose natural cloth clothing (with a hat) is most comfortable giving protection from the sun and mosquitoes. Most things are available in Siem Reap usually cheaper than in Europe or America but, the usual items for tropical countries will help make your trip enjoyable; sun cream, mosquito repellent, a torch and earplugs. Walking Bird watching is from the car, by boat and on foot. Hiking boots which give ankle protection against the small risk of snakebites are recommended for the forest walks which will be very gently paced. Health & Insurance Necessary immunizations should be discussed with your own Doctor. Malaria is present in the forests where we visit and dengue fever occurs in the towns though is much less prevalent during the dry season. The provision of emergency health cover while improving is still limited and in case of serious accidents, illness or snakebites it maybe necessary for you to be airlifted out of the country, you must have health insurance to cover this eventuality. Numbers: Max. 14 clients |
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