Jungle hike at Bokor mountain

Our visit to Bokor mountain was packed with activities and sightseeing. The first day we visited some of the best spots of the mountain, we wrote all about it here. The second day is the most adventurous one of our stay, including a jungle hike. Read on!

Jungle hike at Bokor mountain

There are many hikes of several difficulties around the mountain, but you should only do it with a guide. The place has been cleaned from land mines twice, and it should be completely safe. However, it’s always best to not get out of the paths and go with someone that knows the way. At Thansur Sokha hotel you can arrange a guide, and they will take care of the transport and a packed lunch and water.

Ready for the jungle hike!

The 5 hour hike 

We like challenges, so we went for one of the hardest hikes around. A guide was definitely needed not only for the difficulty but also because the path was unclear at times, but he always knew exactly where to go. Vegetation is very dense, so wearing light but long sleeves and trousers would be the best.

It started quite smoothly as we ventured into the jungle. The first hour or so was mostly flat and still early in the morning with a chill temperature on the shade that the vegetation creates. At times, our guide had to cut off some branches to clear the way, Indiana Jones style. Other times, we had to crawl, or jump over fallen tree trunks. We really loved this parts that make it a real adventure!

Crawling under branches

We arrived to a point where the path bifurcates. The guide explained us that we’ll take the one straight down, and will come back up via the other one making a circle. Sounds like a plan!

The extreme down hill

We continued on the straight path and we arrived to the most extreme part of the hike. This is a non-stop down hill for about 45 minutes. With help of a rope and the branches and roots of the trees, it’s not as hard as it might seem. And actually, quite fun!

At the end of the downhill we got to rest at a very peaceful sacred place. It is unknown to us when this place was first visited, but locals come here to bring offerings. Such an interesting site. We rested here for a while and enjoyed our packed lunch.

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During the next hour, we visited two other sacred sites with hundreds of years old tombs. All of them had offerings, meaning locals also visit those. Looked like a quiet place to rest and enjoy nature… until we saw a tarantula. This was an unexpected surprise we did not count on! For the guide, it seemed like no big deal. But for us, spoilt Europeans that had never seen a tarantula in nature before, it was quite a shock. But again, something to remember! From that moment on, we couldn’t help but watching out to every single spot where we could step or touch, haha!

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The last part: going back up

The next part was the hardest, going back up hill. But the guide helped us take it easy and stop several times to drink and rest. In some parts there was a rope as well, which was very helpful when our legs started to be tired.

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Back at the top, we reached the point we had already crossed this morning, where the paths bifurcated. Yes, we did it! From there to the end it’s just the same easy path, which was great for our bodies to relax again. At the end, the mini van was waiting for us to take us back to Thansur Sokha hotel. An experience we will never forget!

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