Virachey National Park Trekking

The largest National Park that focuses on eco-tourism and the trekking tour is Virachey National Park which covers an area of 3325 sq km, located in the northeast of Cambodia sharing the border with Vietnam and Laos. This National Park is available for trekking for 3 days and more, our tour below is for 5-day trekking to discover the most beautiful part of the area.

8:30 am Depart from our office in Banlung to Veunsai (Koh Pong village), cross the Sesan river with a local ferry, meet your Prouv tribal ranger, and start trekking into the jungle! The trek begins with entry to the secondary forest and shift-cultivation area followed by a lunch break and then entry into the primary forest. The trek goes up and down hills and along many dense paths; your English-speaking guide and local ranger will show you and explain in detail the many natural resources of the jungle, while also being on the lookout for spotting wildlife, for which there is a great chance. Before long around 4-5 pm you will arrive at the small waterfall where you can cool off by enjoying a bamboo shower or bathing. Your guides will set up shelter, hang hammocks, install mosquito nets, and make a fire to cook dinner. You can enjoy your dinner with candlelight at the campfire. You will camp here overnight.

At around 6 am, the guide and ranger get up to make the campfire go and boil water for coffee or tea. They start preparing breakfast. After you enjoy your breakfast and the campsite is cleared, today you will trek deeper into the pristine forest, learning about different jungle plants with a great chance to see silvered langur, giant hornbills, and some trees that have been crashed by bears to eat insects. We start this day by following the small stream further upstream. In the dry season, we can walk close to the stream while in the wet season, we walk higher through dense vegetation. You will spend the whole day trekking through the primary forest. We take regular breaks to take pictures and be taught about forest plants. We take some gentle hill slopes up and down, cross a few small creeks and enjoy the silence of nature. At the end of the day, we reach the campsite for the second night. This campsite is also close to a small stream at a large open space of stone field surrounded by jungle. You can take a refreshing bath and relax a little while you cool off and rinse the sweat off of your body. Enjoy a great evening at the campfire.

At night time after enjoying dinner, you can go for a short safari night trek to try to spot nocturnal species like slow loris, flying squirrels, fawn deer, reptiles, and other native wildlife. The night trek is sure to be an exceptional experience!

Between 6 am to 7 am, if you can get up, you’ll hear the calling of gibbons from different families, they call to mark their territory and sometimes they go across some close to where we camp as well!

After a good night’s rest and breakfast, you pack your luggage and then trek for around 5 hours. You will at times veer off the beaten track, expect your guide and ranger to use their machete to clear some trails! Tonight, you camp by a big waterfall, where you can enjoy swimming and refreshing at a picturesque place.

In the morning you rise early and enjoy a hot coffee or tea. Breakfast will be prepared on a wood fire. After breakfast, organize your backpacks while the team unites the hammocks and prepares for the day. This part of the track is mainly the beaten track. So, you can expect dense vegetation where a path is often cut with a machete. Beautiful forest with lush vegetation. At some points (this can vary by the season because of the tree’s canopy) there are some panoramic views to enjoy. You have lunch at a small river around noon you’ll get to a nice spot for a one-hour break to enjoy lunch.

You change direction and loop in the southwest direction of Koh Peak village and spend time learning about the culture, tradition, lifestyle, and livelihood of the Kachon tribe who live next to the park. Learn how locals brew their jar wine and the way they process their own Tabaco grown in their garden. Dinner will be with the local family; it is time to taste the local diet and share stories with them. You will stay overnight with one of the local families. Kachon is a very friendly person but they have no greeting with words like “Hello" and "How are you” as it is not something in their mindset since their ancestors! All they say when seeing you is just’’ Ghai Doc?’’ it means where are you going and ‘’Doc ghai?’’= What you are doing?

After breakfast, you’ll pack your backpacks and then walk to visit the sacred Kachah cemetery. This cemetery has remarkable high wooden statues that resemble the deceased. Your guide will provide you with details about the animist beliefs of the indigenous people. And then you walk to visit the old dam that was constructed by the Khmer Rouge to learn some history of the past. Lunch will be in the village and ten you walk to the SeSan river and take a ferry across it. From here, you are transferred back to Banlung arriving at around 4:00 pm arriving in Banlung.

Drop off – end of services. Dinner and accommodation are not included.