Dâmrei Mountains

Dâmrei Mountains
Dâmrei Mountains Location of the Dâmrei Mountains in Cambodia
Elevation	1,081 m (3,547 ft)
Location
Location	Cambodia
Coordinates	10°37′00″N 104°03′00″E / 10.6166667°N 104.05°E / 10.6166667; 104.05Coordinates: 10°37′00″N 104°03′00″E / 10.6166667°N 104.05°E / 10.6166667; 104.05

Dâmrei Mountains. The road to Bokor

Panoramic view of Kampot and the sea from Phnom Bokor

Flickingeria fimbriata, a species of orchid growing in the Dâmrei Mountains

The Dâmrei Mountains, literally the "Elephant Mountains", are a mountain range situated in the southwest of Cambodia.

Description

These mountains are an offshoot of the Krâvanh or Cardamom Mountains, but occupy a much smaller area. The highest elevation is Phnom Bokor at 1,081 meters (3,547 feet) above sea level. Located close to the shores of the Gulf of Siam, the densely wooded hills receive rainfall averaging 150–200 inches (3,800–5,000 mm) annually on their western slopes (which are subject to southwest monsoons) but only 40–60 inches (1,020–1,520 mm) on their eastern, or rain shadow, slopes.

The Dâmrei Mountains were, until 1975, the principal centre of Cambodia's pepper-growing industry. After the intervening years of civil war and upheavals pepper-growing has revived slowly beginning from the late 1990s.

Tourism

The Phnom Bokor National Park occupies most of the upper levels and the summits of the Dâmrei Mountains. The authorities are trying to curb illegal logging. The park has a great variety of plant species, including rare orchids^[1] as well as some spectacular waterfalls during the rainy season.

There is an abandoned French town on top of Phnom Bokor, known as the Bokor Hill Station (Station Climatique du Bokor), where elite French colonial officers spent holidays during the hot season. The place has also a church and a casino, all in a dilapidated condition. Nearby there is Cambodian army outpost which doubles as a youth hostel for lack of other accommodation. Both sites are now becoming tourist attractions, but the road to reach them, built in 1907, is in rough shape.^[2]

See also

• Bokor Hill Station

References

1. ^ Evolution of pollinaria structure in cambodian orchids
2. ^ Mogenet Luc, La création de la station climatique du Bokor (Cambodge), présentation commentée de sources d’archives inédites, Péninsule, 2007 (2) N°55, Paris, 2008

External links

• Parc national de Bokor au Cambodge
• Wildlife Alliance Cambodia Conservation Program
• Conservation International Cambodia Program
• Phnom Sampeou - Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering
• Bokor Mountain Tourism
• Protected areas in Cambodia