The province of Kratie in north eastern Cambodia is home to a stretch of the Mekong which is an important habitat for the rare Irawaddy dolphin, and is a strategic location to break overland journeys between Phnom Penh and the jungles of Ratanakiri or southern Laos. At the present time few tourists explore this region, or travel these routes, due to the basic standard of accommodation available in the Kratie area. The dawn of the “Mekong Safari”, an overnight adventure in this area of the Mekong using portable African safari style tents, has opened up the north east of Cambodia and is an exciting development that will inspire new tours linking southern Laos with Cambodia.

“Mekong Safaris” are private tours for individuals staying in luxury tented accommodation, pitched by a team of guides and porters, on the white sands of an uninhabited Mekong island under the shade of trees. A covered boat is the mode of transport to the private island, and the safari includes a dugout canoe to explore the waterways and flooded forests with the help of an experienced boatman. The location has been carefully chosen as the best place to see rare Irawaddy dolphins at close quarters, along with the diverse birdlife that thrives along the banks of the Mekong. Constructed using durable tarpaulin in two layers, the 2.5m high tents have an insect-proof inner layer with five meshed windows for light and breeze during the day. Inside the tents are equipped with proper beds and mattresses with soft linen, and private bathroom facilities include a simple shower.

Far East tailor-made experts Bamboo Travel can include the “Mekong Safari” as part of a tailor-made tour of the region, and have developed several new tours using the safari to open up new routes and areas that were previously inaccessible. These include an overland journey from the popular Four Thousand Islands region of southern Laos to Phnom Penh, and a tour of Cambodia visiting the isolated province of Rattanakiri in the far north east of the country. Dubbed the ‘wild east’ of Cambodia, Rattanakiri is a beautiful region with mountainous and forested landscapes, and a high proportion of minority tribes, making it a great destination for cultural and adventure tours.