Kompong Cham

Kampong Cham is one of the most highly-populated provinces in Cambodia and most likely the province with the most fertile land as well. The soil is mostly red in colour. Tobacco, soya-beans, rubber and other tropical produce are grown and exported from here.

This is a relaxed and quiet town that was once an important trading post during the French period; its legacy evident by the chastened yet classic buildings that are still standing in their full glory. It carries plenty of colonial French characteristics and is a good place to enjoy the laid back atmosphere and quaint charm.

The ruins at Wat Nokor, an Angkorian temple dating from the eleventh century, contain a standard assortment of Angkor architecture. A visit to this site can easily be combined with a trip to the mountains of Pros and Srei. The city boasts the first bridge to be built over the Mekong River in Cambodia. The Kizuna Bridge was constructed in Kampong Cham and at 1500 metres in length was the longest bridge in Cambodia until the 1900 metre Thai-Cambodian bridge was built in Koh Kong took its place in 2002.