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DAY 1   PHNOM PENH-RATTANAKIRI    

Breakfast.  Transfer from you hotel to Phnom Penh Airport for flight to Rattanakiri. Arrival at Rattanakiri  and transfer to Terres Rouges Lodge. Lunch at hotel.

Meet the Tompuon around Yeak Loam (1/2 day, 5km)

In the afternoon, working in close partnership with community-based ecotourism project DRIVE, we learn about the life of the Tompuon people on a walk with a local tribal guide. We walk around the shores of stunning Yeak Loam Lake before walking through forest to visit a Tompuon farms and their nearby village. This is a great introduction to minority life in Ratanakiri and we encourage all visitors to experience it. Return to hotel. Dinner and accommodation at local guesthouse, Rattanakiri.

DAY 2   RATTANAKIRI   

Breakfast   Exploring the Jarai Villages of Andong Meas (1 day, 6km)

We travel by jeep to the remote district of Andong Meas, about 80km from Banlung. From Andong Meas, we continue on foot to nearby Jarai villages where we learn about their lifestyle. We walk to the banks of the San River where we find a Jarai cemetery in the forest complete with many ancestral tombs. From here, we take a boat across the river to a small, isolated Jarai community before continuing downstream back to Andong Meas. We return to Banlung by boat.  Accommodation at local guesthouse, Rattanakiri.

DAY 3   RATTANAKIRI   

Breakfast.  Exploring the Chinese and Lao Communities of Voen Sai (1/2 day, 3km)

We journey by road to the small town of Voen Sai on the banks of the San River. We take a ferry across the river to a Lao village on the other side. We follow the riverbank to a unique Chinese village that has been located here for more than one hundred years. Chinese is still the language of choice among residents and in places it looks like a slice of rural China. From here we continue on foot to another Lao village with a wooden pagoda. We make our way back to Voen Sai by boat and return to Banlung by road. Packed Lunch will be provided. 

Visiting the Waterfall of Kaa Tien by Elephant (1/2 day, 4km)

On the way back, we stop at a small Kreung village that still breed working elephants. We saddle up and take a leisurely ride through the rubber plantations of Ratanakiri.  We follow the course of a small river, which elephants eventually wade across and we descend near the waterfall at Kaa Tien. A superb waterfall set in the jungle, it is possible to clamber behind the falls and swim in the huge splash pool below. Some of the jungle vines hanging down from the gorge are strong enough for a swing and this is a great way to relax. We walk back to the Kreung village and return to Banlung by vehicle.  Dinner and accommodation at Terres Rouges Lodge, Rattanakiri.

DAY 4 RATTANAKIRI-PHNOM PENH

Breakfast.  Transfer to airport for flight to Phnom Penh.  Arrival at Phnom Penh airport and transfer to...