Preah Monivong National Park
Preah Monivong Bokor National Park | |
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Bokor National Park | |
Kampot Province, Cambodia | |
Nearest city | Kampot |
Coordinates | 10°51′43″N 104°01′56″E / 10.86204693°N 104.03222455°E |
Area | 1,544.58 km2 (596.37 sq mi)[1] |
Established | 1993[1] |
Governing body | Ministry of Environment |
Website | https://bokor.city/national_park |
Preah Monivong Bokor National Park (
History
The Dâmrei Mountains was formerly a Khmer Rouge controlled area, but in 1993, Preah Monivong National Park was inaugurated along with most other national parks in Cambodia. It is one of two ASEAN Heritage Parks in the country.[2]
Preah Monivong National Park is well known for the abandoned Bokor Hill Station, a remote settlement build by the French colonialists in 1921. They also built a Catholic church nearby in 1928, a very rare sight in Cambodia. The park is named after King Sisowath Monivong who used to visit the area and eventually died here in 1941. Monivong ordered the construction of a Buddhist temple in the area in 1924.
In recent times the national park has become a popular tourist destination and now includes
In 2019, the government released a "Master Plan for Bokor City Development Project until 2035", by which 18,987 hectares of the park are to be developed for residents, tourism, and businesses.[4][5]
Flora and fauna
Forest types in the park include
Park animal species include
Gallery
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View towards Kampot and the Gulf of Thailand from Phnom Bokor
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Stone formations with offering sites
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Lok Yeay Mao Statue
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Wat Sampov Pram (Buddhist temple)
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Catholic church (1928) near Bokor Hill Station
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Crinum asiaticum in the park
References
- ^ a b c d "Preah Monivong "Bokor"". World Database on Protected Areas. Protected Planet. 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ a b "ASEAN Heritage Parks". ASEAN. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ Thansur Bokor Highland Resort
- ^ Carruthers, Marissa (9 January 2021). "Will Cambodia's Kampot lose its soul to tourism development?". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Humphrey, Chris (25 February 2021). "'A disgrace': Luxury housing plans threaten Cambodia's Bokor National Park". Mongabay. Retrieved 29 August 2023.