Bokor Palace Hotel

Bokor Palace Hotel

Taken on: 23rd February, 2010. Copyright: All Rights Reserved - See aclifford80's page of Flickr

Read more about Bokor National Park

Established by the French as a hill station, Bokor had its heyday in the 1920s and has since been abandoned twice, during World War II and the Khmer Rouge period. It was established as a national park in 1993 and spans four Cambodian provinces and despite substantial illegal logging, remains home to elephants and perhaps tigers.

The entire Bokor region saw fierce fighting between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge -- at one stage one side was holed up in the Catholic Church and the other in the casino -- all the while trying to shoot each other to pieces. Both buildings still bear the scars today.

Walking through the crumbling casino/hotel and other buildings dotted across the Bokor ridge is a little spooky, particularly if one of the frequent mists roll in, but it's easy to imagine what it must have been like once upon a time. When we visited we pulled up in front of the casino a mere 10 metres away, yet couldn't see it for the mist -- on clear days however the views ... Read our complete Bokor National Park travel guide

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