Bokor Hill Station

An Abandoned French Hill Station At 1,000 M, With A Decaying Casino Hotel, A Ghostly Church And A Buddhist Shrine, In Cloud For Much Of The Year, With Views Of The Gulf Of Thailand. A Large Casino And Development Complex Has Been Built On Top, Changing The Feel. A Day Trip From Kampot · Kampot, Kampot

Bokor is a misty plateau about 1,000 m high in Preah Monivong National Park, 40 km by road from Kampot. The French built a hill station here in the 1920s as a cool escape from the lowland heat. Its centrepiece, the Bokor Palace hotel and casino, opened in the mid 1920s and now stands empty, stained by weather and often wrapped in cloud. Nearby are a small Catholic church with a bare, roofless feel, the Buddhist temple Wat Sampov Pram with views of the Gulf of Thailand, and long stretches of misty heath. The road is now paved and a large modern casino resort has been built on the plateau, so the old atmosphere is thinner than it once was and the ruins sit beside new building work. It suits people who like ruins, fog and photography and can spare a day from Kampot. It is worth the trip for the old hotel and the views on a clear morning. If you want empty ghost-town silence, or you go at a busy weekend, set your expectations lower.

Bokor Mountain in Preah Monivong National Park, about 40 km by road north-west of Kampot, Kampot, Kampot, Cambodia

The road and the old buildings are normally open in daylight, with an entry fee at the park gate, so confirm the current hours and price locally. The upper road can be CLOSED to vehicles in poor weather, landslides or road works, and the old hotel interior is often CLOSED or unsafe, so you may only see it from outside. The modern casino resort keeps its own hours. Wat Sampov Pram is open to visitors in daylight. Sunset is not a safe time to be on the mountain road. There is no FREE entry to the plateau itself, but walking around the church and the exterior of the old buildings costs nothing extra once inside.

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