Wild Ratanakiri: Yeak Laom, Hill Villages and Mekong Dolphins in 6 Days

Your guide and driver meet you in Phnom Penh to begin the long drive north. Stop in Skuon, the market town famous for deep-fried spiders, if you are brave enough to try one. In Kampong Cham, admire the old colonial buildings and visit Wat Nokor, where a modern pagoda stands within the walls of an 11th-century sandstone temple. Lunch is at a local restaurant in Kratie, then continue to Stung Treng, a quiet river town where the Se Kong meets the Mekong. Dinner at a local restaurant.Overnight: Stung Treng · Meals: L, D

After breakfast, drive east to Banlung, the Red City, and check in at your lakeside lodge, a beautiful wooden house in a lush garden. Lunch is served at the lodge. In the afternoon, set off by jeep along bumpy red-earth roads to the waterfalls of the area; Teuk Cha Ong is the most impressive. Then take the short drive to Yeak Laom, a round volcanic lake surrounded by pristine forest. Swim in the clear water or walk the path around the shore before dinner back at the lodge.Overnight: Banlung · Meals: B, L, D

Head northwest through bamboo forest to Voeun Sai on the bank of the Se San River. Across the water lies a small Chinese village whose families settled here in the 1930s and still speak their own language rather than Khmer. Further upstream are Tampoun villages known for their carved wooden funeral statues. If the river level allows, travel by boat to the village of Ka Choan to see its striking totems; otherwise you go by jeep. Return to the lodge for dinner.Overnight: Banlung · Meals: B, L, D

Today you drive north towards the Laos border and the village of Taveng. Cross Veal Rumplang, a round lava field fringed by forest, and in the rainy season stop at a small waterfall hidden among rocky caves. The further north you go, the denser the forest becomes. Stop at Kroeung villages along the road where, depending on the season, you may see tall bachelor houses on stilts, built by young men and taken down once they marry. A picnic lunch in the forest, then dinner at the lodge.Overnight: Banlung · Meals: B, L, D

Leave Ratanakiri early and drive back through the countryside to Stung Treng for lunch. Continue south to Kratie and stop at the best riverside viewpoint to watch the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins, which surface most often in the late afternoon. Then cross by small ferry to Koh Trong, a quiet island in the middle of the Mekong opposite Kratie town, with village lanes, pomelo orchards and wide river views. Dinner and overnight at your small riverside hotel on the island.Overnight: Koh Trong (Kratie) · Meals: B, L, D

Enjoy breakfast with a view of the river, then cross back to Kratie and drive towards Kampong Cham. Stop at Chhup, the country's largest rubber plantation, founded in the French colonial era, to see how latex is tapped from the long rows of trees. Lunch at a local restaurant in Kampong Cham, then continue to Phnom Penh, where the tour ends at your hotel or the airport.Meals: B, L