Champa Lodge Kampot 

If you love nature, peace and tranquillity, this is the place to be. Champa Lodge is set on a bend in the river in the idyllic natural setting of Kampot’s fishing and farming communities. Located only ten minutes from Kampot, the Lodge is the perfect place to unwind or take advantage of the range of activities available, such as kayaking, chartered boat trips and mountain bike tours.

Kampot is a city on the Preaek Tuek Chhu River in South Cambodia. It is the land of salt and pepper. The salt fields are one of the most interesting places to visit in Kampot. I would highly recommend spending a morning or afternoon at La Plantation, the best pepper farm to visit. Another must see and don’t be surprised to be the only western tourist there is Kampot’s nearby ‘Secret Lake’ known as Brateak Krola Lake, which is a dam built with slave labour during the Khmer Rouge. It is a very impressive size for a man- made lake. Local rumours abound of a secret mass grave of workers hidden beneath its depths.

Accommodation is in a selection of three traditional stilted Khmer houses with five private rooms. The whole property can be rented out for private parties or events and can sleep up to 22 people. Each house has a balcony and large bathrooms with enclosed showers.

The restaurant is relaxed and charming. It serves European and Khmer cuisine, some of the produce; vegetables and herbs are grown on site in a lovely garden. The bar includes a great selection of fine Belgian beers. I surprised myself by opting for the chicken noodle soup every morning- I have tried to create this dish at home and failed.

Guests at Champa Lodge have a range of activities available to them at the lodge. Boat trips can be arranged to explore the river and kayaks and paddleboards are available for use for exploring the smaller tributaries of the river. The staff at the Lodge are very attentive and can also arrange activities and tours off the grounds, including rock climbing bird-watching tours and caving. I enjoyed just hanging out by the river, meeting new people and watching the world go by.

Upon arriving I felt the Lodge was a little too rustic for my liking but wow how my opinion changed throughout our stay and looking back on our trip to Cambodia, Champa Lodge turned out to be my favourite place. A fantastic place to spend a few days relaxing in a hammock and sitting on the river with some great food and beers.

The region is renowned for it’s pepper production and is the only pepper in the world to have been awarded Protected Geographic Indication which is a similar staus to products such as Cognac and Champagne. There are lots of pepper plantations around the Kampot/Kep area such as La Plantation where you can take a tour around the grounds to see how this much-revered spice is grown.

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