Ka Chanh falls

Thick slimy mud makes the 10km Ka Chanh Falls is an hour-long odyssey of thrills and many spill. The little known resort provides a cash income for the Tapon. one of Ratannakiri's many ethnic minorities.

Mountainous Ratannakiri, Cambodia's wildest province, is over 600 km north-east of Phnom Penh with a population comprising only 25% ethnic Khmer. Recent years have seen an explosion in the number of 'eco-tourists' bringing much needed capital to local subsistence farmers and hunter-gatherers.

The Cambodian government is waking up to north-eat Cambodia's tourist potential. The success of eco-tourism projects in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia has inspired policies minorities designed to benefit the ethnic minorities most in need, and Ka Chagn Falls, designated a tourist resort in 2000, is just one of the sites controlled by a tourism community which ploughs profits back into the local community for development. Nget Pitou, a member of the Department of Tourism for Ratannkiri, said the policy makes money for local villagers without damaging the environment. "This hidden and beautiful place now plays a main role in attracting a lot of tourists," he said. "We want to keep the natural view and the nice environment to impress tourists."

The difference to the local Tapon has been very great. "We have Tapon girls selling entrance tickets because we want them to learn about social work." explained Pitou. "Moreover, we want to raise their standard of living too, because most of their work is farming. When they come here to work, they can get money to support their family... we want them to go to propagandise about the importance of tourist resorts to their friends and we want them to stop cutting down trees." Pitou said this is the best approach to educating local people as " all of the ethnic people accept their friends' ideas very much."


Ka Chanh, know a Leir in the Tapon language, is impressive. One first notices the roar of water, closely followed by a fine rainbow mist rising from the 15m drop. Trekking down the red-dirt path, past gnarled rubber trees and quaint thatched houses, a chorus of exotic bird announces each new visitor. Ticket seller Mom Mok plies his trade from a small booth at the end of the path. "Starting from October until April, a lot of tourists come to visit because, at that time, the green forest, rubber trees, traditional waterfall makes a very nice romantic view." he said. "People can enjoy a picnic with their family." Ka Chanh is at its most imposing in the rainy season, although only the courageous dare brave the Ratannakiri's mud bath. The dry season sees easy driving but a distinct lack of water.
Most visitors swim or sit under the lip of the falls, although the icy mountain water is bracing to say the least. Drinks vendors have no ice boxes, as a few minutes in the limpid water is enough to cool even the warmest beer.
Splashing happily with her friends, Miss. Ny, a domestic tourist visiting from Kampong Spue said her visit was well-worth the effort. "I was really happy and surprised when I arrived here." she said. "I didn't think that this place would be very beautiful because, when I first saw the Teuk Chrous Bram Pil Chorn [ the '7 Step Falls', another waterfall in Ratnnakiri]. it was not very pretty. Here it is very nice. We cannot forget the time we had here, we will remember forever. You know when we were eating and swimming together, we heard the sound of the waterfall like music, or like a lullaby which was singing to us very sweetly. Another souvenir we will not forget is the slippery pebble path we had to drive the bike down to visit here."


Travel Information - A warm welcome from the Topon and a breathtaking natural scene costs just 1000 riel ($0.25) for foreigners. Tourist buses are charged 5000 riel ($1.25) and private care 2000 ($0.50) Ka Chanh is 10km from Banlung. Ratannakiri's provincial capital.