Ratanakiri is the province located directly north of Mondulkiri province and also borders with the Vietnam to its east. North of Ratanakiri is the country of Laos. The main city is Ban Lung. It is a 3-4 hour minivan ride north of Sen Monorom. It is 8 hour by minivan east of Siem Reap. When you visit the Mondulkiri Project you might want to next visit Ratanakiri Province or may have just arrived from there.
The Balcony Guesthouse is a good place to stay when visiitng Ban Lung. It is located next to Boeng Kansaign Lake and the restaurant has lovely views. This is also a good place to rent motorbikes.
The main attraction to visit when in Ban Lung is Boeng Yeak Lom lake, 5km away from Ban Lung. It is a beautiful emerald crater lake set amid the vivid greens of the surrounding jungle. It is one of the most peaceful locations in Cambodia, and a lovely place for a swim. There are also three waterfalls to visit close to Ban Lung: Chaa Ong, Ka Tieng and Kinchaan. Hiring a motorbike is the easiest way to visit. There used to be elephant rides at Ka Tieng Waterfall but last year the Mondulkiri Project bought the elephant that lived there so that she could be retired to our elephant sanctuary.
Virachey National Park is in the north of the Province. You need to book a private tour to go trekking there.
Ratanakiri is more developed than Mondulkiri. In recent years logging and mining has destroyed most of the environment. Rubber plantations now dominate the landscape of Ratanakiri.
Ratanakiri Elephants:
There used to be lots of elephants living in Ratanakiri. Now the Angkor elephant riding company in Siem Reap has bought many of these elephants.
Last year we were unable to save the elephant named Chitoeun. Before we raised enough money he was bought by Terres Rouges Lodge Ratanakiri to be used for elephant rides.
There are still several male elephants in Ratanakiri. When we have saved enough money we hope to rescue one of these male elephants so he can be the star of our natural elephant-breeding program.
