Kampong Phluk Tours and Tickets

We had a great time with our guide Mr. Bunhak and Mr. Kai. This is a private tour so it was only me and my husband in the group. Mr. Bunhak was great at giving us info about the different locations, taking pictures, and fielding our questions about the history and culture of Cambodia and the Siem Reap area. There are only a limited amount of people allowed at the Kulen Elephant sanctuary so I would book when and if you are able. The small groups of 8 or so at the sanctuary are to provide a comfortable space for the elephants. There are about 10 elephants the sanctuary at the moment where all but one are female. You do not get to see all the elephants but the couple or so you do get to hangout are special and have their own personality. The time to see the elephants and interact with them were around 1-2p and was about 3hrs or so. Since my husband and I attended the morning session of this tour we first went to the Kompong Phluk to see the stilted houses. We were able to opt for a lovely canoe ride under the mangrove trees nearby. Then we went to eat lunch which was local cuisine and finally we went to the Kulen Elephant Sanctuary. At Kulen Elephant Forest were were informed about the history of Kulen Elephant Forest and community nearby. Our Kulen Elephant guide Tom was great and fielding our questions about elephants and providing his own knowledge from working with the elephants for over 5 years. We were tasked to make snacks for the elephants and then were able to feed the snacks to the elephants. We were able to stand close by to the elephants to take a few photos then we walked with them at a distance throughout their sanctuary. They would play in their pools and get their own snacks from the forest. The elephants that come here are retired from a harsh life from previous treatment as hauling elephants. This reminded me a bit of Paddington 2 where there is a retirement home for elder bears. The two female elephants we walked with have a personality of they're own and were great to observe. From what I could sense and learned about the sanctuary I felt it was humane. The elephants have keepers at night to ensure that they don't damage neighboring fields and property (or eat crops), and to prevent any infighting between the females over food. Since there are only a couple tours per day and a limited amount of visitors so the elephants are not overwhelmed they get to spend the rest of their time as they pleased. Our pair of elephants had a great time splashing and cooling down in their pool and expressed how happy and excited they were in their body language. I could not think of a finer way to retire than grazing all day and playing in the water. There are roughly only about 400-600 Asian elephants in Cambodia. Knowing this fact, I respect the effort that this sanctuary is trying to provide a space for the elephants. The day was about 8am - 5pm. We had another tour close to the ending time and not only Tom and the sanctuary but our guide Bunhak and driver Mr. Kai were so helpful and accommodated this time crunch. I do feel the price was a bit steep but when we learned that the elephants eat about 350kg each day I slightly understood why it was a bit costly. However, we had a great time with Mr. Bunhak, Mr. Kai, Tom, and the Kulen Elephant Forest and are grateful for the memories we get to have of our once in a lifetime experience with the retired elephants.

Time with the elephants in the forest sanctuary was an incredible experience. We prepared their food, fed them, walked with them and watched them frolic in the water--such gentle giants. And the staff prepared for us a wonderful lunch. The afternoon on the lake was also really interesting. We observed the stilt houses, the markets and visited a unique pagoda, where my guide helped me understand some history of Buddhism. He was excellent and very accomodating. All in all, a day with many memories

Take some clothes and a towel! Excellent guide, great transport, FANTASTIC experience: can’t recommend it enough.