Kampot
កំពត
Kampot Province, Cambodia · 10°36′40″N 104°10′52″E
A French colonial river town under the Elephant Mountains, famous for pepper, salt pans and a slow riverfront that Cambodia's beach crowds pass by.
Kampot sits on the Praek Tuek Chhu river a few kilometres from the sea, with Bokor mountain rising 1,000 m behind it. The old town keeps two-storey French shophouses along the river, a 1920s market and the round-about with a giant durian. Around it are the pepper farms that supply Kampot pepper, the first Cambodian product with protected geographical status, and the salt fields toward Kep.
The abandoned French hill station on Bokor, with its shell of a casino, is a 40 km drive up the mountain.
Why it stays quiet
Sihanoukville and the islands take the beach traffic; Kampot draws long-stay foreigners rather than tour groups, and its riverbank is quiet outside the December holiday peak.
Where it is
Before you go
Rent a bicycle or scooter for the pepper farms. Sunset river cruises are cheap. Bokor road is steep; go early to beat cloud.
Updated 2026-09-06 · Suggest a correction
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