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Visiting Cambodia and not visiting the Kampot province is something tourists should avoid. Sharing about 80 kilometers of its coast with Thailand, this picturesque province of Cambodia lies on the southwest part of the country. Kampot, the capital of this province, which is famous for its well-preserved French colonial style architecture, resides on the base of the renowned Bokor Hill Station and the Elephant mountains. This is a quiet city, compared to Sihanoukville that lies to the North. This province is also famous for its fruits like mango, cocoanut and durian. Kampot is also famous for its pepper that has a unique taste and is in great demand by connoisseur of foods worldwide.

Geography: Kampot province occupies 4.873 square kilometers and is situated on the southwest of Cambodia. It is bordered on the north with Kampong Speu, on the south with the Gulf of Thailand, on the east with Takeo and on the west with Koh Kong and Sihanoukville. The east side of this province is flanked by typical plains that consists of agricultural plantations like rice fields. Height wise, the highest locations in this province are Bokor Hill Station which has an altitude of 1,027 meters and another hilltop to its north that has an altitude of 1,050 meters.

Population: As of 2007 the population of this province is approximately 619,088 or 4.31% of Cambodia’s population of 14,363,519. Of this there are 299,814 males and 319,274 females.

Climate: Cambodia is a tropical country hence one will find hot and humid climate in Kampot province. There is abundant rainfall during the monsoon. This climate makes it suitable for tourism all round the year. The average temperature of Kampot province is approximately 27º Celsius. With the coolest months being December and January and the hottest April, the minimum temperature is 16º Celsius. Due to its close proximity to the mountains and seashore, the weather of Kampot province is cooler when compared to the rest of Cambodia’s cities or provinces. Winter is from November to March, summer from March to May and monsoon from May to October.

Economy: The economy of Kampot depends upon its industries and produce. Thanks to its famous mango, cocoanut and durian along with it’s world famous pepper, the main economy of Kampot revolves around the export of these farm produces. Apart from this, there are no other industry.

Get in and out: There are many ways of visiting Kampot province and once can approach it directly from Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. There are a number of bus services that you can take from Phnom Penh. It is recommended that one use national highway No. 3 for approaching this district since it is the best-maintained road. Air-conditioned buses depart from the central market ( New Market ) two times a day and it costs approximately $5 per person. This journey takes around 5 hours. Once can also avail of share taxis which will cost $3 to $5 per person for an air-conditioned one.