“On a cloud-wrapped mountain above Kampot, the French left a grand casino-hotel and a church to rot - Bokor Hill Station, an eerie ruin lost in near-constant mist.”
About Bokor Hill Station
The French built Bokor Hill Station in the 1920s as a cool-climate retreat, with a casino-hotel, church and villas, reportedly at heavy cost in labourers' lives. It was abandoned and reoccupied through the wars of the twentieth century, including by Khmer Rouge holdouts, leaving the buildings empty and weathered. The plateau is now part of a national park undergoing controversial redevelopment.
Overview Bokor Hill Station sits high on Bokor mountain above Kampot, a retreat the French built in the 1920s to escape the coastal heat, complete with a grand casino-hotel, a church and villas. Abandoned after decades of war and instability, the empty, weather-stained buildings stood wrapped in the mountain's near-constant cloud, a famously eerie ruin.
Overview Bokor Hill Station sits high on Bokor mountain above Kampot, a retreat the French built in the 1920s to escape the coastal heat, complete with a grand casino-hotel, a church and villas.
Mist and Redevelopment The plateau, within Preah Monivong National Park, is often shrouded in fog that drifts through the old structures. Recent development has added new resort building alongside the historic shells, but the old Bokor Palace casino and the lonely church remain the draw.
The Experience
The drive up winds through forest into the cloud that usually caps the plateau. The old Bokor Palace casino looms out of the mist, its empty halls open to explore, and the small church stands stark on the bare hilltop. The atmosphere depends entirely on the weather, with fog making it haunting and clear days opening huge coastal views.
Why It Matters
Bokor Hill Station is one of Cambodia's most atmospheric colonial relics, a symbol of French hill-station retreat and later abandonment, set within Preah Monivong National Park on its misty plateau.
Bokor Hill Station is one of Cambodia's most atmospheric colonial relics, a symbol of French hill-station retreat and later abandonment, set within Preah Monivong National Park on its misty plateau.
Why Visit
Few places combine colonial ruins, mountain cloud forest and sweeping coastal views like this, and it is an easy day trip from Kampot. Go on a clear morning for the views or accept the fog for the eerie mood, and explore the old casino and church.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Go up in the morning for the best chance of clearing cloud and coastal views.
- 2
It is an easy day trip from Kampot; many do it by motorbike or organised tour.
- 3
Explore the old Bokor Palace casino and the hilltop church, the main historic draws.
- 4
Bring a layer; the plateau is cooler, windier and damper than the coast below.
