Trip to Kirirom National Park

Visitors Center

Kathy Kremer at Kirirom Visitors Center The Kirirom National Park, whose official name is Preah Suramarith Kossmak, is about 80,000 acres of forested land on a rare plateau in southwestern Cambodia. The elevation is about 2,200 feet, high enough to support a large pine forest quite distinct from most of the country's tropical jungle. Our last stop in the park was a newly renovated visitors center which was small but quite impressive.

Displays at the Visitors Center The visitors center has some really attractive displays although there are too many for such a small space. Still it was refreshing to see such high standards applied to the center. Especially rewarding was meeting the woman in the picture, the manager of the center, who obviously was proud of her country, her park, and her job representing it to the public.

Ruins of the king's house in the park Next to the visitors center are the ruins of a large old mansion. Pictured here is a tall, multi-part chimney on a foundation surrounded by a wooden deck that is falling dangerously apart. The house was a hot-season estate of Cambodia's King Sihanouk but it was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge who were not finally driven out of this area until 1992.

Kirirom: Main Page Vendors Waterfalls Various Things Visitors Center

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	The Kirirom National Park, whose official name is Preah Suramarith Kossmak, is about 80,000 acres of forested land on a rare plateau in southwestern Cambodia. The elevation is about 2,200 feet, high enough to support a large pine forest quite distinct from most of the country's tropical jungle. Our last stop in the park was a newly renovated visitors center which was small but quite impressive.
	The visitors center has some really attractive displays although there are too many for such a small space. Still it was refreshing to see such high standards applied to the center. Especially rewarding was meeting the woman in the picture, the manager of the center, who obviously was proud of her country, her park, and her job representing it to the public.
	Next to the visitors center are the ruins of a large old mansion. Pictured here is a tall, multi-part chimney on a foundation surrounded by a wooden deck that is falling dangerously apart. The house was a hot-season estate of Cambodia's King Sihanouk but it was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge who were not finally driven out of this area until 1992.