The Tonle Sap Lake is the most prominent feature on the map - a huge dumbbell-shaped body of water stretching across the northwest of the country. In the monsoon season, it is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, swelling to an expansive 12,000 km2. During the dry season it shrinks 5-fold, draining into the Tonle Sap -River which merges with the Mekong River at the 'chaktomuk' at Phnom Penh.
During raining season, it increases five fold the Tonle Sap River to reverse direction, filling the lake. The engine of this phenomenon is the Mekong, which becomes bloated with runoff from the monsoons and backs up into the Tonle Sap River, forcing the waters back into the lake. More than 100 varieties of waterbirds including several threatened and endangered species, over 200 species of fish, as well as crocodiles, turtles, macaques, otter and other wildlife inhabit the inundated mangrove forests.
The Lake is also an important commercial resource. In harmony with the specialized ecosystems, the human occupations at the edges of the lake is similarly distinctive - floating villages, towering stilted houses, huge fish
traps, and an economy and way of life deeply intertwined with the lake, the fish, the wildlife and the cycles of rising and falling waters.
Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary
The sanctuary at the Prek Toal core area of the Biosphere Reserve has been called "the single most important breeding ground in Southeast Asia for globally
threatened large waterbirds."
The Biosphere covers 31,282 hectares at the northwest tip of the Lake and plays host to species including Greater and
Lesser Adjuncts, Black-headed Ibis, Painted Stork, Milky Stork, Spot-billed Pelican, Grey-Headed Fish Eagle and many more species. Of the three core areas, Prek Toal is the most accessible from Siem Reap and the most popular with birdwatchers. The best time for viewing is the dry season (Dec-May) when flocks of migratory birds congregate.
As the dry season progresses and the water recedes, the number of birds increases but the travel to some of the more important viewing areas becomes more difficult.
Chong Khneas
Chong Khneas is the floating village at the edge of the lake most accessible to Siem Reap. If you want a relatively quick and easy look at the Tonle Sap, boat tours depart from the Chong Khneas boat docks all day long.
The boatman will probably point out the differing Khmer and Vietnamese floating households and the floating markets, clinics, schools and other boatloads of tourists.Chong Khneas is over-touristed and is not as picturesque as floating villages further afield.
The trip usually includes a couple of stops - usually a touristy floating 'fish and bird exhibition' with a souvenir and snack shop.
Kampong Phluk
Kampong Phluk is a cluster of three villages of stilted houses built within the floodplain about 16 km southeast of Siem Reap. The villages are primarily Khmer
and have about 3000 inhabitants between them. Flooded mangrove forest surrounds the area and is home to a variety of wildlife including crab-eating
macaques. During the dry season when the lake is low,the buildings in the villages seem to soar atop their 6- meter stilts exposed by the lack of water. At this time of year many of the villagers move out onto the lake and build temporary houses. In the wet season when water level rises, the villagers move back to their permanent houses on the floodplain, the stilts now hidden under the water. Kampong Phluk's economy is, as one might expect, based in fishing, primary in shrimp harvesting.The area can be reached by boat from the Chong Khneas or by road.
Kampong Khleang
Kampong Khleang is located on the northern lake-edge about 35 km east of Siem Reap. It is more remote and less touristed than Kam-pong Phluk. Visitors during the dry season are universally awestruck by the forest of stilted houses rising up to 10 meters in the air. In the wet season the waters rise to within one or two meters of the buildings.
Kampong Khleang is a permanent community within the floodplain of the Lake, with an economy based in fishing and surrounded by flooded forest. But Kampong Khleang is significantly larger with near 10 times the population of Kampong Phluk, making it the largest community on the Lake.
The area can be reached by boat from the Chong Khneas docks or by a combination of road to Domdek on Route #6 and then boat to the village, depending on the time of year. During the dry season, boats cannot get all of the way to the main villages. Consult your guesthouse or tour operator about current conditions.
Mechrey
Mechrey is a floating village about 15km north of Chong Khneas, about half way to Prek Toal. The village’s economy is based primarily in fishing, and quite a few farm crocodiles as well. In recent years Mechrey has also opened itself to eco-tours, welcoming tours of the village and area.
There is also a fair bit of wild bird life in the area. Not as good as Prek Toal, but cheaper and easier to get to.