Veal Veng is located in southwestern Pursat province and 125km from Pursat town. Three guesthouses have recently sprung up in Pramoy, providing affordable accommodation (USD $5 per night). Several restaurants cater with local food; however, take your phrase book, as English is not widely spoken and menus are in Khmer.
For those wanting to step off the beaten track, Veal Veng offers an opportunity to visit a destination. For a rural jungle experience, plan to spend 3-7 days exploring the area, maybe climbing the second tallest mountain in Cambodia, Phnom Samkos (1,717m) or maybe Phnom Tumpor. Local guides can be hired at USD $5 per day and a good guide may even be able to show you signs of elephants, sun bears and even tigers (although bear in mind this is very rare). The best time to visit is between November to February, as leeches are very common in the rainy season!)The town of Pramoy, Veal Veng was one of the last outposts of the Khmer Rouge, and is now growing quite rapidly due to successful landmine clearing. A high percentage of people have migrated from other districts but some ethnic people still remain – the Por, although most can be found in the O Som commune.It takes about 3 hours to reach Veal Veng and several shared taxis leave Pursat each day from local taxi station, eastern old market. To secure enough space inside, its worth paying a little extra for two seats USD $ 5 one way trip.
Veal Veang shares a border with Battambang Province to the north, Thailand to the west, Koh Kong Province to the south and the Pursat districts of Phnum Kravanh and Bakan to the east. The northern end of the Cardamom Mountains cover the eastern edge of Veal Veang to the Thai border.[2] According to the 1998 Census, Veal Veang district is made up of 5 communes and 20 villages.[3] However, the population of the district was not enumerated in the census due to security concerns.[4] From 1979 until the end of the 1990s, Veal Veang was one of the last remaining strongholds of the Khmer Rouge.
The legacy of the Cambodian civil war and over 30 years of Khmer Rouge occupation has left many parts of the district heavily contaminated with landmines.[5] As mines are cleared and roads improved, logging both legal and illegal threatens the remaining forested areas. Veal Veang is also home to around 300 families of the few remaining ethnic minority Pear people.[6]
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