Kratie Mekong River Dolphins 

The Irrawaddy dolphins of the Mekong River in Cambodia are one of the nation’s top wonders of the natural world and the place to see them is the village of Kampi located 15 km north of the city of Kratie (Krong Kracheh) of Kratie Province.

Boats depart from Mekong Dolphin Pleasance (អន្លង់ផ្សោត) and are well organised and overseen by local authorities with no need to pre-book as the services run on demand. Another bonus is that they are private tours with the boat and driver taking only you or your group. I am not sure what the max passengers were but it appears 4-5 is comfortable and there are plenty of boats available.

The boats only leave from here, as marked on the map below, where there are also several drink, snack and souvenir stalls. Tickets are purchased from the booth which costs $10 for 60 mins (Nov-May) and 90 mins in (Jun-Oct). If there are more than three, prices drop to $8 per person while children are $5 regardless. If you are a Khmer national, tours are cheaper but I did notice that the duration is also substantially less.

Once you have a ticket, wander across to the dock and the next available driver will lead you down to his boat. The boats they use are similar to those used just about everywhere in South East Asia, a slender wooden hull with a stationary engine driving a raisable prop. These, are a little wider with raised sides and thankfully fitted with a gazebo offering shade.

The boat doesn’t head out far, just a few minutes north of the dock and a little south of the Kampi Rapids, then, the cat-and-mouse game of dolphin spotting begins! The driver will motor out and then switch off and paddle quietly to where he thinks the dolphins may emerge next. If no luck, he’ll motor on to another spot and try again.

The dolphins are quite elusive and while looking in all directions for their next appearance you’ll first likely hear their cough (chuff) as they emerge and clear their blowhole. The chance of reacting quickly enough to catch this on a camera is slim or incredibly lucky and by the time you fuddle around raising your phone or camera, you’ve probably missed seeing them. Better to enjoy the sightings and if you do want a great picture, I suggest a DSLR with a good zoom lens and a lot of patience. According to the WWF which has done some great work in reducing deaths and increasing the population, Irrawaddy dolphins are quite shy and not as “acrobatic” as the common conception we hold of dolphins perhaps from performances in aqua parks etc.

My colleague Ms Soun, a local river expert who grew up on the Tonle Sap, exchanged local river tales with the friendly driver and even took over the helm at one point guiding us through the fast-flowing waters!

In our 90 minutes (from around 4 pm till almost 6 pm), we got to see the dolphins emerge around five or six times, they seemed to travel in small groups, only once did one do a full leap out of the water which was very cool to see, mostly they appeared only to chuff. More than just the dolphins, being on the Mekong in the late afternoon is a very wonderful place to be.

Reaching the boat dock and ticket office – You can follow the road north along the river from Kratie town by car, moto or tuk-tuk, taking around 30 minutes. The road is a little rough but OK, some parts are sealed and some parts dirt while in the process of upgrading by the looks (06/22).

On the way, you can visit Phnom Sambok and a little further north is the Kampi Rapids area which is a popular place for swimming, eating and chilling out in hammocks. There is no accommodation in Kampi, the closest is in Kratie which is pleasant enough.

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap. Rodney Charles L'Huillier has spent over seven years in Cambodia and is the author of Ancient Cambodia (2024) and Essential Siem Reap (2017, 2019). Contact via [email protected] - more..