Sopheakmit/Preah Nimith Waterfall

Located on the Cambodia-Laos border, in Preah Vihear province, is a spectacular feature of the majestic Mekong River known as Preah Nimith or Sopheakmit waterfall, and also known by some locals as Lbak Khoun. It is quite a sight, where the power and sheer volume of the Mekong river meet a grand limestone plateau and cascade. The river is incredibly wide here, breaking into several branches and spreading itself out over 8km with Preah Nimith Waterfall located right by the bank offering easy access and stunning views of this natural wonder.

There is a hotel located on the riverbank southern end of the waterfall offering views, there’s also a public rest shelter, stalls selling drinks etc, and at the northern end a string of wooden stalls offering somewhere to eat and rest, and also a safe area to go for a swim. Lots of freshly caught fish are available here and the prices are quite reasonable.

The hotel offers rooms from around $48 and up, whilst nearby there are other guesthouses. The best time to visit, aka when the water is nice and blue, is outside of the rainy season from Nov/December to May.

The beauty of staying overnight here is one, just to listen to the Mekong sing its song all night, another, to take in the awesome sunset and sunrise atmosphere.

There is actually a sealed bitumen road that joins Preah Nimith to Preah Rumkel and the views of lush green mountains and valleys are quite stunning, also there’s the Asia Temple with its grand Buddha statue. In Preah Rumkel there were apparently Irrawaddy dolphins in the past but no sightings for a long time now, regardless is a very nice spot with lots of local restaurants enjoying a wonderful view of the Mekong as it begins joining itself back into one mighty river. In Preah Rumkel I believe you can also hire boats and explore the nearby islands.

Getting there – You can get to Preah Nimith and Preah Rumkel by good roads from either Choam Khsant, Preah Vihear city, or Stung Treng. In all three cases, the roads are sealed for part of the way and dirt roads for the final leg. As of 02/23, the roads were in quite a good condition.

If you are coming from Preah Vihear or Stung Treng, you’ll be taking Road 64 which is a good sealed bitumen road, then look for the road that leads north near the village of Sam Ang. You can take this dirt road all the way to its end then turn right to Preah Nimith and then follow the sealed road down south to Preah Rumkel if you wish to go there. You can keep heading south and it eventually rejoins the same road you came in on.

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..