Environmental activist Pheng Sreysor has shown total dedication to protecting Cambodia's natural resources by volunteering on wildlife conservation missions since she was a teenager.
Pheng Sreysor, who also volunteers as an ecotourism guide in the Rolerk Kang Cheung area of the Cardamoms, says that her first real wilderness experience was at the age of 18, when she travelled to Prey Sangkruk Voan, in the province of Oddar Meanchey, in 2014.
In addition to camping in the forest, Sreysor, now 26, also explores the rugged regions of Cambodia's many ecotourism areas - from the highest mountains to the deepest forests.
‘For about five years now, I have travelled extensively in Cambodia, especially in the mountains,’ she says.
‘With all the beautiful places I have visited now, I doubt I will even be able to count them all,’ she adds.
In 2022, Sreysor spent 10 days hiking to reach the Chay 100 waterfall - ominously called ‘Death Falls’ by some of the people in the nearby villages.
Chay 100 is located in the middle of the deep Cardamom forest, on the border of the provinces of Koh Kong and Pursat, and can be reached from Khnong Phsa in Kampong Speu.
‘We wanted to find the waterfall called Chay 100,’ she says. ’I heard from older Cambodians that there was a beautiful and impressive waterfall hidden in the middle of the forest. So we wanted to find out if it was true and if we could find a way to make it easier for hikers to visit the area.’
Sreysor and a group of four other friends set off in search of Chay 100, accompanied by three guides from the local community. They had an unforgettable experience, but not quite as they had hoped.
‘Before setting off, everything was prepared for a maximum of seven days of hiking before returning to the village, including food, water and essential items,’ she recalls.
Adventure
Days 1 and 2
‘As we set off, we immediately discovered that the terrain was very rugged. It went up and down, sometimes crossing streams. We didn't get to rest our feet much. After climbing hills for more than three hours, we arrived as planned at the upper reaches of the Stung Anties River,’ Sreysor recounts.
Kbal Stung Anties is their second stop for the night. Rest is essential to build up the stamina needed to reach their destination without depleting their water reserves, especially in March, the hottest and sunniest month of the year in Cambodia.
Days 3-4
The adventurers have breakfast and hike in the mountains until noon. After their lunch break, they plan to continue on their way for another three hours.
‘After our break, we had been walking for about an hour when the guides stopped everyone and told us that we had lost our way. We walked around in circles until we spotted an old trail,’ she says.
‘We continued walking along the mountain until about 5pm, without hearing the sound of water we were hoping for. It was already dark when the guides - who now looked as worried as we were - told us that we had to go back to Kbal Stung Anties,’ says Sreysor.
On the fourth day, the group walked until 5pm and there was still no sign of Chay 100. They camped on a small plateau covered with rocks and roots where they spent the night after realising that they were still lost.
Fifth day
The group begins its search more cautiously this time, stopping to drink every two hours as they cross a jungle infested with land leeches that have to be removed at regular intervals.
The group approaches the Chay 100 river, then realises that the upper course is not at all where they expected it to be and that they still have to trudge through the forest and ford streams to reach it.
‘The further we walked, the more our destination seemed to be receding. The sun was setting and the guides started thinking about finding a place to spend the night, because if we went any further, it would be pitch black, we would be exposed on the mountainside and every step we took in any direction would be potentially dangerous,’ she explains.
Day 6
Sreysor remembers going around one bend in the trail, then another and yet another, crossing one valley after another in waist-deep water, clinging to vines and rocks to climb through narrow paths, until she was so tired that her legs began to tremble and after seven hours of hiking, every muscle in her body ached.
‘The guides went ahead of us and started looking for the trail, but when they came back, they told us they couldn't find any sign of Chay 100. I was starting to despair,’ she admits.
Day seven
Sreysor says that day seven was the hardest of all. They spent it climbing rock faces and clinging to vines, and every step was ‘a battle of wills, her body screaming at her to give up, but her mind telling her to keep going’.
‘We managed to climb from one big rock to another, over and over again, higher and higher, so high that I didn't dare look down anymore,’ says Sreysor.
‘When we reached the ridge, I felt a sense of relief, but then we had to walk to the top of the mountain.’
‘I heard someone shout and I thought to myself, ‘What now?’ and I expected the worst, but after a while, I realised that the guides were shouting that they had spotted the waterfall, this time for sure. Just seeing it eased my pain and my heart began to fill with joy again,’ says Sreysor.
‘After eating, we walked about an hour downstream to Chay 100 and took photos at the upper level and at the second section. We wanted to go down to the base of the waterfall, but we couldn't find a way to get there and we could only take photos from above, then it started to rain and around 5pm we went back to our last campsite,’ she says.
Eighth day
In the morning, after taking more photos of the waterfall, the group set off to climb the mountain, descend the other side and finally return home. The guides told them that they would have to walk for a day to Stung Anties and camp for one more night before returning to the village.
‘We thought we were going in the right direction, but we had been climbing and descending for four and a half hours and it was almost dark and we still hadn't found Khnon Srouch. We couldn't continue in the dark, so we camped for another night,’ she says.
Ninth day
Sreysor thought the day had started well, but in the afternoon one of the guides shouted that he had just reached Stung Trang, a lower part of Chay 100.
‘I heard him and couldn't believe it, because it was 3pm and we had very little food left,’ she said.
‘If we rested in Stung Trang, it was clear that we wouldn't be able to reach the village the next day.’
The team spent the ninth night camping in the jungle with very little to eat other than rice porridge, which the guides had to ration because it was essentially the only food they had left.
Tenth day
‘Around 7 a.m., we started walking to the top of the mountain and then on to Anties. Afterwards, we stopped to get rid of the leeches and have lunch. After eating, we continued on to Khnong Phsa and finally returned to the village just before dark, which was a relief, as no one wanted another night of camping or another minute of hiking.’
Relief
‘Our adventure lasted 10 days - three days longer than we had planned - and we walked the whole time. Every step was a struggle and towards the end there wasn't enough food or water and the land leeches kept biting us because we were bleeding everywhere from our scratches. ‘As a woman, my physical strength may be inferior to that of men, but my willpower enabled me to overcome these obstacles thanks to my unwavering passion for nature. I feel that after this experience, I am ready for anything, because I now know that, no matter how difficult the journey, I can make it,’ Sreysor confides.
The young adventurer says she can't wait to set off to discover the natural wonders of the Kingdom, but she warns that anyone who intends to follow in her footsteps must do so responsibly.
‘Hikers can explore safely without disturbing nature and wildlife,’ she says.
‘Limit the number of tourists and don't let hordes of them flock to the same place at the same time. Make sure they are educated about how to behave in nature and always send local guides with them to keep them safe - while preserving wildlife and the environment,’ she advises.
Raksmey Hong with our partner The Phnom Penh Post
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