Adrenaline activities are abundant. Swimming clear volcanic lake, shower under waterfalls, or trek in the vast Virachey National Park - it's all
here. Tourism is set to take off, but that is if the lowland politicians and generals don't plunder the place first. Ratanakiri is the frontline in the battle for land, and the slash-and burn minorities are losing out thanks to their tradition of collective ownership. The forest is disappearing at an alarming rate, being replaced by rubber plantations and cashew-nut farms. Hopefully someone wakes up and smells the coffee- there's plenty of that as well - before it's too late.
Gem mining is big business in Ratanakiri, hardly surprising given the name means 'hill of the precious stones'. There is food-quality zircon mined in several parts of the province, as well as other semiprecious stones. The prices are low compared with the west, but don't get suckered into a dream deal, as gem scams are as old as the hills themselves.
Ratanakiri Province played its parts in the country's contemporary tragedy by serving as a base for the khmer rouge leadership during much of the 1960s. Pol Pot and leng Sary fled here in 1963 and established headquarters in Ta Veng in the north of the province.
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| Article | LonelyPlanet |
| All Images | Flickr |
| Youtube Video | Ratanakiri Province |
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