Walking with spirits in Cambodia’s sacred forests

Former loggers and poachers have embraced ancient traditions to promote and protect the Cardamom Mountains’ ever-threatened natural wonders

I’m two hours downriver from the Chi Phat community ecotourism camp, in the Koh Kong region of Cambodia, when my phone signal fizzles out completely. It’s dawn and we’re chugging through the snaking Preak Piphot River towards the starting point of a 9-mile (15km) overnight trek into the country’s sacred, spirit-filled Cardamom mountain range. The region, a six-hour bus ride west of the capital Phnom Penh, recently made global news for being home to a raft of new species of fauna and a sanctuary for rare and endangered wildlife.