Yeak Laom Lake is situated 5 km. south - east of Banlung. The Yeak Laom lake (volcanic crater) is the most beautiful lake of Ratanakiri formed by a volcanic eruption almost 4,000 years ago with 50 m. deep, 800 m. diameter and a walking path around the lake of 2,500 m. Two hundred meters of the track is a quaint wooden building housing tribal handicraft, the Crafts Museum.
The Yeak Laom Lake in Ratanakiri consists of five Tampuen villages totaling to about 1500 people. The villages known as the Lon, Lapoe and Sil are located adjacent to the road to Yeak Laom Lake. The Chree village is positioned to the west of the lake, next to Banlung. Phnom village is to the northeast of the lake.
The traditional lands of Yeak Laom once included the land which now occupied by Ban Lung. Formerly profuse in natural resources, the Yeak Laom Lake, Ratanakiri now retains smaller areas of forest, much of which are crucial to sustaining the ecological community and the spiritual connection of the people with the land.
Apart from the Yeak Laom Lake protected area, there is the Spirit Forest of Youl Mountain and the forests of community use of the Koul Mountain and Vilakart.
Walks to the Yeak Laom Lake, Ratanakiri take around 3 hours but much of the experience consists of getting to the location.
The guides always welcome your suggestions for further activities. They can also arrange for other tourist activities in Ratanakiri, including elephant riding and boating.
The Yeak Laom Commune is featured by basalt rock formations, deep red soils, and a variety of forests.
Tourists have the option to take a dip in the lucid waters or perhaps stroll in the jungle that resides several nearby waterfalls. Another popular activity in this area is rafting. The aboriginals of
Khmer Leu hill have always acknowledged the natural areas and the lake as a sacred place, abode to the spirits of the water, forest and land. According to the local myth of Yeak Laom Lake, this area is resided
by tremendous, spiritual aquatic beings. One will be exhilarated by the area’s legends. The region’s hill tribe villages will entice you with their unique culture and norms.
Groom Houses at Yeak Laom Lake
"I visited this lake while in the sparsely populated north eastern corner of Cambodia. It is called the crater lake because it resides in an ancient crater that was caused by either an extinct volcano or an asteroid impact. The locals I talked to couldn't seem to decide on which one it was and everyone had a different explanation.
One of the really interesting things about the lake is that it is shaped in a perfect circle and the water is so clear and fresh that I could see straight to the bottom.
I wasn't the only one visiting the lake that day. It was the middle of April, or 'hot season', when the daily temperature was reaching over 40°C and most of the locals were bathing in the cool waters to avoid the searing heat. I was having a fun diving contest with this group of Cambodian kids and grabbed a shot while a few were preparing for their next jump."
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