History
Until 1903 the entire mountain massif (which is the lower extremity of the Southeast Asian Massif which plunges down from Tibet, belonged to Laos. But the French decided to make Stung Treng Province a part of Cambodia and to designate the high mountains as the border between Laos and Cambodia all the way east to Vietnam.
From 2004-2008 the World Bank sponsored a protection program here, but mysteriously pulled out on December 31st of '08. According to the park rangers, not one single patrol went out in all of 2009 and the same can likely be said of 2010.
Flora and fauna
Gibbons, pig-tailed macaques, douc langurs, sun bears, Great hornbills, clouded leopards and Asian elephants occur in the park. Whether or not tigers and leopards still exist is unknown. Speculation that the Javan Rhino persists deep in the unexplored region along the Laos border is probably unfounded.
Understand
This is an enormous park -covering 3,325 square kilometers and established in 1993- and most treks just barely put a dent in it. The park is under constant threat from illegal logging and poaching but the worst threat of all is the talk of a Chinese-funded road being bulldozed across the southwestern corner of it. No road plans have been announced to date, and a trek to the "holy grail" of Phnom Veal Thom rewards the hardy traveler with jaw-dropping views of the wild and unexplored mountainous borders with Laos and Vietnam; views to the south open out onto the vast hilly jungle spilling down to the Sesan River and the Brao and Kreung villages that dot the river.
Climate
Very rainy and leechy during the summer, cool and dry during the winter December-March, which is the best time to visit
Landscape
Evergreen forest, bamboo forest, high grasslands and river valleys.