Where it sits
Stung Treng sits at the top of the Mekong’s Cambodian run, just below the Lao frontier at Trapeang Kriel. The stretch of river above the town is one of the most ecologically important in South-East Asia — a braided system of channels, sandbars and seasonally flooded forest recognised as a wetland of international importance.
The Sekong, Sesan and Srepok rivers all join the Mekong in or near the province, which is why the water here behaves so differently from the placid stretch further south.
What to see
Most visitors come for the river. Boat trips run out among the flooded forest and channels, and the Anlung Cheuteal pool near Preah Rumkel, at the very top of the province, is one of the last places the Mekong’s Irrawaddy dolphins can still be seen.
Preah Rumkel itself is a community-based ecotourism village with homestays, and doubles as the stop-off for the Lao border and the Sopheakmit falls just over the line.
The town is small and functional. Treat it as a base, not a destination.
Getting around
Stung Treng is the natural break on the long haul between Kratie and Ratanakiri, or on the overland route into southern Laos. Roads have improved but journeys are still long.