Ride Cambodia’s only funicular to visit the waterfalls of Ta Chat

Situated in a suburb of Khemarak Phoumin city is a 20m waterfall, which runs down into a huge pond filled with fish as swimmers hurtle into the water from a rope swing tied to a tree.

But what attracts many people to Ta Chat waterfall is the unique mode of transportation offered at the site – a modestly built funicular train to bring you to the top of the waterfall.

Though funiculars are very common in many countries around the world, Ta Chat waterfall’s is the only one in Cambodia. The journey takes three minutes or so.

“This was the initiative of our big boss to construct the mountain elevator in order to ease the walk to the top, especially for older people,” says Darng Deam, manager of the resort.

The big boss Deam is referring to is Tea Vinh, a navy commander in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, who developed the area under the name Tourist Community Area of Ta Chat.

“Tea Vinh aims to help the community to earn a living from the tourism sector around the city. Importantly, he has helped develop the town’s leisure places in order to attract more people to come,” Deam says.

The resort has a 20m waterfall, a 5m waterfall, as well as shallow water rapids for those who wish to bathe in quieter surroundings.

“During the dry season, the waterfall flows very little water into the pool. April and May, the very hot months, have the least water and are the lowest season for tourists,”34-year-old Deam says.

“But with the recent rains, the resort is looking fresh and the water has started flowing into the pool and swimmers will start to come gradually. In the rainy season we see a lot of water flow from June to January, we normally welcome at least 300 to 500 people per day.”

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