There was a time when Cambodia's largest province, Mondulkiri, was in torment: The rain of bombs triggered off an exodus, hill tribes and villagers fled in waves to the relative safety of Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

Today, with the return of peace to the remote province, the provincial government is hoping for a different development: an invasion of investors and tourists. Remote, Mondulkiri extends about 140km in a north-south direction and 150km from the west to the east. The province consists manly of forested highlands and rolling hills. Much of the underlying rocks are of volcanic origins that have weathered on the surface to a rich fertile soil.

Mondulkiri, Cambodia's "outback", has a thinly spread-out population. Only 68,000 people live in an area covering 14,682 sq. km. The capital town, Sen Monorom, has a population of about 75,000 people. Indeed, the capital is no more than a large village. Unlike most capital towns, Sen Monorom has no high-rise buildings or shopping centers but few asphalt roads, supermarkets or few columns of row houses. Sen Monorom is remote from Phnom Penh. The road connecting Phnom Penh and Sen Monorom was destroyed after 1970 as a casualty of the war however now it has been paved from a loan made possible by the Chinese government. It takes between 6 hours by car to reach Sen Monorom from the 370-km distant capital of the country. This is the land of mountains and primary rainforest, and home to several hill tribes.

Mondulkiri is Cambodia's largest province. Seventy per cent of the population belongs to tribal minorities with the majority of them being Phnong. In their own language, Phnong means "people of the mountains". Ten different ethnic groups, all with varying languages and traditions, make up the tribal minorities. The remaining 30 per cent of Mondulkiri's population are a mixture of Khmer, Chinese and Muslim Chams. As ghosts, spirits, and black magic have a firm place in the social fabric of the tribal societies, don't be surprised to see "witch doctors" performing ancient rites to cure sickness or to ward off evil spirits.

The people live mainly off the land, planting dry rice, fruit trees, and a variety of vegetables. Mondulkiri's high elevation ensures a cool climate and equitable rain. Endowed with highest peak of the province just above the 1,000 meters mark rolling hills and fertile soil, Mondulkiri favours all kinds of agro-industrial activities.

The government is encouraging the planting of strawberries, coffees, rubber trees, avocado and cashew nuts. Besides the potential for agriculture, there are also lost of opportunities for the development of ecotourism and adventure travel right throughout the Mondulkiri province. Four national parks within its area are host to a variety of rare animals, including wild elephants, tigers, leopards, rhinos, deer, banteng, gaur, and several other rare species of the bovine family.  

Wildlife watching, jungle, hills, and stunning waterfalls could turn Mondulkiri, in due course, to an exotic adventure destination. Efforts are being made by the provincial government to set up facilities for tourists.