A Hiking Guide to Kep National Park

Sometimes you end up in places that you didn’t plan for. We never heard about Kep before, and we never planned to go here. Yet somehow, we found ourselves hiking through Kep National Park on our adventure in Cambodia.

We really love to explore the lesser-known places around the world, and we feel like Kep is one of those.

Kep isn’t a grand national park compared to some of the big ones around the world, but it had a real jungle-feel to it, and we saw so many animals and viewpoints on the way.

Hiking in Kep National Park was such a great experience that we think it’s worth sharing with you.

So in this travel guide, we’ll tell you all you need to know about this hike, so that if you ever find yourself in Kep, you’re prepared to visit this little beautiful National Park by yourself.

About Kep National Park in Cambodia

Kep National Park is located in the small coast town of Kep, also known as Krong Kaeb, in Cambodia. It’s super easy to get to, which means you don’t need any transportation to take you there as long as you stay somewhere in Kep.

In this section, we’ll share some information about the hike. You’ll learn about where to find a map over Kep National Park, the entrance fee and opening hours, and what to bring for the hike.

Kep National Park map & trail

We began our hike from the entrance of Kep National Park and ended it with a celebratory pizza back in Kep town. It took us 4,5 hours from the beginning to the end, and the hike in itself was only about 8 kilometers in total.

The reason it took us so long was because we walked slow, and we were filming on the way. You can definitely do the hike faster if you want.

We followed the route on Maps.me (one of our favorite free travel apps) So make sure to download this offline map before you embark on your journey through Kep National Park. On the map you’ll see the trail, the entrance, the viewpoints, and where to find the sunset rock.

Kep National Park entrance fee

To be completely honest, we’re actually a bit unsure about the entrance fee and opening hours of Kep National Park. When we entered the park in the morning, nobody was there to write us in. So we just walked straight into the park.

Our guesthouse had told us that sometimes there is a park ranger, and sometimes there isn’t.

So our advice is to just go with it.

The entrance fee to Kep National Park should be around $1, so you won’t go bankrupt in case you have to buy a ticket. But like I said, we just went in without paying because there was nobody at the ticket booth (which was literally a little shed with a hammock in it).

Kep National Park opening hours

We’re not sure about the official the opening hours in Kep National Park, but according to a sign we saw, the entrance to Kep National Park closes at 4 PM, and you have to leave the park by 5:30 PM.

So just make sure to visit anytime between the morning and the afternoon, and you’ll be just fine.

What to bring for the hike

• Mosquito repellent. Or you’ll get eaten alive.
• Plenty of water. Cambodia is really hot and humid, so you’ll probably work up a good sweat on your hike. Make sure to bring enough water to stay hydrated.
• Snacks. It’s always a good idea to bring some snacks whenever you go hiking – gotta keep that blood sugar level high.
• Good enclosed shoes. please don’t attempt to do this hike in flip-flops… Especially if you’re hiking to the Sunset Rock where the trail is just branches, roots, and leaves. Also, you don’t want to have exposed feet if you encounter a snake.
• Download Maps.me offline map. Like we mentioned before, download the offline and free map over Kep National Park (It’s the Cambodia map), so you’ll have an idea about where you are and where you are going. Just notice that some of the shortcuts outlined in the map aren’t really trails – so keep following the big trail around the park.

Our hiking experience in Kep National Park

Now that we’ve prepared you for all the practical information regarding this hike, it’s time for us to share our experience. So here are some of the highlights from our day in Kep National Park.

The hike begins

We tried to get up really early to do the hike, but it was already 8 AM when we found ourselves at Kep National Park entrance. Oh well, at least we tried. But most importantly, our mood was high and we were ready to explore the jungle.

The first part of the trail is just a steep incline for a couple of minutes. Then it’ll flatten out once you get up high enough, and it stays flat until the sunset rock viewpoint.

We saw the first viewpoint of the day at the Led Zep Café next to the trail. Hanging in a hammock next to a view over the ocean with a fresh fruit smoothie in hand would have been a dream. However, we had to keep on moving because the hike had just begun.

We found that the trail was pretty easy to follow – it was even wide enough for a small car to drive on it. During our hike, we met 20 young Cambodian teenagers who were out on a small scooter trip. So I guess you can also go around the park on a scooter, but since we love walking, we would suggest you to go by foot.

2023 Update: Pictures and comments online suggest that the gravel road has become a concrete road, so you should be able to easily go on a scooter now. Let me know in the comments if you’ve been recently.

We’d been walking for 10 minutes when we started to get attacked by mosquitoes… I was wearing long training pants, but they managed to bite through my clothes. So I had to spray mosquito repellent on top of my pants to keep them away. Make sure to bring mosquito repellent!

But even though I was itching my way through the first part of the trail, my mood was still pretty high.

Wildlife in the jungle

One of the most amazing things about this hike was the jungle sounds that surrounded us. Imagine listening to 1000 animals at the same time! Insects, reptiles, monkeys, birds – all lurking around in the jungle. Kep National Park is just full of wildlife.

We only met a handful of people on our hike, which means that the national park isn’t overrun by tourists who scare away the wildlife from the trail. It was just us and the jungle.

We didn’t spot any monkeys or snakes (thank god!), but we did see a lot of lizards, insects, birds, and a massive toad that didn’t look like it was starving. The wildlife in the jungle is definitely one of the best things about the hike.

Sunset Rock Viewpoint

After about 4,5 kilometers, the trail lead us out of the jungle and onto a concrete road. We followed the road for a couple of hundred meters until we saw Wat Samot Raingsei (A Cambodian temple) on our right.

There is a road next to this temple. And if you follow this road, you’ll find the way to the Sunset Rock Viewpoint. If you, on the other hand, continue down the big road, you’ll make your way down to Kep town.

We of course wanted to see the Sunset Rock Viewpoint, so we followed the road next to the temple and began a pretty tough ascent. It’s only about 1 kilometer to the Sunset Rock Viewpoint from the temple, however, the incline definitely makes it longer than 10 minutes.

It was just before midday, so the sun was high and Cambodia was hot and humid. And we were completely bathed in sweat. It was no longer the mosquito repellent that kept the mosquitoes away, but my big layer of sweat. Sorry for painting that picture for you.

We saw some nice-looking concrete stairs and decided to go this way. According to the map, it was a shortcut to Sunset Rock Viewpoint. But after about 30 steps, the stairs suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere. We wondered if they had run out of concrete.

The rest of the hike to the viewpoint was a very dense jungle trail where we climbed in between roots and trees.

And then all of a sudden, we made it to the viewpoint. And it was definitely worth the sweat!

We sat down on the Sunset rock and just enjoyed the view over Kep. To the left we could see Kep Beach and to the right we could see Kep Crab market. Having been to those places a few days earlier, it was nice to see them from above.

It was a great viewpoint, and I’m sure the sunset here is truly phenomenal.

Back in Kep Town

We left the Sunset Rock Viewpoint and went back down to the temple. From here, we followed the concrete road back into Kep town. It took us around 15 minutes (1 – 1,5 kilometers), and we were honestly so happy to be back in civilization.

After hiking 8 kilometres for 4,5 hours, it was time to get saturated again.

So we ended our day in Kep National Park with a big fatty pizza and an ice cold Fanta and beer. What better way to celebrate a successful day of hiking in Cambodia?

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We hope you enjoyed this blog post about Kep National Park in Cambodia. We can definitely 100% recommend spending some time in Kep on your next trip to Cambodia!

Please leave a comment if you have done this hike and want to share your experience, or if you have any questions about it.

Looking to explore other national parks in Cambodia? Then check out Bokor National Park, it’s honestly one of the most peculiar and bizarre places we’ve ever visited! Or check out the must-visit Angkor Wat Archeological Park.

Thanks for reading and happy travels!