Discovery Center: The Secret Lake of Kampot, A Kayak Journey Through Khmer History

Just a few kilometres from Kampot, between pepper plantations and karst hills, a stretch of water carries a name that is both intriguing and misleading: the Secret Lake. Far from being a simple scenic spot, this man-made body of water holds the memory of a dark period in Cambodian history. Today, Kep West's Discovery Center runs kayak trips here, gliding silently between drowned trees and water lilies, through one of the most striking landscapes in the province.

Two Kep West tandem kayaks glide among white water lilies, with a hill and a line of trees in the background

A Misleading Name

The Secret Lake isn't secret at all — except in name. Known locally as Tomnup Tek Krolar (sometimes transliterated Boeung Tanop Tek Krolar), this vast artificial reservoir is today one of the most visited spots in the Kampot countryside, about thirty minutes' drive from the town centre, on the road toward Kep. Its surface area varies considerably with the seasons: generous at the end of the monsoon, it shrinks noticeably during the dry season, exposing dead tree trunks that give the landscape the look of a drowned forest.

A History Born of Tragedy

This reservoir is nothing natural. It was dug in the late 1970s, under the Khmer Rouge regime, to serve as an irrigation dam meant to supply the surrounding rice paddies. Like thousands of other hydraulic projects undertaken across Cambodia during the same period, its construction relied on forced labour — villagers from the surrounding area compelled to work under extremely harsh conditions. This origin, rarely highlighted in tourist brochures, makes the Secret Lake a site of memory as much as a natural one: a quiet reminder of what the country went through during that period, just metres from the colourful kayaks that now cross its waters.

A Rebirth Into a Peaceful Landscape

Half a century later, the site has taken on a different face. The lake's calm waters are now dotted with white water lilies and lotus flowers, while the dead tree trunks, standing in the water since the dam was filled, are in places crowned with rust-coloured and green foliage that stands out against the blue sky. All around, the Kampot countryside unfolds its karst hills, tall sugar palms and rice paddies, in a landscape that bears little resemblance to that of a forced-labour project.

View from the bow of a kayak, facing a stretch of flooded forest where dead tree trunks emerge, some still covered in foliage

The Experience Offered by Kep West's Discovery Center

It is this stretch of flooded forest, along with the more open expanses of the lake, that Kep West's Discovery Center guides visitors through on its kayak trips. Led by local instructors, participants paddle in tandem or solo kayaks between the drowned trunks, sometimes pausing among the water lilies to take a closer look at the aquatic vegetation. The outing alternates between open stretches of water, lined with sugar palms and low hills, and narrower passages deep in the flooded vegetation, offering a striking contrast between the stillness of the water and the karst relief on the horizon.

A kayaker paddles across open water, facing a row of sugar palms and low hills bordering the lake

Practical Information

The Secret Lake lies between Kampot and Kep, near the pepper plantations and the Phnom Chhnork cave. The kayak trip offered by Kep West's Discovery Center can be combined with a visit to a Kampot pepper plantation or a cave tour, for a full day out in the countryside. Bring light clothing, sunscreen and a change of clothes: the outing takes place in full sun, on shallow, generally calm water.

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Kep West website: www.kepwest.com — Kep West phone: +855 78 888 552 — Sailing & Discovery Center phone: +855 78 737 995.