Cardamom Mountains

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Overflight of an illegal logging camp in the Cardamom Mountains in Koh Kong Province

For other uses, see Cardamom (disambiguation).

The Krâvanh Mountains, or literally "Cardamom Mountains" (Khmer regular script: , Chuor Phnom Krâvanh; Thai: เขาบรรทัด, Khao Banthat), is a mountain range in the south-west area of Cambodia, near the border with Thailand. The highest elevation is the 1,813 meters (5,948 feet) high Phnom Aural near Pursat and is also the highest elevation of Cambodia.

The mountain range extends along a southeast-northwest axis, and is continued to the southeast by the Dâmrei Mountains and to the northwest by an extension into Thailand territory (Chanthaburi Province) known as the Soi Dao Mountains (Khao Soi Dao). The southern boundary of the Cardamoms is in Koh Kong Province and the northern boundary is in Veal Veang district in Pursat Province.

The hills formed one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge and was thus inaccessible. The inaccessibility of the hills, however, helped to preserve the area; the mountains now form an endangered ecoregion. The mountains contain many "jar sites" scattered around the mountains. The jars are a unique feature to the mountain. They are 60 cm high and carry the bones of deceased Cambodians. Local legends suggest the bones are the remains of Cambodian royalty.

Indochinese Tiger

The mountain range is home to fourteen endangered and threatened mammal species including Asian elephant, Indochinese_Tiger, Malayan sun bear, Pileated gibbon, Irrawaddy and humpback dolphins, and half of Cambodia’s bird species. It is the last place on earth with Siamese crocodiles and is the only habitat remaining in Cambodia for the nearly extinct batagur baska, or "Royal turtle".

The population of the Cardamom Mountain Range is extremely poor, and threats to the biological diversity of the region include habitat loss due to illegal logging, wildlife poaching, and forest fires caused by slash-and-burn agriculture. Among the international conservation organizations working in the area are Wildlife Alliance, Conservation International, Fauna and Flora International and WWF (conservation organization).