Every year, Wanderlust Magazine, the UK's longest-running travel publication, puts together a list of destinations actually doing sustainable tourism right, not just claiming to. This year, out of hundreds of submissions from around the world, Cambodia made the cut. It's one of only two Southeast Asian countries recognized, alongside the Philippines, and one of just three destinations globally to get a full multi-page feature in the magazine.
That is a big deal. And the part that made us sit up is exactly where the recognition is coming from: the Cardamom Mountains.
What Actually Got Recognized
Wanderlust's judging panel singled out Cardamom Tented Camp, inside Botum Sakor National Park, as a regional benchmark for conservation-led hospitality. The camp sits within a roughly 1,800 square kilometer conservation area and directly funds ranger patrols that protect the rainforest around it. Guests get river trips and forest trails. The forest gets an active defense against illegal logging and poaching.
This is the same basic model behind Chi Phat and Osoam, the community-based tourism sites we run trips to. Tourism dollars going straight into forest protection and into the hands of the people who live there, not into some distant hotel chain's account. Wanderlust choosing to spotlight this exact approach is a strong signal that the model works, and that the rest of the travel industry is starting to notice.
Why the Cardamom Mountains, Specifically
The Cardamoms are one of the largest remaining rainforest blocks left in mainland Southeast Asia. Twenty years ago, this region had a serious deforestation and poaching problem. What has changed since then is not luck, it's a slow, deliberate shift toward tourism models where protecting the forest pays better than cutting it down.
Cambodia backing this up: the country also ranked first in the world for Natural Environment in the 2026 US News & World Report Best Countries index. Two very different organizations, a travel magazine and a global research index, landing on the same conclusion in the same year is not a coincidence.
The Timing Lines Up With Green Season
Wanderlust's own recognition specifically notes that this comes right as Cambodia's green season kicks in, when rice fields turn deep emerald, waterfalls run full, and the forest is at its most alive. If you have been on the fence about whether green season is worth traveling in, this is a UK travel institution telling you the same thing we have been telling you: yes, and this is exactly the season it's built for.
What This Means If You're Planning a Trip
You do not need to book Cardamom Tented Camp specifically to experience what got Cambodia this recognition. The same conservation model runs through Osoam and Chi Phat, both trips we operate directly with local communities in the Cardamom Mountains. Same forest, same rangers being funded by tourism, same idea that a rainforest left standing is worth more than one cut down.
Cambodia getting global recognition for this is a good moment to actually go see it for yourself, while the forest is greenest and before word spreads further.
Check current Cardamom Mountains community tours here.
