JUNGLE BOOK

Beyond the World Heritage treasures of Angkor, a new raft of jungle and beach adventures is launching in south-west Cambodia, writes HELEN ANDERSON.

- HELEN ANDERSON

The humidity is rising on the jungle floor, and so is the adrenaline. What started as excitement at the base of a tower thrusting into the canopy teeters now, at the top, towards fear. The most anticipated new resort in Asia in the past year has a check-in procedure like no other. To enter the jungle-camp fantasy of Shinta Mani Wild, a traveller flies to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, drives three hours, then jumps on a war-era Jeep for a short transit into the south-west wilderness. Hidden in the jungle is the aforementioned tower – climb it, throw on helmet and harness, and run right off that edge. My first experience of zip-lining is in this green void, hurtling along a 380-metre line. The treetops seem close; the river far below. There’s a giddy pause on the penultimate platform, then I take the plunge again, hurling myself over a waterfall and towards the bar, aptly named the Landing Zone, and into the arms of the camp’s general manager, Sangjay Choegyal, who unzips his guests from the zip-line and hands them a drink. There’s a more conventional way to check-in, of course, but the slug of tequila in the pineapple and bay-leaf soda on arrival won’t seem so indispensable.