Cambodia makes the cover of GEO: a summer of visibility for the Kingdom
- Editorial team
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
The August 2026 issue of the renowned French magazine GEO devotes its cover and a near-thirty-page feature to Cambodia. A prime international showcase for the country, at a time when tourism is looking to reinvent itself beyond the temples of Angkor alone.
The cover of GEO's issue 570 is hard to miss on newsstands. Against a blue sky and the reflecting moats of Angkor Wat, the word "Cambodge" runs in bold yellow letters across the full width of the page. Inside, the monthly takes its readers well off the beaten path, with a feature built around three destinations that each tell a different side of the Kingdom: Ratanakiri, its jungle and its ethnic minorities; Kampot, its pepper plantations and colonial charm; and Angkor, revisited through a detailed practical guide.
Ratanakiri, on the Kingdom's wild frontier
Written by journalist Sébastien Desurmont with photography by Riccardo Urbano, the first part of the feature ventures into the country's remote northeast, eight hours by rough road from Phnom Penh. GEO portrays a province largely unknown to visitors, home to eight ethnic minorities that Cambodian authorities group together under the name Khmer Loeu. The piece lingers on the sacred lake of Yeak Laom, on Jarai funerary rites, and on the patient efforts of the Tampuan, Kreung and Brau peoples to preserve their traditions and their patches of forest. The report also touches on the fight to protect the region's domesticated elephants, notably through the Airavata foundation, founded near Banlung by a Frenchman who has lived in Cambodia since the 1990s.
Kampot, a taste of Cambodian living
The second stop of the journey, Kampot, is presented as both a culinary and heritage destination. GEO traces the turbulent history of local pepper, uprooted by the Khmer Rouge regime in 1975 before being revived in the early 2000s thanks to Cambodian and European producers, culminating in a protected geographical indication in 2010. The magazine also lingers on the town's preserved colonial architecture, on the crab market of Kep, and on the artisanal salt harvested in the saltpans between Kampot and Kep, whose fleur de sel has likewise carried a protected-origin label since 2023.
Angkor, a guide to exploring it differently
The feature closes with a practical guide to Angkor, in which GEO encourages readers to venture beyond the usual circuits of Angkor Wat and the Bayon. The article highlights lesser-visited temples such as Banteay Samré and Neak Pean, suggests itineraries by bicycle, on foot or by boat across the West Baray, and even recommends a sunrise hot-air balloon ride. Special attention is also given to Siem Reap, described as a creative town where traditional craftsmanship remains very much alive, through addresses such as Satcha Handicraft and the restaurant Cuisine Wat Damnak.
A welcome boost for the country's image
For a country whose international image is often reduced to the temples of Angkor alone, this kind of coverage in a mainstream magazine as established as GEO is a valuable opportunity. By highlighting the diversity of Cambodian landscapes, cultures and craftsmanship — from the jungles of Ratanakiri to the pepper plantations of Kampot — the feature helps broaden how the Kingdom is perceived among the French-speaking public, at a time when Cambodia's tourism sector is precisely seeking to diversify beyond the Siem Reap–Phnom Penh–Sihanoukville triangle.