The original Wild East, amazing landscape, Indigenous Bunong (Phnong), Eco-friendly Elephant Experience. Mondulkiri means ‘Meeting of the Hills’, an apt sobriquet for a land of rolling hills. It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. It’s home to the hardly Bunoung (Phnong) people and their noble elephants, this upland area is a seductive mix of grassy hills, pine groves and rainforests of jade green. Climatically and culturally, it’s a world apart from lowland Cambodia and lead some dreamers to call it ‘the Switzerland of Cambodia’. Wild animals, such as bears, leopards and especially elephants, are more numerous here than elsewhere, although sightings are usually limited to birds, monkeys and the occasional wild pig.