At a glance
The short version
- Where
- The farms inland from Kampot town
- How long
- A half day, easily combined with the salt fields or Kep
- What you see
- Vines, harvesting, the drying process, and a tasting
- Best months
- Harvest runs roughly February to May
- Good for
- Anyone who cooks, and children, who like the tasting more than they expect
- Combine with
- Crab at Kep market, about an hour away
Pepper is the reason Kampot has a name outside Cambodia, and a farm visit is the fastest way to understand a country through one crop.
The vines grow up poles in long rows, hand-picked, then dried in yards you walk straight through. Green, black, red and white are the same fruit at different stages and treatments, and tasting them side by side is genuinely surprising the first time.
How we run it
A morning at a farm, lunch in Kampot, and either the salt fields or the hour to Kep for crab. It is a slow day by design.
Questions travellers ask
What makes Kampot pepper special?
The soil and climate of the region, and a protected designation of origin that restricts what can be sold under the name. The taste is the argument, though - try the red alongside the black.
When is the harvest?
Roughly February to May. Outside those months you will see the vines and the process but not the picking.
Can I buy pepper at the farm?
Yes, and it is the freshest you will find. Check your own country's rules on bringing in agricultural products.
Is it suitable for children?
Very. The tasting is the part they remember.
