Shinta Mani Wild, A Bensley Collection: Bill Bensley jungle sanctuary with riverfront tents, zipline arrival, and unlimited spa rituals

Perched along 1.5 kilometres of cascading river and waterfalls in Cambodia’s Southern Cardamom National Park, Shinta Mani Wild opened in December 2018 as visionary designer Bill Bensley’s radical conservation retreat. Spanning 865 acres of untouched tropical rainforest, the camp comprises 15 bespoke stilted tents designed to evoke a 1960s luxury safari expedition undertaken by Jackie Kennedy and King Sihanouk. The architecture floats delicately above river rapids and granite boulders, creating zero footprint on wildlife migration corridors.

Arrival sets the tone for an adventurous stay: guests can opt to enter the camp via a 400-metre dual zipline soaring over forest canopy and waterfalls directly into the open-air Landing Zone Bar, where a welcome cocktail awaits. Day-one logistics include meeting your personal Bensley Adventure Butler to schedule bespoke excursions—including foraging with the culinary team, mountain biking through jungle trails, cruising on custom expedition boats, or joining armed Wildlife Alliance rangers on anti-poaching patrols across the national park.

Operational rhythms flow with the rainforest. Stays operate on a comprehensive all-inclusive model where all meals, premium wines, signature cocktails, private excursions, and unlimited treatments at the Khmer Tonics Spa are seamlessly covered in the tariff. The camp enforces a minimum age requirement of 10 years to ensure safety around elevated boardwalks, rushing river rapids, and rugged terrain.

Dining centers on the open-air Waterfall Restaurant and Headquarters, where executive chefs translate daily foraged wild forest plants, native herbs, Kampot peppercorns, and sustainable Gulf of Thailand seafood into multi-course Khmer tasting menus. The Cistern Pool—a 33-metre matte-black spring-water pool styled after a giant water reservoir—offers refreshing respite between jungle treks.

Nature lovers, design enthusiasts, and conservation-minded travelers seeking an unfiltered luxury immersion in primary rainforest should book without hesitation. Travelers requiring manicured gardens, traditional air-conditioned hotel lobbies, or seamless urban connectivity should choose a city base in Phnom Penh instead. Traveler consensus is evidenced by grounded review scores including a 5.0 out of 5 on Tripadvisor across 87 reviews and a 9.9 out of 10 on Agoda across 44 reviews.