Banlung

Yeak Laom at dawn, Cha Ong by afternoon, Virachey on foot

Be at Yeak Laom crater lake before 09:00 for a swim off the wooden platforms ahead of the local families, then ride past the rubber plantations to Katieng falls, where the province's last elephants live under a conservation programme, and Cha Ong, where you can walk behind the 18 m curtain of water. End with sunset from Eisey Patamak hill.

Give the next two days to a guided trek in Virachey National Park, 37 km north-east, booked through the park office near the centre. A ranger and a community guide lead each group, and the cost per person drops as more people join. Parts of the park are cut off in the wet season, so ask what is open when you book.

If you would rather stay close to town, swap the trek for a guided trip to the gemstone mines at Bokeo, about 36 km away, arranged through your guesthouse.

Market noodles, a balcony over the town lake and no bushmeat

Banlung's cooking is much like that of any Cambodian provincial town, and that is no bad thing. The market is the place for breakfast noodle soup and rice dishes, and for seeing what villagers bring in from the hills to sell. Nearly all the restaurants are Cambodian-run and serve a mix of Khmer and Western plates at modest prices, and most guesthouses have kitchens of their own.

For an evening with other travellers, A'Dam, east of the market near Tribal Lodge, has a pool table, a big screen and draught beer, and is liveliest on Friday nights when the expats gather. Banlung Balcony serves meals in a bar overlooking the town lake, a good spot at the end of the day. Shops south of the roundabout sell beer, wine and spirits, though the range is small and prices run above those in Phnom Penh.

One firm rule: do not order wild game. Bushmeat on rural menus encourages poaching in the forests of Ratanakiri, the same forests you have come to walk in. If a meat dish is unlabelled, ask what it is.

Red dust, red mud and when Cha Ong runs fullest

Ratanakiri's dry season is hotter and sharper than the south's: December and January get only 10 and 7 mm of rain, with nights of 18 to 19°C, while April reaches 37°C under red dust. Rain peaks in August at about 300 mm. Waterfalls are fullest late in the rains, when the tracks turn to slick red mud.

Timing the waterfalls is a trade between water and access. Cha Ong and Katieng are fullest and the forest greenest late in the rains, but the tracks turn to slick red mud and parts of Virachey cannot be reached at all. November and December are the compromise: roads are drying, the falls still run well and Yeak Laom is perfect for swimming.

Village calendars matter as much as the weather. Minority communities hold ceremonies for the spirits at various times of year and may close the village to outsiders while they do; fresh leaves hung at a gate or house are the signal. Turn back when you see them, and always ask before taking photographs.