Pailin, Cambodia: sapphire hills of Phnom Yat and O Tavao

Where: Southeast Asia · Asia · approx. 12.85, 102.61 (vicinity only)

Why this spot: Rockhounding locality: Burmese Kula miners opened Pailin's basalt gem gravels in the 1870s-1890s and it once supplied much of the world's fine blue sapphire, later funding the Khmer Rouge

What turns up: blue and fancy sapphire, some ruby, in town shops and guided artisanal pit visits

Access: Gray area.

Small artisanal digs continue on local claims; visitors should arrange any pit visit through a local guide and stick to buying in the town gem shops, mineral rights are not open to casual digging

Satellite view, historic-map overlays, tide/flow context and field notes are in the app. Exact research detail is part of Pro.