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 Champassak
Province - Out and About
Bolaven Plateau
Situated
on the north east of Champassak province, the plateau covers
parts of Salavan, Attapeu and Sekong provinces although there
are more options for tourists visiting the plateau in Pakse.
 The
plateau is fertile farmland specialising in coffee, tea, cardamom
and fruit. The plateau houses a dozen mainly animist ethnic
minorities, including Laven, Alak, Katou, Ta-Oy, Houne, Ngai
and Suk communities. In the photograph of Alak children,
note the young girl on the right, smoking tobacco in a water
pipe to keep away the mosquitoes. Accomodation on the
plateau is limited, but Tad Lo waterfalls has a number of bungalows
where you can enjoy trekking and elephant rides.
Elephant trekking at Tad
Lo
Weaving a sarong with a foot
loom, Bolaven Plateau
Sii
Pan Don - Four Thousand Islands
The
southernmost part of Champassak province, forms the border with
Cambodia. Here, the Mekong river spreads to a width of
up to 14km during the rainy season forming hundreds of islands
and islets. The larger island are inhabited and the largest
southern island, Don Khone has an old disused 5km railway, built
by the French as part of the Mekong bypass route. The
river cannot be navigated south of Don Khone because of the
Khone Falls - the smaller Samphamit Falls and the larger Khong
Phabeng Falls - the biggest in Asia, and maybe the widest falls
in the world. Near the falls can be found the endangered
Irriwaddy dolphins.
Fishermen at Khone Falls
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