Luang Namtha (''Luang Nam Tha'') ( Lao: ມ. ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ) is a district as well as the capital of Luang Namtha Province in northern Laos. The city lies on the

Tha River The Tha River (Nam Tha) is a river in northwest Laos, and one of the 12 tributaries on the Mekong River. It gave its name to the town of Luang Namtha Luang Namtha (''Luang Nam Tha'') ( Lao: ມ. ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ) is a district as ...

(''Nam Tha''). Luang Namtha is a popular tourist destination, and a base for treks, biking to the surrounding hill tribe villages. The Luang Namtha Museum is in the town.

History

From January through May 1962, troops from the

Royal Lao Army The Royal Lao Army (french: Armée royale du Laos – ARL), also designated by its anglicized title RLA, was the Land Component of the Royal Lao Armed Forces (FAR), the official military of the Kingdom of Laos during the North Vietnamese invasi ...

(RLA) fought the Pathet Lao and People's Army of Vietnam in the

Battle of Luang Namtha The Battle of Luang Namtha, fought between January 1962 and May 1963, was a series of clashes in the Laotian Civil War. It came about as a result of the turmoil following Laotian independence as a result of the First Indochina War with France. Th ...

. The battle ended with the RLA's headlong retreat southward 150 kilometers across the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

Transport

In the rainy season, Luang Namtha can be reached by boat from the

. It is connected by Highway 3 to both the Thai border at Houayxay- Chiang Khong () and the Chinese border at Boten- Mengla County (). Luang Namtha is also served by

Louang Namtha Airport Louangnamtha Airport is an airport in Laos, 6 km south of the city of Luang Namtha. The airport was closed between 2006 and 2008 for a renovation that extended the runway from 1,200 to 1,600 metres, allowing larger aircraft such as the ATR 72 ...

, south of the city.

Gallery

File:LuangNamtha3 tango7174.jpg, Day market Image:Luang NamTha night market.JPG, Night market File:LuangNamtha ThatLuangNamtha2 tango7174.jpg, Luang Namtha stupa Image:Luang Namtha4.jpg, Harvesting rice File:LuangNamtha4 tango7174.jpg, Riverside guesthouse

References

External links

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Biodiversity Profile for Luang Namtha Province, 2003

Ethnic diversity in Luang Namtha - Laos

Facebook photo gallery
{{Districts of North Laos Populated places in Luang Namtha Province