The Si Phan Don ( lo, ສີ່ພັນດອນ; meaning '4,000 islands') is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

ine

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

in 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 ...

, Champasak Province in southern Laos. Si Phan Don is part of Khong District, including the islands and part of the mainland in the east. Si Phan Don is dotted with numerous islands, half of which are submerged when the Mekong River is in flood. The principal islands of Si Phan Don are Don Khong (the largest), Don Som (the second largest), Don Det and

Don Khon Don Khon ( lo, ດອນຄອນ), is an island in the Mekong River in the Si Phan Don ("Four Thousand Islands") archipelago in Champasak Province of southern Laos. History The Don Det–Don Khon railway was a -long narrow-gauge portage railw ...

. Si Phan Don borders

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

and historical and cultural ties link the people on both side of the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

Pakse Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river'; th, ปากเซ) is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak, and the second most populous city in Laos. Loc ...

is the closest of the bigger cities in Laos to the area. Champasak DonKhoneDonDet2 tango7174

Key features of the Si Phan Don archipelago include: *The remains of the first railway in Laos, the Don Det–Don Khon narrow gauge railway, built by the French to bypass the

Khone Phapheng Falls The Khone Falls and Pha Pheng Falls ( lo, ນ້ຳຕົກຕາດຄອນພະເພັງ; km, ល្បាក់ខោន, ''Lbak Khaon'') together form a waterfall located in Champasak Province on the Mekong River in southern Laos, nea ...

and enable vessels, freight, and passengers to travel along the Mekong River. *Freshwater

Irrawaddy dolphin The Irrawaddy dolphin (''Orcaella brevirostris'') is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in scattered subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. It closely resembles the ...

s (''pakha'') that can be viewed by boat off Don Khon island. They are an endangered species. *The

, a succession of impassable rapids that gave rise to the construction of the railway. In the past, timber was logged on the islands, but it is now regulated;

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corruption, corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, o ...

incurs stiff penalties. While the local economies are predominantly based on agriculture, the Si Phan Don archipelago has seen an increasing number of visitors. Tourism is concentrated on Don Khong, Don Det and Don Khon. Many of the other islands are rarely visited.

Gallery

References

Geography of Champasak province River islands of Laos Tourist attractions in Laos Islands of the Mekong River {{Laos-geo-stub