Phou Bia (, ) is the highest
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
in
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
. It is in the
Annamite Range, at the southern limit of the
Xiangkhoang Plateau in
Xaisomboun Province. Owing to its elevation—2,830 m (9,280 ft), the highest terrestrial point in Laos, the climate is cold and the area around the mountain is mostly cloudy.
History
Although no snow has been reported for decades, it is claimed that as late as the first years of the 20th century, snow fell occasionally on its summit.
On 10 April 1970, an
Air America C-130A aircraft crashed into the mountain.
The area is remote, covered with jungle, and has been used by
Hmong guerrilla soldiers. In the 1970s, c. 60,000 Hmong supporting
FAC operations took refuge at the Phou Bia massif. There have been reports of smaller Hmong hideouts in the area as recently as 2006.
Phou Bia rises in a restricted military area near the abandoned
Long Chen air base, and for this reason sees few outside visitors.
Unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...
further complicates access. As of July 2008, there had been no known ascent by a non-Lao person for at least 30 years.
In 2021,
Xaisomboun Province officials announced the development of Phou Bia Mountain and
Tchao Anouvong Cave as two "sustainable development tourism sites", valued at some US$500 million. The development will center especially on Tchao Anouvong Cave, Phou Houa Xang Village, in
Anouvong District, Xaisomboun province, under a 99-year concession.
See also
*
List of mountains in Laos
*
List of Southeast Asian mountains
The following is a list of some of the mountains of Southeast Asia.
List of highest mountains
See also
*List of highest mountains
*List of highest mountains of New Guinea
*List of islands by highest point
*List of ribus (summits in Indonesia ...
References
External links
Map of Laos (physical)
{{Highest points of Asia
Mountains of Laos
Geography of Xiangkhouang province
Highest points of countries