Si Phan Don

The Si Phan Don (Lao: ສີ່ພັນດອນ; meaning '4000 islands') is a riverine archipelago in the Mekong River, Champasak Province in southern Laos.[1] 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. Si Phan Don borders Cambodia and historical and cultural ties link the people on both side of the border. Pakse is the closest of the bigger cities in Laos to the area.

The Mekong River between Don Det and Don Khon

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 and enable vessels, freight, and passengers to travel along the Mekong River.
  • Freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins (pakha) that can be viewed by boat off Don Khon island. They are an endangered species.[2][3]
  • The Khone Phapheng Falls, 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 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.

  • River bank of Don Khon with stilt wooden houses
  • Mekong beach near Don Loppadi
  • Transport of buffalos on the Mekong (from Don Det)
  • Six children in the Mekong with buffalos and boat
  • Mekong pirogue at sunset, Don Puay
  • Man watering cucumbers on small island
  • Kitchen garden on a Mekong bank, Don Loppadi
  • Flooded Albizia Saman (rain tree), Don Loppadi
  • Wooden fence, Si Phan Don
  • Children playing at sunset on a Mekong bank, Don Loppadi
  • Pirogue on the Mekong under grey clouds before a storm
  • Water reflection of a smiling woman planting rice
  • Boy plowing with a tractor at sunset in Don Det
  • Opaque and mirroring green paddy fields with palm tree
  • Young girl smiling with teeth in sunshine at golden hour, in Don Det
  • Two Arecaceae (palm trees) in the fields viewed through a hole in a tree stump damaged by fire in the island of Don Tao, at sunrise
  • River bank of the island of Don Khon with stilt wooden houses, seen from Don Det with a leaning Arecaceae (palm trees) and colorful clouds
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References
  1. "FOUR THOUSAND ISLANDS (SI PHAN DON)". Tourism Marketing Department Laos. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. "Irrawaddy Dolphin". World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. Htet Paing, Tin (2017-12-08). "Status Of Irrawaddy Dolphin Raised To 'Endangered'". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 27 October 2018.

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