Champasak, Laos

🇱🇦 Champasak is a province in south-western Laos, near the borders with Thailand and Cambodia. It is one of the three principalities that succeeded the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang. The capital is Pakse, but it takes its name from Champasak, the former capital of the Kingdom of Champasak.

Champasak is bordered by Salavan province to the north, Sekong province to the north-east, Attapeu province to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. The Mekong River forms part of the border with neighboring Thailand and contains Si Phan Don ('Four Thousand Islands') in the south of the province, on the border with Cambodia.

Champasak has played a central role in the history of Siam and Laos, with frequent battles taking place in and around Champasak. Its cultural heritage includes ancient temple ruins and French colonial architecture. Champasak has some 20 wats (temples), such as Wat Phou, Wat Luang, and Wat Tham Fai. Freshwater dolphins and the province's many waterfalls are tourist attractions.

History From the 1st to 9th centuries CE, Champasak province was part of the Funan and then Chenla Kingdoms. Between the 10th and 13th centuries it was part of the Khmer Empire. In 1354, the area came under the control of King Fa Ngum and the Lan Xang Empire. The Angkor empire went into decline between the 15th and 17th centuries when it was annexed by Lan Xang. In 1707, Champasak became one of three kingdoms arising from a dissolved Lan Xang Empire. The kingdom had only three kings, Soi Sisamut (1713–37), nephew of Suriya Vangas, Sainya Kuman (1737–91) and lastly Fai Na (1791–1811). In 1829 Siam annexed Champassak following the Chao Anouvong Rebellion. Pakse, the capital of the province, was established by the French in 1905 as an administrative outpost at the confluence of Xe Don (Don River) and the Mekong.

Geography Champasak province covers an area of 15,415 km² (5,952 sq mi). The Mekong forms part of the border with neighboring Thailand and, after a sharp bend projecting westward, turns east and flows southeasterly through the province down to Cambodia. Champasak can be reached from Thailand through Sirindhorn District's Chong Mek border crossing, to Vang Tao on the Lao side, from where the highway leads east towards the provincial capital, Pakse. The capital is on Laos' most important highway, Route 13, and the French legacy can be seen in the city's architecture.

Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) is on a stretch of the Mekong north of the border with Cambodia. Of these islands, Don Khong is the largest and has a number of small villages, temples, and caves. A French-built bridge on the abandoned railway line provides the link with two smaller islands, Don Det and Don Khon.

There are many waterfalls in the province such as the Tad Somphamit (or Liphi) Waterfall, at Don Khon to the west of Ban Khon village. Below the falls in the calmer waters of the Mekong the fresh water dolphins can be seen. The Khone Phapheng Falls to the east of Don Khon, also on the Mekong, cascade along a broad mouth of rock slopes in a curvilinear pattern. The 120 m (390 ft) Tad Fane Waterfall (or Dong Hua Sao) in the Bolaven Plateau is the country's highest waterfall. It is created by the Champi and Prakkoot streams which originate at about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level. The plateau is east of Pakse.