Laos is a country known more for its darker days of history than as a travel destination. Landlocked in Southeast Asia, much of the nation is rugged, remote and lacking in lavish luxury. That being said, there are still plenty of reasons to visit the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Down here the Mekong bulges to a breadth of 14km – the river’s widest reach along its 4350km journey from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea – and if you count every islet and sandbar that emerges in the dry months the name, which literally means ‘Four Thousand Islands’, isn't that much of an exaggeration.
Si Phan Don, more commonly known as Four Thousand Islands, is an archipelago in the Mekong River in Southern Laos. The name is derived from the mega Mekong River that spreads itself out, choosing hundreds of routes and forming a vast area of river islands, possibly 4000 of them (Si Phan Don means 4000 Islands in Laos)!
Among 4,000 islands, Don Khone and Don Det are the largest and focus many tourists by full range of travel, accommodation, dining, and rest services … Especially, the scenery of Don Khone is also considered to resemble the peaceful villages in Vietnam, with the faint smell of the scent of flowers and grass floating in the space, the leisurely buffalo grazing, the fishing boats spreading nets.
The "land of 4,000 islands" also includes Khone Phapheng – the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia. And there is a special thing at the bottom of the Khone Falls – a population of Irrawaddy dolphins (a type of dolphins is in danger of extinction) of about 50 individuals. If you are lucky, you can come across this freshwater dolphin. This is an endemic animal of the Mekong. The gray dolphins dive and toss the jar on the water that become one of the most beautiful images in the memories of visitors to the land of thousands islands.
Si Phan Don is a magical and unique place where you can integrate with the life of friendly people in peaceful villages on the island as well as mingle with the wild nature, spectacular but charming
