Si Phan Don

Si Phan Don ( Lao : ສີ່ ພັນ ດອນ ) is an area in the Champasak province in southern Laos (Si Phan = four thousand, Don = island).

The Mekong reaches its greatest width at 14 kilometers in southern Laos on the border with Cambodia . There are around 4,000 islands in the tropical river landscape. However, part of it is flooded during the rainy season when the Mekong has a high water level. The 70,000 inhabitants of the region are spread over only a few islands, most of the islands are uninhabited, but some are used for agriculture. With 130 km² Don Khong is the largest island, in addition to this, Don Khon and Don Det are also mainly developed for tourism.

Shortly before the border with Cambodia is the Mekong Falls, the largest waterfall in Southeast Asia.

During the French colonization there was the Don Det – Don Khon railway to bypass the Mekong waterfall and to create a continuous means of transport from south to north Indochina . Remnants of it can still be seen today.

Also around 50 remaining Irrawaddy dolphin pairs can still be found here.