Total Area: 21,774 square kilometers.
Population: 906,440.
15 Districts: Kaisone Phomvihan, Outhoumphone, Atsaphangthong, Phine, Sepone, Nong, Thapangthong, Songkhone, Champhon, Xonnabouly, Xaybouly, Vilabouly, Atsaphone, Xayphouthong and Phalanxay.
Capital of the Province: Kaisone Phomvihan
Savannakhet Province is situated in the middle of the country and the largest province (21,774 square kilometers), being bordered by Vietnam to the East, Thailand to the West, Khammouane Province to the North and Salavanh Province to the South. 60% of land is covered by forests. A wide variety of ethnic groups are found in the province: Lowland Lao, Phoutai, Thai Dam, Katang, Mangkong, Vali, Lava, Soui, Kapo, Kaleung and Ta-Oi. In addition, many Vietnamese and Chinese descendants live in the province as well. This fact makes the province rich in cultural and gastronomic diversity.
Savannakhet has long been a center of trade and power. The province is well noted as the birthplace of the Honorable Kaisone Phomvihan, first Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and co-founder of the Lao PDR. His house and a museum documenting his life achievements can be visited in Savannakhet Town. The province’s history, however, goes back long before the time of man.
The area was once inhabited by dinosaurs as evidenced by the bones found in Bang Tang Wai Village and the giant footprints found in Phalanxay, which are documented in the Savannakhet Dinosaur Museum. Remnants of an ancient civilization can be seen at the Stone temple, “Heuan Hin” a pre-Angkorian building located 40km down stream from town along the Mekong. That Ing Hang Stupa, originally built more than 1.000 years ago and later rebuilt by King Saysethathirath in the 16th century, is the province’s most important religious site. Also of interest is the historic library, Hortay Pidok, which is believed to have been built in the 18th century and was traditionally used to house old “Bai Lan” Buddhist scriptures. Of more recent history is the section of the Ho Chi Minh Trail which passes through Savannakhet. Old tanks, guns and other war equipment left behind on the trail can be seen near villages on Route 9 near the Vietnam border.The Phouthai ethnic group, known for its unique silk and cotton weaving, claimsits origin in the province’s Vilabouly District. The Katang ethnic group, which is loved for its famous folk song, Lam Tang Wai, also has traditional lands in Savannakhet. For nature enthusiasts, trekking in Dong Phou Vieng National Protected Area (NPA) provides an opportunity to see rare Douc and Silvered Langurs. Phou Xang Hae NPA has a population of wild elephants as well as distinctive rocky outcrops and vistas. The Eld’s deer, once considered to be extinct in Laos, were rediscovered in 2002 in Xonbouly District and are revered by local villagers. The Province is a hot spot for crocodiles, which inhabit the confluence of the Champhone and Xe Bang Hieng Rivers. Hundreds of stump-tailed macaques, considered sacred by locals, are easily spotted in the 4-hectare Monkey Forest. Giant Asian soft shelled turtles, also considered sacred, can be easily seen in Ban Done Daeng. In Dong Na Tad Provincial Forest, snakes, monkeys and old-growth forest are well protected by the villagers for spiritual reasons. Locally guided tours to the area are available.
Savannakhet is most noted for its weavings, especially Phouthai silk and cotton weaving in Vilabouly District, and ethnic Katang weaving in the Dong Phou Vieng area. The favorite national meat, “sin savanh”, a flat, sweet dried beef sprinkled with sesame seeds, originates from Savannakhet and can be purchased in local markets.
The That Ing Hang Festival is the largest festival of the year and is typically celebrated in December at the time of the full moon.
Source: www.tourismlaos.org
Other provinces, see more at:
CENTRAL OF LAOS
Central of Laos has 03 provinces: Savannakhet, Khamouane and Bolikhamxay. To explore those provinces, read more at:
Unless many other cities in Laos, Phongsaly Town has not been destroyed in the American war. It features a remaining old quarter with Yunnanese wooden architecture now rare to find in Yunnan itself. Most of the people living here belong to the Hor ethnic group, speaking Chinese. Until the 1970s there has been a Chinese consulate in Phongsaly Town, now the “Phou Fa Hotel”. In the “Museum of Ethnic Groups in Phongsaly Province” you can admire the various local cloths, artifacts and handicrafts. The town itself is surrounded by rolling hills and is built into the side of Phou Fa Mountain (1,625m). The 45 minute hike up to its stupa on top offers spectacular views of the town from above and the mountains in the far distance.
Since ancient times Houai Xay, the provincial capital, has been the disembarkation point for travellers and traders from Yunnan Province in southern China on their way to Thailand. It is still a popular town for trading in Chinese goods. Wat Jom Khao Manilath, a teak Shan-style pagoda built in 1880 houses a stele that dates back to 1458. Fort Carnot, a remnant of the French colonial period is still standing but off limits to visitors, as today the fort is occupied by the Lao army. Just south of the main town it is possible to visit one of the main sapphire-mining areas in Indochina.
