Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Laos → Phou Hin Boun

Location: Central to Northern Khammouane Province, Laos

Time Required: a few hours to several days

Red Tape/Notes: Best visited during the dry season since many areas will be difficult to access (or completely inaccessible) during the wet season

What’s Nearby?: Kong Lor Cave, Thakhek

Seems like every place in Laos has various spellings…this place is also spelled Phou Hin Poun and occasionally listed as Phou Hinboun. Regardless of the spelling, it’s a massive National Protected Area (the Laos version of a national park) covering a significant portion of the Khammouane Province and encompassing a major section of the dramatic karst terrain found there. Thakhek lies just outside the southwestern park boundary, and most of the caves we visited in Laos were located inside Phou Hin Boun (the notable exception being the Xe Bang Fai River Cave, which is in the Hin Namno National Protected Area). One amazing thing about the karst formations is that they end abruptly at the edges of valleys, leaving wide swaths of level ground – nearly always with a stream or river running through it – making these valleys perfect for establishing villages and small communities. Many of these communities live virtually isolated for parts of the year, when the wet season makes roads impassable, and they’re almost entirely self-sustaining. This is life the way it’s been lived for hundreds, or even thousands, of years, and spending some time in or near these villages gives you a lovely snapshot of their lives. Some traditions are particularly charming and reminiscent of times past; for instance, all the livestock are brought inside fenced and gated areas at night and then driven back out to the fields at dawn. This was originally done to protect them from tigers, hunting at night. Despite the fact that tigers are long gone from these areas, the tradition remains. We also finally found out why they dig those big square pits in the fields (we kept seeing them and had no idea what they were for); during rainy season, the pits fill with water, and with the water comes fish. After the water recedes in the dry season, fish are trapped in the pits, and water buffalo come and hang out in the water – and in the process of hanging out, they generally relieve themselves. The fish feed on the water buffalo droppings, allowing them to survive and reproduce, providing a somewhat sustainable source of fish for the local villagers. If you’re not interested in the cultural aspects of life in these areas, there’s always the appeal of absolutely stunning scenery; countless caves and trekking opportunities can be found throughout the park and there’s a particularly charming lodging option near Kong Lor Cave called SpringRiver Resort – they have adorable bungalows on the banks of the Nam Hinboun River making it a great option for relaxing while enjoying some of the park’s scenery.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Laos → Phou Hin Boun