Travel to Laos

Laos is Asia’s forgotten land. A land with ancient temples, lush primeval forests and barren mountain areas populated only by ethnic groups who have lived isolated here for hundreds of years. Barefoot monks walk around the villages every morning with their food bowls and receive gifts from the people. A trip to Laos is a trip back in time. Not much has changed since 1975, when the Communists took power, and before that one can not directly say that development was particularly rapid.

See Laos

Population: 6.9 million

Capital: Vientiane

Language: Lao and various minority languages

the country’s elephants are celebrated at the annual elephant festival? The prize for this year’s elephant is also presented here.

Laos New Year’s celebration is called Songkran? It is a three-day festival celebrated from 13 to 15 April.

Nature, wildlife and climate in Laos

Laos stretches over 1000 km from the mountainous areas in the north to the low-lying river areas in the south. Large parts of Laos’ mountains and plateaus are covered by pristine rainforest, and the primary agricultural area is located along the banks of the Mekong River in the south. The climate is very varied. The northern parts are cold, while the southern ones have a tropical climate. From May to October, the monsoons ravage and there is plenty of rain. The dry season runs from November to April. At the end of the dry season, the temperature can reach up to 40 °, while the coldest period falls in December and January. Then the temperature often falls below zero in the mountain areas. Ancient rainforest covers half of Laos and offers a fantastic environment for special animal species such as the Indochinese tiger, the Asian elephant, the giant gaurox,

The history of Laos

Today’s Laos consisted for many centuries of a series of smaller, warring kingdoms, of which Lang Xang, meaning “Land of Millions of Elephants”, was the most powerful. The country was briefly conquered by Thailand , which was forced to hand it over to France and French Indochina in the late 19th century. Around the time of World War II, Japan was also engaged for a short period, before Laos received its declaration of independence from France in 1954. Thereafter, internal battles between communists, monarchists and the right flank dominated. The Communists have won and ruled Laos since 1975, something that has not directly meant a peaceful existence for the people of Laos. In the 1980s, Laos was occupied by neighboring Vietnam, and during the Vietnam War, the country was so heavily bombed by the Americans that it became the most bombed country in history. Most Laotians live off agriculture, and especially on rice, coffee and tobacco. The main religion is Buddhism, while the peoples of the mountain areas still worship spirits, just as they have done for hundreds of years.

Traveling in Laos

A trip in Laos is a bit awkward, or exotic if you prefer, because the country has no railway and only parts of the road network are available throughout the year. The Mekong River and its tributaries are the country’s most important transport routes and a cruise on the Mekong River is therefore a perfect form of travel that takes the traveler far and wide around Laos. Of course, there is also the opportunity to take advantage of the country road, and there are lots of exciting places to visit. Many of Lao’s most important temples are located in the sleepy capital Vientiane, one of the world’s smallest capitals. Before the early 1990s, motorized vehicles were a rare sight on the streets, and cyclists and pedestrians still characterize the streetscape of the small capital. A fixed point on any trip to Laos is the mysterious stone pot plain. No one has so far been able to explain why hundreds of huge stone pots, carved out of solid stone, are scattered over a high, remote plain east of Luang Prabang. The pots weigh up to six tons and are believed to be 2,000 years old. Luang Prabang is an ancient royal city surrounded by mountains with beautiful waterfalls. UNESCO has honored the city with a place on its World Heritage List because of its beautiful, old colonial buildings, and its many Buddhist temples. The Pak Ou Caves, 25 km from Luang Prabang, are home to some of Lao’s most important cultural treasures. Thousands of ancient Buddha figures from all over the country have been collected over the centuries, and are today placed in deep caves on the shores of the Mekong. Laos is the land of spectacular nature experiences. Here you will find, among other things, Southeast Asia’s largest waterfall Kone Phapheng. Visit thedressexplorer for Attractions in Laos.

Climate Laos

Below you will find information about Lao’s climate and weather. See temperatures for the capital Vientiane and the world heritage city of Luang Prabang.

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	CHRISTMAS	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
Vientiane
Daytime temperature	29	30	33	34	33	31	31	31	31	31	30	28
Night temperature	17	19	23	23	24	25	25	25	24	23	20	17
Precipitation (mm)	51	14	25	78	209	260	259	354	399	50	14	1
Luang Prabang
Daytime temperature	28	32	34	36	35	34	32	32	33	32	29	27
Night temperature	14	15	17	21	23	24	24	23	23	21	18	15
Precipitation (mm)	16	17	30	109	163	155	230	290	166	78	30	13

Laos has a tropical climate with two seasons – the rainy season lasts from May – Sept, and the dry season between Oct – Apr. At the end of the dry season, it is warmest, with temperatures above 30 ºC. However, the temperature varies in the country, some areas get up to 40 ºC while it can be around 15 ºC at higher altitudes. From November to March, there is usually less precipitation, and the temperature is more comfortable.