Houses along the river tucked between palm trees and people in boats on the river.

Photo story: where temples and rice paddies meet the mighty Mekong River in Laos

Journey along the Mekong River through southern Laos, from the region's highest point on the Bolaven Plateau down to its lowest, the idyllic 4,000 Islands. Discover ancient Buddhist temples, rice paddies and spectacular waterfalls, and see how life is shaped by the 'Mother River'.

A fisherman travels along the Mekong River in Si Phan Don (meaning '4,000 islands'), close to the border with Cambodia in southern Laos. The area is known for its traditional, laid-back way of life.
Story and photographs byRichard James Taylor
May 23, 2023
6 min read
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Buddhist temple on a hill, lined with golden Buddha statues.
The sleepy riverside city of Pakse is the starting point for any journey along the Mekong in southern Laos. Sitting high above the town is Wat Phou Salao, an impossibly picturesque hilltop temple dedicated to the life-giving river that meanders through the valley below.
Buddhist monks chanting prayers and holding their alms bowls.
The day begins with monks chanting a series of Buddhist prayers before they collect sticky rice and various sweet treats from the locals in their beautifully made alms bowls.
Rows of golden Buddha statues in front of the Buddhist temple.
The temple is dominated by rows of golden Buddha statues, and the scenes within retain the comforting sense of mystery and timelessness synonymous with Buddhism in Southeast Asia.
Coffee beans.
Further along the river is the Bolaven Plateau, an area of highlands nurtured by rich volcanic soil, a temperate climate and the fertility-giving waters of the mighty Mekong. It produces most of the country's rice and vegetables and nearly all of its highly regarded coffee crop.
Roasting coffee beans at The Jhai Coffee Farmers Cooperative.
The Bolaven Plateau produces most of the country’s rice and vegetables and nearly all of its highly regarded coffee crop; the Jhai Coffee Farmers Cooperative is a small-scale coffee growers and roasters typical of the myriad small coffee houses found here. 
Cattle grazing around the Wat Phu temple.
On the other side of the river, in Champasak province, is the oldest and holiest temple in the area: Wat Phu. It was constructed around a thousand years ago by the same Khmer culture that built Angkor Wat, just across the border in Cambodia. Cattle graze around it these days, despite its significance.
Two people working in a paddy field.
The Mekong is the lifeblood of southern Laos, providing a source of income and food for people throughout the region. Here, people work in a paddy field fed by the river.
A house in Champasak elevated on sticks.
A bowl of frangipani flower offerings, with flowers tied to small sticks.
In Champasak, rice farmers live in elevated houses among the paddy fields that flank the river. Every year during the rainy season, the river breaks its banks, flooding the low-lying paddies with the nutrient-rich waters that enable the rice crop to flourish.
Photograph by Richard James Taylor (Bottom) (Right)
The entrance of a stone temple.
At Wat Phu, just beyond the paddies fed by the Mekong, beautifully adorned stone temples house religious deities, where visitors leave offerings of frangipani flowers.
Fishermen casting nets from canoes.
Fishermen cast their nets from traditional dug-out canoes in a scene unchanged in millennia. Here, in the far south, close to the border with Cambodia, the Mekong changes character, becoming not one river but many, with creeks and tributaries creating a network of small islands known locally as Si Ohan Don ('4,000 Islands'). 

Life on the islands is laid back, the pace of life slow. With its palm-fringed waters, orange-hued sunsets and abundance of peaceful riverside accommodation, the main island of Don Det is where travellers come to rest for a few days but end up staying for weeks.
Kataiy, a fisherman, repairing his boat.
As the sun begins to set over Don Det, Kataiy, a local fisherman who’s lived in the delta all his life, spends time repairing his fishing boats. It’s a typically bucolic scene along the final stretch of the Mekong in Laos. Kataiy dries his catch of fish and later sells them at the local market.

Rapids at the end of the Mekong River make it impossible to travel further by boat.
At the very southern tip of the islands, the spectacular Li Phi Falls forms the border between Laos and Cambodia. A series of rapids — impassable by boat — acts as a natural barrier to further river travel, marking an end to the journey along this part of the Mother River.
Published in the June 2023 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)

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