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The Peoples Democratic Republic of Lao is located in Southeastern
Asia. The mighty Mekong in the west and the Annamite Mountains
in the east offer natural borders to
Thailand and Vietnam respectively, while
Laos also shares borders with China in
the north, Myanmar in the northwest and
Cambodia in the south.
With over half of this landlocked
country's 236,800sq.
km densely forested, and 70% of it
mountainous, it is hardly surprising
that a profusion of rare flora and over
1,200 species of wildlife finds a home
beneath its tropical canopy. The
country's highest peak, at 2,820m, can
be found in the mountainous ranges of
northeastern Laos, in the province Xiang
Khouang, However, nearly equally as
impressive are the mountains at the
southern end of the
Annamite range which reach heights of 2,600m.
The Khammouanne and Bolaven plateaus
dominate the central region of the Annamites.Almost all of the
rivers and streams in Laos eventually
end up feeding into the Mekong through
one of its 15 tributaries, making a
total of 2,400km of waterways and
feeding the Mekong with more than half
of its overall water flow.
Though averaging rainfalls of between 1360mm,
in Luang Prabang, to 3700mm on the Boloven
Plateau during the June to October monsoon season, Laos
regularly suffers from water shortages in the low-lying Mekong
Delta plains. This can adversely effect the rice crops that
account for almost 80% of the
CLIMATE
Climate in Laos is enjoys a
tropical climate with two distinct
seasons - the rainy season from the
beginning of May to the end of September
and the dry season from October to
April. The yearly average temperature is
about 28oC, rising to a maximum of 38oC
in April and May. In Vientiane minimum
temperature of 19oC are to be
expected in January. In mountainous areas
,however, temperature drops to 14-15oC during
the winter months, and in cold nights easily
reach the freezing point. The average
precipitation is highest in southern Laos,
where the Anna Mite Mountains receive over
3000 mm annually. In Vientiane rainfall is
about 1500-2000 mm, and in the northern
provinces only 1000-1500 mm.
BRIEF HISTORY
The
rudimentary structures of a multiethnic state existed before
the founding of the Kingdom of Lan Xang in the thirteenth
century. These pre thirteenth-century
structures consisted of small confederative
communities in river valleys and among the
mountain peoples, who found security away from
the well-traveled rivers and overland tracks
where the
institutions and customs of the Laotian people
were gradually
forged in contact with other peoples of the region. During
these centuries, the stirring of migrations as well as
religious conflict and syncretism went on more or less
continuously. Laoss short-lived vassalage to foreign empires
such as the Cham, Khmer, and Sukhothai did nothing to
discourage this process of cultural identification and, in
fact, favored its shaping |
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Contact
office in Laos:
Add: 081, Samsenthai
Road, Unit 16, Ban Sisaket, Vientiane, Lao P.D.R Tel/ ++
856 -21 - 262041 Fax ++ 856 -
21-262042 |
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Contact
office in Cambodia:
Add: No.011, River Side St.,
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Tel/Fax: ++855 - 23 884432 |
