Centred in north-eastern Champassak Province and rising over 1.500m above sea level, the rich volcanic soils and cool climate of the Bolaven Plateau produce some of he finest Arabica coffees in the world.
The plateau is a centre for several MonKhmer ethnic groups, including the Alak, Laven, Ta-oy, Suay and Katu. The Alak and Katu arrange their palm-and-thatch houses in a circle and are well known in Laos for a water buffalo sacrifice which they perform yearly (usually on a full moon in March). During the ceremony, the men of the village don wooden masks, hoist spears and dance around the buffalos in the centre of the circle formed by their houses.
The plateau wasn’t farmed intensively until the colonial French planted coffee, rubber and bananas here. Today the Laven, Alak and Kam tribes have revived coffee bean cultivation; other local agricultural products include fruits, cardamom and rattan.
The town of Pakxong is a base for day trips to the region’s coffee and tea plantations, as well as the spectacular Xe Katamtok Waterfall. On the way to Pakxong stoop at the Tad Fane Resort at km 38 for breathtaking views of the Tad Fane Waterfall located on the edge of Dong Houa Sao NBCA
