Don Det

Don Det (Lao: ດອນເດດ), is an island in the Mekong River in the Si Phan Don ('Four Thousand Islands') archipelago in Champasak Province of southern Laos.[1]

Don Det

ດອນເດດ
Dwellings, Don Det
Don Det
Location in Laos
Coordinates: 13°58′32″N 105°55′22″E
CountryLaos
ProvinceChampasak
Population
 • Religions
Buddhism
Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT)

History

The Don Det–Don Khon railway was a 7-kilometre (4.3 mi)-long narrow-gauge portage railway on the islands of Don Det and Don Khon, opened in 1893 to transport vessels, freight, and passengers along the Mekong River, and closed since the 1940s.[2][3]

Geography

The walking path around the island is 7.2 km (4.47 mi). Don Det is linked to its twin island Don Khon by a bridge. Don Som, the closest island accessible by pirogue, is 250 m (820 ft) from Don Det.[4]

There is a Buddhist temple and two primary schools on the northern part of the island.[5]

Climate

Don Det features a tropical wet and dry climate. While the city is generally very warm throughout the year, it is noticeably cooler during December and January. Don Det also experiences wet and dry seasons, with the wet season from April until October, and the dry season during the remaining five months. Temperatures range from 15°C to 38°C.[6]

Tourism

The Khone Phapheng Falls, a succession of impassable rapids that gave rise to the construction of the railway, are among the main features accessible from Don Det.[4][7] Freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins (pakha), an endangered species, can be viewed by boat.[8][9]

Wildlife

Irrawaddy dolphins[8][9], water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), common House Geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus)[10], bronze grass skink (Eutropis macularia)[11], and bioluminescent beetles[12] can be seen in Don Det.

  • Transport of buffaloes on the Mekong, Don Det
  • Boy plowing with a tractor at sunset on the island
  • Opaque and mirroring green paddy fields with palm tree
  • Don Khon with stilt wooden houses, from Don Det
  • Don Det girl
  • River bank of the island of Don Khon with stilt wooden houses, seen from Don Det with a leaning Arecaceae (palm trees) and colorful clouds
  • Local food
  • Transportation by tuk-tuk, Don Det
  • Two Bubalus bubalis (water buffaloes) bathing at sunset in a pond of Don Det. These buffaloes are often cooling themselves in the water (or in the mud), when the weather is hot. One of these domestic animals has a nose rope to facilitate its handling during the labour season, though here in May they are not yet attached, and thus free to move around the island.

References
  1. "Don Det and Don Khon". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  2. The Railway Atlas of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, White Lotus, 2010.
  3. Mad About the Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia, Harper Collins, 2005.
  4. "Don Det Google Map". Google Maps. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  5. c:File:Food offerings in Laos.jpg
  6. "Don Det & Don Khon in detail – Climate". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  7. "Waterfalls". Tourism Laos. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  8. "Irrawaddy Dolphin". World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  9. "Status Of Irrawaddy Dolphin Raised To 'Endangered'". The Irrawaddy. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  10. c:File:Hemidactylus frenatus mating, ventral view.jpg
  11. c:File:Eutropis macularia (bronze grass skink) eating a frog.jpg
  12. c:File:Close-up view of a bioluminescent beetle Elateroidea.jpg
  • Don Det travel guide from Wikivoyage
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