About Laos

Explore this Laos map to learn everything you want to know about this country. Learn about Laos location on the world map, official symbol, flag, geography, climate, postal/area/zip codes, time zones, etc. Check out Laos history, significant states, provinces/districts, & cities, most popular travel destinations and attractions, the capital city’s location, facts and trivia, and many more.

The unmatched glances of the lush lowland along the Valley of Mekong River till the reaches of the craggy highlands of the Annamite, get the true feel of the Southeast Asian spirits blooming within the region of Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

In the native language, the country is often referred to as the ‘Muang Lao’. Lao illustrate the native populace, the prevalent cuisine, along with the social customs that resides in the region of Northeast Thailand (Isan), Northern Thailand (Chiangmai) and (Chiangrai).

Location Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Lao People’s Democratic Republic is nestled in the Southeast Asian territory, which is mainly a landlocked nation. The province is engulfed by Myanmar (Burma) and the People’s Republic of China towards the northwestern end, Vietnam towards the eastern front, Cambodia to the southern front, and Thailand towards the western end.

Physical Map Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Laos or Lao People’s Democratic Republic is covered on all ends by mountainous terrain, which is marked by abrupt topography, tapered canal valleys that shows low agricultural prospects in the area.

Vientiane plains and the Jars Plain along the Xiangkhoang region bound the mountainous northern region that gives a spectacular sight to cherish. Beautiful mountains snug the Khammouan Province while the eastern sectors of the southern part of the state are even hilly in nature.

Find the alluvial plain grounds and terraces passes through the Mekong area thereby expanding to about 20 percent of the total land area. Only 4 percent are utilized for cultivation purpose.

The Mekong River segregates the western border of Laos, which is used as a major source for transportation.

Flag Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The flag of Laos was officially accepted during the month of December 2, 1975. The flag is designed with three parallel strips wherein the center band is colored in blue, which is just as twice the size than the upper and lower bands that are colored in red. A white colored disc is placed in the middle band, which falls in 0.8 diameters, in respective to the height of the blue strip. The flag falls in 2:3 ratios, where each color schemes carries an inner significance. The color red stands for the blood shed by strugglers during the independence, while the blue denotes the presence of wealth possessions within the country. The white disc stands for the moon towering right above the beautiful Mekong River that gives a splendid sight along with the harmony shown within the communist government.

Climate Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The climatic condition of Laos or Lao People’s Democratic Republic can be characterized into three distinct groups, namely:

• The month of March to May (hot season) where temperature ascends to about 38°C.
• The month of May to October (considerably chill wet season) with a temperature of about 30°C, accompanied with tropical rainfall along with Mekong floods, and
• The month of November to March (dry season), with low precipitation with a temperature falling to 15°C or to zero degree in elevated mountains at the nighttime.

The best time to jaunt to this location is during the dry season that attracts thousands of visitors.

Flora And Fauna Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Take an ecological tour as you travel to the land of South East Asia. The tropical rain forest is filled with dense vegetative layers that can be divided into three parts. The topmost layer is comprised of single-trunked, high-reaching trees, which are commonly known as dipterocarps. The middle layer consists of hardwood species like the teak Bamboo are commonly seen within the area.

Catch up with dynamic animal species like leopard cats, goat-antelopes, Javan mongoose, gibbons, langurs, malayan sun bear, gaur, Asiatic black bear and much more. The Saola Ox, a deer-antelope breed, is found in the eastern regions of Laos. Along the Khong Island, Irrawaddy dolphins can be frequently seen swarming within the crystal clear waters of the Mekong River. Within the recent discoveries the striped or Annamite rabbit, the saola along with the Laotian rock rat, which are called as kha-nyou, find a cozy home in this region.

People Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Laos’s natives are comprised of several diverse groups namely Hmong, Khmu, Yao, A’kha, Ikoa, Lu and others. These diverse groups follow their respective ethnicity and dialects within the region.

•  Lao Lum, the lowlanders who reside along the Mekong River covering 56% of inhabitants.
•  Lao Theung, the uplanders cover 34% of the residents thriving.
•  Lao Soung, the hill tribes’ covers 9% of the inhabitants settled in mountainous terrains.

Lao is the native dialect thriving here along with French, English, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese. The Theravada Buddhism is the apparent religion practiced within the region. The religion of Christianity and Muslims seems to thrive within the region where large number of Christians is limited to the Vientiane locality while the Muslims flourish along the Myanmar border. Lao can be related to the Tai linguistic group that migrated southwards from the region of China.

Arts, Culture And Music Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Art : Lao artisans are recognized for their wonderful creation based on sculptural formations. Bronze is commonly used along with gold and silver to create wonderful architectural images. Lao Buddhist sculptures can be rightly seen in the area of Pak Ou caves that attract innumerable visitors. Among the semi-precious stone sculpture one can mention the images of Phra Keo (The Emerald Buddha) and the Phra Phuttha Butsavarat that are worth visiting. Ceramic products are also quite popular within the region.

Culture : The traditional attire of a Lao woman is called as ‘phaa sin’ , which is a wrap around skirt woven out of silk or cotton. Visit the World Heritage sites named as Luang Prabang and Wat Phou that attract several travelers from round the world. Rice is the staple diet of the region. Participate in the local festivals and to name some are Vixakha Bouxa, Boun Bang Fay, Pi Mai Lao and Ok Phansa.

Music : Lao or Lao People’s Democratic Republic music that has settled here can be classified into two parts namely the classical music and the folk music.

Western music came into existence during the French colonial era. The classical music is correlated with Siamese, where its orchestra is based on two classes namely Sep Nyai and Sep Noi. The Sep Nyai music is accompanied with instruments like gongs, a xylophone, an oboe, kettledrums and cymbals. While, the Sep Noi can be related with string instruments like So U and the So I, collectively called as Indians. Lao folk music is natively called as Lam, is played along with the Khene that was accepted in the region of Laos and Thailand. Khene can be well associated with the music prevailing in Lao, which is a native musical instrument made out of bamboo. Lam saravane and mor lam sing music’s are popular within the area.

Economy Of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Among the remaining official Communist states, Laos’s stands prominent that believed in privatizing the service sector industry. In spite of fast growth rate within the economy, the country still retains its primal infrastructure along with limited source of telecommunication with no railroad facility. Government is making constant efforts in improvising the road system with assistance from the Japan province. Electricity is restricted to certain areas in urban provinces. Agricultural produce especially the production of rice balances the GDP growth within the country, which even employs about 80% of the employment sector. The economy gets its assistance from the IMF aid along with overseas investment in the sectors of food processing and mining.