Location: A northeastern province sharing a border with Vietnam
Natural Protected Areas: Nam Et/Phou Louei & Nam Xam National Protected Areas
Main Ethnic Groups: Tai Kao, Tai Daeng, Tai Meuay, Tai Neua, Phu Noi, Hmong, Khmu
Ecotourism Attractions: Houaphan has abundant natural resources and a rugged
landscape that led the Lao People’s Party to select the area as its base during the
Indochina War years. The province is famous for its limestone mountains and caverns,
with over one hundred caves in the area. The Nam Et-Phou Louei National Protected
Area has good ecotourism potential, with its high numbers of tigers and other large
wildlife species and low human population. The is in the Wildlife Conservation Society process of researching ecotourism development in the area that would provide income
to local communities in support of conservation of tigers and other threatened species.
