Bokeo Province, Northern province in Laos
Bokeo is a province in northwestern Laos that stretches along the borders with Myanmar and Thailand. Five administrative districts lie between the Mekong and forested mountain ranges, where villages scatter across steep slopes.
A stone inscription from the 15th century documents early settlement in this region, which long served as a passage for trade routes. The province took its current form during administrative reforms in the 20th century.
The province takes its name from the Lao word for gem mine, referring to the sapphire deposits once worked in this area. Different ethnic communities inhabit the valleys and mountain slopes, with each group maintaining distinct textile patterns and house styles.
The provincial capital Houayxay sits on the Mekong and offers ferry crossings to Thailand as well as downstream boat trips to Luang Prabang. Mountain roads lead inland, though many routes become difficult during the rainy season.
A protected area shelters black-crested gibbons that researchers believed extinct until the late 1990s. Today their calls can occasionally be heard from the jungle in the early morning hours.
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