Phou Khao Khouay National Park is a protected area in

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

. It is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

. It covers an area of 1920 km²,1920 km² is the GIS-calculated area, while the reported area is 191.94 ². UNEP-WCMC (2023)
Protected Area Profile for Phou Khao Khuay
from the World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved 2 June 2023. extending into Xaisomboun Province,

Prefecture, Vientiane Province, and Bolikhamsai Province. It was established on 29 October 1993 as Phou Khao Khouay National Biodiversity Conservation Area (or Phou Khao Khouay National Protected Area),
Trekking Central Laos and redesignated a national park in 2021. It includes a large stretch of mountain range with sandstone cliffs, river gorges and three large rivers with tributaries which flow into the Mekong River. It has mountainous topography with elevation varying from 200 m – 1761 m. The area emerged from "uplifting and exposure of the underlying sedimentary (Indosinias schist-clay-sandstone) complex". Sandstones are also seen spread in layers. Extensive flat uplands with

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

s with hardly any soil cover are also part of the topography of the park. The park has monsoonal climate with recorded annual rainfall of 1,936.1 mm (with higher reaches recording more rainfall). The mean annual temperature is 26.6 °C with recorded the mean maximum of 31.6 °C and the mean minimum temperature of 21.5 °C. The forests are evergreen, '' Shorea'' mixed deciduous forest, dry dipterocarp and pine type; particularly coniferous forest, of monospecific stands of '' Pinus latteri'', '' Fokienia hodgsinsii'', bamboo, and fire-climax grasslands. Animals found in the park include elephants, tigers, bears, 13 pairs of

white-cheeked gibbon ''Nomascus'' is the second-most speciose genus of gibbons (family Hylobatidae). Originally, this genus was a subgenus of ''Hylobates'', and all individuals were considered one species, ''Hylobates concolor''. Species within ''Nomascus'' are char ...

langur The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications spli ...

s, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Sightings of the

green peafowl The green peafowl or Indonesian peafowl (''Pavo muticus'') is a peafowl species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2009 because the global population has been declining r ...

have been reported near Ban Nakhay and Ban Nakhan Thoung, although it was generally once considered extinct in Laos. Conservation management has increased its population.

References

{{reflist National parks of Laos Geography of Bolikhamsai province Geography of Vientiane province Protected areas established in 1993 1993 in Laos

See also

References