Introduction
Coffee, rubber, tea, cardamom and durian fruit are among crops grown in the rich upland soils of the Bolaven Plateau, an important agricultural area that takes its name from a local ethnic group.
They are just one of a number of mainly animist tribes who live here, some of whom fled to the Bolaven during the bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War.
A number of towering waterfalls have formed where rivers run off the plateau, including the roaring 120-metre-high Tad Fan and the less visited, but equally enchanting Tad Yeung.
Trips to the villages and the falls can be arranged in Pakse, the region's unofficial capital and a good base from which to explore southern Laos in more detail.
