Don Daeng Island

Don Daeng is an eight-kilometre island in the Mekong directly opposite Champasak, and it is close enough to Wat Phou to have been part of the same historic landscape. A track runs around the whole shore, passing half a dozen villages, a ruined brick stupa in the interior, and stretches of sand that emerge as the river drops. There are no cars. A community guesthouse and a small eco-lodge take the few people who stay, and the island is otherwise farmland and fishing.

What you actually see

• The perimeter track - a flat loop of about eighteen kilometres around the island, cycled easily.
• The villages - half a dozen settlements of wooden houses, with weaving and fishing as the work.
• The old stupa - a ruined brick stupa in the interior, associated with the Wat Phou landscape.
• The dry-season beaches - sandbars along the western shore, exposed as the water falls.

When to go

November to March is dry, cool for cycling, and the season when the sandbanks appear. From June the river rises and covers them, and the tracks turn to mud. February brings the Wat Phou festival to the mainland opposite.

Honest expectations

Accommodation is limited to a couple of places and needs arranging ahead. There is nothing to do beyond cycling, swimming and sitting, which is precisely the point but disappoints people expecting sights. Boats across are informal and not scheduled.

Nearby

Champasak is directly across the water, with Wat Phou eight kilometres beyond it.