Li Phi Somphamit Waterfalls, Champasak

About 1.5km downriver from Ban Khon is a raging set of rapids known locally as Tat Somphamit but referred to by just about everyone else as Li Phi Falls.

Li Phi means ‘trap spirit’ and locals believe the falls act as just that – a trap for bad spirits (of deceased people and animals) as they wash down the river. You’ll never see locals swimming here – mixing with the dead is clearly tempting fate a little too much – and it’s both culturally insensitive and dangerous to do so.

Water churns through the falls at a frenetic pace, especially during the wet season, and we are aware of two travellers who have drowned here in recent years.

Much less risky but thoroughly captivating is watching local fishermen edging out to clear the enormous bamboo traps. During the early rains, a well-positioned trap can catch half a tonne of fish a day. Some traps here and elsewhere in the area have an intake almost 10m long, funnelling fish into a huge basket at its end.

The falls can be reached via the main path heading southwest out of Ban Khon, or on a smaller, shaded and more attractive path that passes through the wat and avoids the trucks full of Thai tourists and their consequent dust. There are plenty of small eat-drink shops at the falls.

A group of backpackers embark from Nakasong Village to Det Island.

Sailing from Nakasong Village to Det Island.

Old French Port Don Det.
The Don Det–Don Khon railway (sometimes spelled "Don Deth–Don Khone") was a 7-kilometre (4.3 mi)-long narrow-gauge portage railway on the islands of Don Det and Don Khon, part of the Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) archipelago in Champasak Province of southern Laos.

Built by the Mekong Exploration Commission, the railway was operated by the Lao State Railway. It opened in 1893, and closed in 1940 or 1949.
It facilitated the transportation of vessels, freight and passengers along the Mekong River.
See more at Don Det–Don Khon railway - Wikipedia.

Catching the bus that takes us from Det Island to Khon Island.

Entering the Don Khone Somphamit Waterfalls Park.

Children bathing in the river under the wooden pedestrian bridge.

Sign indicating the path to the falls and the swimming area.

Upper Waterfall.
The upper waterfall is located before the suspension bridge.

Upper Waterfall panorama.

Close-up of the Upper Waterfall.

Suspension bridge over the Mekong River.

Lower Waterfall.
The lower waterfall is located after the suspension bridge.

Lower Waterfall panorama.

Close-up of the Lower Waterfall.

Li Phi Somphamit Temple.
The temple dedicated to the waterfall spirit is located east of the waterfall.

The main of the four entrances is pointing northwest, towards the beginning of the waterfall.
The statue of the main deity presents four faces, each face facing each of the four entrances.
Phra Phrom is the Thai representation of the Hindu creator god Brahma.
In modern Thailand, Phra Phrom is often worshipped outside of Hindu contexts by regular Buddhists, and, like many other Hindu deities, has usually come to represent guardian spirits in Thai animist beliefs, which coexist alongside Buddhist practices.
He is regarded as the deity of good fortune and protection.
The concept of Brahma is also represented in Buddhist cosmology as Brahma or Mahabrahma, the lord of Brahmaloka (the highest heavenly realm), which may also be represented as Phra Phrom.
See more at Phra Phrom - Wikipedia.