Pakse, Laos · UTC+7 ☆

Pakse is in the Asia/Vientiane timezone (ICT/UTC+7), with no daylight saving time observed. Pakse sits at the confluence of the Xe Don and Mekong rivers in Champasak province, southern Laos. It’s the main city of the south, a transit hub for travelers to the Bolaven Plateau, the waterfalls at Khone Phapheng, and the ancient Khmer temple complex at Wat Phu. The Mekong here is wide and slow in the dry season, and the light on the river in the early morning, before the mist burns off, is the kind of thing that makes people extend their travel plans.

Laos uses Indochina Time, UTC+7, year-round, no daylight saving. Pakse shares this with Vientiane to the north. At 15 degrees north, the city’s daylight ranges from about 11.5 to 12.5 hours across the year. The seasons that matter are the rainy season (May through October) and the dry season (November through April), not the light variation.

The Bolaven Plateau above Pakse is Laos’ coffee-growing region, producing mostly robusta and arabica beans that have found international markets in recent years. The coffee harvest from November through March gives Pakse’s agricultural hinterland a seasonal economic pulse.

coffee plateau and colonial streetscape

Pakse has a distinctive Franco-Lao colonial architecture in its older quarters, built during the French Indochina period when it served as the provincial capital. The old market building and riverside hotels date from this era.

9am in Pakse is 2am in London.

Sources

• IANA Time Zone Database - Asia/Vientiane
• Lao Statistics Bureau