Chiang Khan in the Loei province

Loei is a province in the central part of northern Thailand. The province is bordered to the north by Laos. The area is 11,424.6 km ² and the population is estimated at 607,083 inhabitants. Its capital is the city of Loei. The Temple of Phra Si Siong Rak was founded in 1560 by local Buddhists for the king of Ayutthaya. Loei city was founded by King Rama IV in 1853 to strengthen the administration of the area, and in 1907 the province of Loei was established.

The province is located in the catchment area of the Loei River, which flows into the Mekong on the border with Laos. The province is the only one in Thailand that regularly experience temperatures below 0 ° C in December, but in the summer it is not unusual to be up to 40 degrees during the day.

There are five national parks associated with the mountainous areas around the Loei River. Phu Kradueng National Park is famous for its woodlands, and peaks up to 1363 meters. This was Thailand’s second, declared official National Park, listed in 1969, and it has large domestic tourism related to viewing the mountains.  The above parks have coniferous forests, including the Khasi-pine (Pinus kesiya). The fauna in the mountains include species such as elephants, deer, fjellgeit and hares, and mountain crab. Tree species found here include pine and maple.