Muang Luang Pukha

Muang Luang Phukha occupies the Nam Tha valley among the mountains of northern Laos. The river leads towards the Mekong, though rapids and changing water levels make navigation difficult. An overland route between Chiang Khong and Chiang Hung passed through this valley and neighbouring Vieng Phoukha, connecting communities across the mountain country. The region's history was shaped by Tai principalities and the peoples of the surrounding hills. In the seventeenth century a polity known as Luang Huatha took form in the valley; stupas erected in 1628 commemorated its friendship with Chiang Saen and its neutrality. Conflicts with neighbouring powers later caused inhabitants to leave, illustrating the unsettled fortunes of towns between larger kingdoms.