Laos Adventure

Adventurers all over the world need to get up early and this is no different in Laos. Get your bag ready but just make sure you travel light. Enjoy a cooked breakfast that is tailor made to your requirements whether you’re a carnivore or a vegetarian, our guide will make sure you’re fed and watered.

From the hotel we’ll drive North along the mighty Mekong River eventually meeting the Nam Xeuang which will take about an hour and a half. To cross the river we will use a local boat and then trek through extensive jungle on well known trails that the locals use daily as their only routes to and from remote villages.

In total we’ll be trekking between 4-5 hours (medium grade) through rice paddies and jungle.

Now is where we stay overnight at a local Hmong village with basic comfortable conditions to explore local and meet the locals. In the evening dinner will be prepared by your guide and the local family to get your first experience with local cuisine.

Highlights

• Travel along the well renowned Mekong river
• Trek through rice paddies and picturesque jungle
• Dine with the locals and experience the local cuisine at first hand

Wake up to being amongst a Mhong hill tribe and listen to to the stirrings of the locals as they get on with their daily tasks. Breakfast is prepared by the guide first thing on a morning and after you get the opportunity to prepare for the day ahead.

The day then starts with a hike of around 4 hours along valley streams to an amazing remote and very large mixed Hmong and Khmu village, situated in a valley surrounded by large mountains.

We’ll arrive around mid-afternoon and have lunch before exploring these expansive villages with schools, diverse activities, and watch the local children play. Your guide will help you explore the villages and experience the local life. Enjoy your evening with dinner prepared by your guide and relax before tomorrow’s mountain peak hike!

Highlights

• Hike along a river through beautiful scenery
• Experience and converse with locals
• Explore a traditional Hmong and Khmu village

Another early start with breakfast made by your guide ready for a long days hiking!

Bring shoes that can get wet and sandals for in the villages as there are stream crossings on the trails. Bring clothes for three days, cameras with charged batteries and note that these are remote villages and there is no electricity for charging camera batteries for the duration of the tour.

Today is the start of a 3 day trek tops with panoramic views looking over the villages where you just stayed and down to the Nam Xeuang River where our trekking ends. Expect between 6-7 hours of hiking today on trails that locals take to tend their steep mountain-top rice fields and around half-way you’ll visit a Hmong mountain village.

Enjoy lunch and can go for a well-deserved swim in the river at the trail’s end before our return trip which is about 1.5 hours to Luang Prabang and a nice warm bed!

Highlights

• Sample and really experience the lifestyle including the food of mountain villages.
• Trek through panoramic vistas of mountains and rice fields

Today is up to you!

Our guide makes breakfast but the day is completely your decision so we give you a few options to decide from. These include:

Full Day Mountain Biking On/Off-road Countryside Long Circuit

Meet your local Lao guide and head North on a mountain bike along the Mekong river on paved roads. You’ll pass a diversity of people and lifestyles on this exhilarating and full mountain bike ride.  Stop anywhere along the way to explore local villages or to rest by the riverside. Circuit of 60 km, approximately 65% paved, 35% dirt roads – for bikers looking to see a lot of countryside on a good day’s ride.

Full Day Mountain Biking and Trekking

Jump on your mountain bike and depart towards the city at Wat Pa Phon Phao, a golden temple with a fantastic view of Luang Prabang. Next, follow the paved road further through teakwood forests and rice fields along the Nam Khan River to visit the resting spot of Henry Mouhot before biking our way through villages and past jungle-covered mountains until arriving at our Camp terrace on the banks of the Nam Khan River.  Take a boat to our trekking start point for an easy hike through the jungle at the base of Karst mountains.  We will stop at a large Khmu village for lunch and to explore hill-tribe village life before hiking off the mountain down a new trail to the Tad Sae.Depending on the season, we will swim in the Tad Sae Waterfall. There are also elephants in the area you can watch and photograph or you can buy some bananas and feed them. After a short boat trip downriver, you’ll meet the vehicle waiting to return you to Luang Prabang to conclude this fun adventure-filled tour. Biking is 15 km (9 mi) mostly paved road normally taking 2 hours with stops. Trekking is about 7 km (4.5 mi) total, split with lunch and village visit.

Full Day Mountain Biking and Kayaking

We’ll lead you along backroads to see Wat Pa Phon Phao, a golden temple with a great view of Luang Prabang. Afterward, we will continue along the Nam Khan River to the grave of Henri Mouhot, the French explorer who popularised The Angkor Complex in Cambodia. We’ll finish the 15 km ride in the Nam Khan valley amid a spectacular vista of mountains, rivers and small villages and then break for lunch at the Camp mountain-view terrace or at Tad Sae Waterfall (depending on season and timing). A short boat ride will bring us to Tad Sae Waterfall for a refreshing swim under jungle canopy. That will be followed by another short ride, to our kayaking centre, where we will conduct a brief kayaking instruction and safety review. Then we begin our adventure down the river. During the rainy season, the river is high and moves at a nice pace through lush jungle countryside. It is 20 km (12.5 mi) of easy to medium kayaking and normally takes 3-4 hours with breaks included. We will wrap up just under the Luang Prabang city bridge, where we meet our truck for a 10-minute return ride to the city centre.

Breakfast will be made by our guide first thing in the morning and then we take a 6 hour drive six-hour drive along picturesque winding roads to Vang Vieng. Whilst looking out of your window you’ll see stunning vistas of towering limestone karst hills around every turn and great photo opportunities of tribal villages along the way. Arrive at Vang Vieng later in the afternoon in time for sunset views over the river and spectacular mountain scenery, then visit Tham Jung and Tham Phoukham caves and Blue Lagoon.

Highlights

• Visit Tham Jung and Tham Phoukham caves
• Bathe in the Blue Lagoon

Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast at the hotel before we depart from Vang Vieng. Then we cross a bamboo bridge over the Nam Song River before starting the day by cycling past rice paddies towards the first viewpoint where you’ll  find bringing a camera comes in handy to take in the scenery. After this we head off through the karst range of the Nam Song & Vang Vieng. After a short ride we have a steep hike up to Dok Ngern, the Silver Flower Cave. Explore the hidden corridors, filled with an endless array of stalagmites and stalactites!

From here the trail gets a bit rough as we cycle along the narrow valley of the Houay San stream until Pha Deng ‘red cliff’ comes into view on our right. We will stop here for a short break and to take some pictures.

We continue until we arrive in the first village, on the banks of the Nam Kouang River. Here the road heads south and runs alongside the Nam Kouang; we will follow this road until we reach one of the Blue Lagoons. We will take a break here and you will have a chance to relax, swim and take some photos. We then cycle back to Vang Vieng in time for sunset. The estimated duration is 4 hours cycling and 1.5 hours caving.

Highlights

• Cycle past rice fields
• Opportunity to take stunning panoramic photographs of the landscape
• Explore the Flower cave
• Bathe in one of the Blue Lagoons

We depart from Vang Vieng after breakfast to the start of the kayaking. After some paddling instructions and a safety briefing, we set off down the beautiful Nam Song River. We will paddle down a few small sets of rapids along the way to our first stop at Tham Xang, the “Elephant Cave”. We will walk up to the massive theatre like cave while learning about the local history of the area!

After emerging from the cave, a short kayak will lead us to a picnic spot on the riverside where we will enjoy a picnic lunch. After lunch we shall continue down the river until the next stop at the Organic Farm where mulberry tea and a variety of different fruit wines are produced.

Continuing downstream we arrive at Tham None Cave which is one of the largest caves in Vang Vieng! It served as a bomb shelter for local villagers during the Second Indochina War. Today it is home to a group of bats and the ‘Magic Stone of Vang Vieng’. Our guides will explain how the magic stone works and the history of the cave. The final leg of the journey is a gentle paddle downstream to Vang Vieng where we will arrive in time to catch the sunset.

Highlights

• Kayaking down the beautiful Nam Song River
• Explore Tham Xang, the “Elephant Cave” and Tham None
• Indulge in local fruit wines

After breakfast made by your guide you’ll then travel to Vientiane which will take around 3 hours so just relax and take in the beautiful scenery. The destination is an Organic Farm that Vang Vieng promotes the use of natural materials and traditional methods for growing its crops and raising its animals. This is done without using chemicals or artificial fertilisers, which are harmful to both our health and the environment. After expanding your knowledge of sustainability you’ll travel to Vientiane by late afternoon and in the evening you can stroll along the banks of the stunning Mekong River in the capital city.

Highlights

• Visit an Organic Farm

Depart the hotel with your guide and head to Talaat Sao – Vientiane’s Morning Market. Here you can fully explore a local market and taste what it has to offer whilst tasting the local coffee and tea. Continue to Wat Sisaket, the oldest original temple in Vientiane. Vat Sisaket features remarkable frescoes and over 6,000 Buddha images. Nearby are numerous historical points of interest such as: the famous emerald Buddha, Putousay, which is the victory gate and the Luang stupa. King Sethtathirat built this great sacred stupa, considered the national symbol, in 1566. The original stupa was said to contain relics of Lord Buddha.

After lunch at a local restaurant, head out of town to visit one of Laos’ slightly stranger attractions -Xieng Khuan Buddha Park. Built in 1958 this park on the banks of the Mekong River approximately 35 kilometres from the city is the site of a large collection of many kinds of Buddhist and Hindu Sculptures. En route take a look at the impressive Friendship Bridge which spans the Mekong River.

If you are interested in textiles and their production and time permits then pay a visit to Carol Cassidy’s Lao Textiles Gallery that’s set in a traditional Lao home where you can see the silk weaving in process. The evening is left for you to explore or just relax and unwind, reflecting on the adventure so far.

Highlights

• Visit a local market to taste culinary treasures
• Visit historical landmarks and well renowned points of interest
• Visit Carol Cassidy’s Lao Textile Gallery

Enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast at your chosen hotel and then depart out with your guide and a driver to an International Airport where, sadly your adventure ends.