Laos Off The Beaten Path (IPL13)

Upon arrival at the airport in Chiang Rai, your personal driver and tour guide will pick you up and transfer you to Chiang Khong, bordering with Laos in Huayxay.

After 2,5 hours driving you will arrive in Chiang Khong and check into the boutique Lanjia Lodge, located 30Km from town, at the top of the mountain.

After a short rest, take a guided tour to the Hmong and Lahu hill tribe village, including a visit to the shaman’s house of the Hmong. Drink tea with the shaman and discover why the fireplace is important to the Hmongs and why they bury the placenta and umbilical cord of their newborn babies.

In the evening enjoy dinner at the lodge and watch traditional Hmong dance.

Overnight in Chiang Khong
Meals: (/_/D)

Morning
After breakfast, your guide and driver will transfer you directly to the Thai border, where you will take the public bus crossing the bridge to Laos side.

Upon arrival in Lao side, your guide and driver will meet you holding up your name on a welcome signboard and take you directly to Luong Nam Tha and Muang Phouka. The road drive is very smooth and comfortable since it has been recently improved.

En route, pause to visit hill tribe villages along the road at Muang Phouka and other surrounding areas. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant.

Afternoon
Continue driving further north to Muang Sing, the remote town of northern Laos.

Late afternoon you will arrive Muang Sing and check-in your simple hotel. The remainder of the day will be free at your leisure.

Overnight in Muang Sing
Meals: (B/L/_)

Depart Muang Sing for a 4-wheel-drive to Ban Mom (Tai Lue village), Buag Yha Say Mai (Akha village). From there you will start walking to Ban Xay (Tai Lue village), located on the bank of Mekong River

In the late afternoon, you will arrive at a local homestay in Ban Xay. You will be welcomed by the local family who will be your hosts for the first night. Check-in and have a refreshing shower.

While waiting for dinner, take a walk on the bank of the Mekong River to see the beautiful sunset, visit the local people coming back from the fields, mingle with them to get new experience, learn about their culture and tradition.

After enjoying dinner with the family hosts, you will receive a gentle massage that is traditionally given to the guests who stay overnight in the village.

Overnight at a local homestay in Ban Xay
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
Rise up early to watch the sunrise and stroll around the village to get an experience of Thai Lue daily lifestyle.

After breakfast at the local home, commence a two-hour trek up to Lung Pha (Akha village). Upon arrival, you will spend about 30 minutes to visit the village and talk with the local people. After that, continue further up to the mountain to visit Ban Eula (Akha village). A picnic lunch will be provided on the way.

Afternoon
After lunch, continue to trek for two hours more and you will arrive at Ban Lo Ku (Akha village) where you will stay overnight. After checking into the local homestay. Enjoy an Akha massage and followed by the home-hosted dinner.

Overnight at a local Homestay in Ban Lo Ku
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
After breakfast, depart for Ban Khor Phen (Akha village), Ban Pa Xang (Akha village). There is plenty of chances to experience and admire the culture and local lifestyle, enjoying the stunning panoramic view over the region.

Afternoon
Return to Muang Sing on a four-wheel-drive and continue further back Luang Namtha, located on the banks of the Namtha River, a land of rugged mountains and beautiful tropical forests and sharing its border with China and Myanmar.

Arrive and check into a local mini-hotel. The rest of the day will be at your leisure. You are free to stroll around the town.

Overnight in Luang Namtha
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, meet your local guide and start trekking to Ban Chaleunsouk, south of Luang Namtha town. You’ll ascend through a forest and pause on a ridge, which offers stunning views.

Enjoy a picnic lunch on the way prepared by your guide.

Afternoon
Continue trekking. The trail then descends through centuries-old trees and past an Indochina War gunnery emplacement to the Nam Ha River and Ban Nalan (Khmu Village). Here you will check into a local homestay for the night.

Dinner is often enjoyed in the company of a prominent village elder, from whom you can learn about Khmu culture. Moreover, he might offer you an insight into your own lifestyle. Remember, curiosity runs both ways, especially when sipping Lao Hai (rice wine) from a jar through bamboo straws.

Overnight at a local homestay in Ban Nalan
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
After breakfast at the local home, start the second trek following the Nam Ha River, through stands of large hardwood trees and bamboo patches, to Ban Nalan Tai (Khmu Village) and Ban Namkoy (Lanten Villae).

Lunch will be served at the village and take your time for a leisurely walk around the villages meeting and mingle with the locals.

Afternoon
The trail becomes quite challenging as it climbs under a pristine tree canopy teeming with birdlife and ends up on a ridge with a stunning view of Luang Namtha town. You will visit the last village of Lanten (Ban Namlue), that is, before the final descent and a ride back to Luong Namtha town with memories to will last you a lifetime.

Arrive and check into a local mini-hotel in town. The remainder of the day is free at your leisure.

Overnight in Luang Namtha
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, depart Luang Namtha for a short drive to Tad Namdee waterfall, which is located 6 km out of town inside the hidden jungle track.

Along the way, pause visit the village of Ban Namdee of the Lanten tribe people.

Arrive at Tad Namdee and spend time relaxing by the waterfall before enjoying a picnic lunch.

Afternoon
Transfer directly to Namkat Yola Pa Resort, which locates 30Km from the Oudomxay center. The resort is famous for its pure natural surround with the thick jungle, and especially the amazing Namkat Waterfalls, which you will explore in the next days. Upon arrival, check into your riverside bungalow. After that you are free for the rest of the day. Just relax at the resort swimming pool and enjoy the sound of nature. 

Overnight at Namkat Yorla Pa
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, transfer to the starting point where you will have a short presentation about the Namkat Yorla Pa complex. After a short safety brief, you will ride the ATV toward the jungle for about 5KM.

Reaching the entrance, you will start trekking through the jungle path to the hidden Namkat waterfall. Along the way, you will pass by about 13 flying bridges, admiring plenty of big tree, and hearing the sound of nature.

The trek will take about 1 hour or more depending on your speed.

You have plenty of time at the Namkat waterfall to relax and enjoy the picnic lunch. If you wish, take a refreshing dip at the waterfall or walk further into the jungle

Afternoon
Join the 9-course zipline back to the entrance of the park. From there, take the ATV ride back to Namkat Yorla Pa Resort. The rest of the day is at your leisure. Relax by the inviting pool of the resort or stroll around the nearby villages.

Overnight at Namkat Yorla Pa
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, you will depart for Ban Bountai in Phongsaly province. The road is in good condition and at the mountains’ slope. Enjoy beautiful landscapes, banana plantations, local rural life in the villages that border the road and panoramic views over the surrounding mountains. You can ask your guide to stop whenever you want to take pictures on the way.

Lunch will be provided at a local restaurant on the way.

Afternoon
Arrive at Ban Bountai and check into your hotel. After a short rest, your guide will take you on a walking tour to visit the local village, the rural market and the village temple. Life is really slow here, that you will the chance for you to step back to watch and relax. There is also a small sauna in town if you wish to treat yourself after the long transfer.

Overnight in Ban Bountai
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, join the public tuk-tuk transfer to the local tribe villages, where you might share the seat with Akha people coming back from the market, through the side road to Pouli and Eupa village.

Arrive and set out to explore these tribe villages. Please notice that this route is rarely explored by the tourists, so the villager might be shy and do not want you to take photos. Please check with your guide to ask for permission if you wish so.

Afternoon
After lunch at the village, start trekking via a small mountain path up to the high village where Akha people live. You will be warmly welcomed by a local family who will be your hosts for the night.

After refreshing, join the traditional massage.

Evening
Enjoy the dinner with the host family, talk with them about their daily life, and your guide will help translate before going to bed.

Overnight at a local homestay
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, you will descend to this mountain and ascend another nearby mountain to another village of Loma tribe people. Here you will enjoy lunch and explore the village.

Afternoon
Arrive and check into a local home. The afternoon is dedicated to strolling around the village, talking with local people to learn more about their daily life. You can find a suitable job to help them if you wish so.

Dinner will be shared with the host family

Overnight at a homestay
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
After breakfast, say goodbye to the villagers before descending the mountain. You will arrive at the main road around midday. From there, catch the transfer to Muang Khua, the riverside village nestled along the Nam Ou river. Arrive and check into a local mini-hotel.

Afternoon
Start exploring the village of Muang Khua. Walk via the suspension bamboo bridge to the nearby village of Ban Natoun. Pause to visit a local school, watching the kids playing in the ground, or joining the classes.

Return to your hotel where the balance of the day will be at your leisure. Muang Khua is lined up with some beautiful riverside bar, where you can make a stop, enjoy a cold BeerLao, and watch the sun setting behind the mountain.

Overnight in Muang Khua
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, board a long-tail boat downstream of the Nam Ou River. The scenery along the way is said to be the most beautiful part of the gently Nam Ou River.

Arrive at Ban Danlam, where you will be served a home-hosted lunch at the village.

Afternoon
After walking around the village and admire their daily life, get back to the boat and cruise further to Ban Hatsaphei. From there, start an easy trek along the Nam Ou river to Ban Sopchem, the beautiful weaving village with the thatch roof and bamboo houses. This is where you will stop for the night.

After meeting the host family and check into your room, take a gentle walk through the paddy fields watching people working on the field.

The dinner will be served by the host family.

Overnight in Ban Sopchem
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
After breakfast, say goodbye to your hosts, then take a short cruise further to Muang Ngoi. Upon arrival, begin trekking 2 hours to Ban Houay Bor (a Khmu and Tai Deng ethnic village).

Continue trekking to Ban Na (an ethnic group of Tai Deng and Khmu village), which will take about 30-minute via the paddy fields. Here you will have a picnic lunch.

Afternoon
Continue your trek for around 30-minutes you will arrive at the village of Ban Huaysene before coming back to Muang Ngoi via another road.

En route, visit Tham Kaang cave, which is said to have supernatural power.

Return to Muang Ngoi just in time to catch the sunset.

Overnight in Muang Ngoi
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, board a local longboat and head off upstream through some fantastic landscape before making your first stop of the day at a small riverside village. Here you will start trekking through the local villages. Take some time to look around and if during a weekday pay a visit to a local school to see the charming children as they take part in their classes.

Continue trekking for one hour more onwards to Tad Mork which is located close to the ethnic Khmu village of Ban Sop Kong. Arrive at a waterfall where you have tome for some swim and a picnic lunch.

Afternoon
Continue trekking through the jungle to Ban Phayong, the village of H’Mong ethnic. The trek will take about 2.5 – 3 hours up to a small hill.

In the late afternoon, you will arrive at Ban Phayong and check into a local home. Then you are free to take a stroll around the village to get familiar with the local villagers. Before having dinner with the host family, you will have a chance to join the Baci Ceremony. This rite is performed mostly for family and friends who are going or coming back from a long trip. This is their way of saying thank you to you for your visit. Your guides will portability explain more about the ceremony.

Overnight at Ban Phayong
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
Wake up early, you can help the host to prepare your breakfast, or watch the sun rising over the mountains.

After breakfast and say goodbye to your family hosts, commence a 3-hour trek downhill via the paddy, cornfields to the bank of Nam Ou river.

Afternoon
From the river, board on the cruise downstream to the charming town of Nong Khiaw. Upon arrival, check into your hotel. It is time to relax and take some rest or take a hike up the Nong Khiaw Viewpoint.

Overnight in Nong Khiaw
Meals: (B/_/_)

Morning
Start your day with a peaceful boat ride on the Nam Ou River where you will be able to explore a small Lao village along the riverside. Learn about the villagers and their way of life along this Northern Laos River before beginning the ‘100 Waterfalls Adventure Trail’!

Walking through small streams and rice paddies, you will arrive at the bottom of the 100 Waterfalls which were only first explored in October 2008!

For the next few hours, you will see only water and jungle and hear the constant sound of clear waterfall cascades. The pools around you are very inviting for a refreshing splash.

Your guide will lead you through the cascades and prepare a local style lunch that you can enjoy on the falls surrounded by amazingly green nature.

Afternoon
Follow a small village trail on the top of the ‘100 Waterfalls’ which will lead you on your hike back down into the valley, offering stunning views over the expansive Nam Ou valley.

Once you’re back in the village, you will have some more time to experience the daily life of the Nam Ou riverside village before heading back to Nong Khiaw (Nong Khiau) by boat.

Overnight in Nong Khiaw
Meals: (B/_/_)

Morning
After breakfast, transfer directly to Nam Et – Phou Louey NPA. The 3.5-hour drive will take you to the village of Ban Nam Soy. Here you will meet the village guide who will give you a brief orientation about the following tour. Soon after that, you will get on a tok tok (a hand tractor used for plowing rice paddies and convertible to a transportation vehicle) along a 9km trail crossing local villages and overlooking agricultural fields to Ban Navene, a remote Khmu village.

Enjoy late lunch in Ban Navene, hosted by the village cooking group at the village visitor center.

Afternoon
At Ban Navene your tour guide will give you a short orientation about the village and then you will be introduced to your homestay family. Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the village and helping your homestay family with the daily tasks around the house or in the nearby fields.

You will spend the evening with your homestay family and experience the tranquility of life in a remote, off-the-grid village with limited electricity.

Note: if you love animals and wildlife, join the 24-hour Nam Nern Night Safari Tour

Overnight in Ban Navene
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
After an early breakfast and saying your goodbye to your host family, depart for the first of the two-day ascent to the peak of the Phou Louey Mountain.

The first 5 km of the trail climbs up through a mosaic of shifting agricultural fields, with rest stops taken at the farmer’s huts. Your guide will explain about local agriculture, which villagers depend on for both their food and income.

Continue trekking for 2 hours more, then the trail enters the forest and the core zone of the protected area. Keep walking through forests about 30 minutes until arriving at Tad Ang Waterfall, an amazing waterfall that has a bowl-like jungle infinity pool.

Enjoy swimming while the village cook will prepare your lunch.

Afternoon
After lunch, the trail continues a gradual ascent until finally reaching the first campsite where you will stop for the night, Houay Kaneng camp, located 4km after the substation.

Follow your guide to the nearby camera trap to change the memory card. Once back at the camp, enjoy a traditional Khmu dinner by campfire prepared by the village cook.

Evening
Help the guide to sort through the photos of wildlife taken by the camera traps during the previous night. These photos will be uploaded to the website after your trip for viewing and download.

Overnight in bamboo huts in Huay Kaneng
Meals: (B/L/D)

This is the biggest day of trekking as you will reach the summit of Phou Louey mountain.

Morning
Start early to make sure you will cover the trail on the plan. To minimize the negative impacts on this fragile and extremely special ecosystem, lunch will be taken before the summit. You are required to stay on the trail to reduce the footprints on this rare plant community.

Afternoon
Arrive at Tad Loy and settle into your campsite. Take a rest before having dinner around the campfire.

Overnight in a campsite near Tad Loy waterfall
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
Wake up early and before breakfast to walk up a nearby mountain to check more camera traps, bird watching, and possibly hearing the calls of the rare White-cheeked crested gibbon. After around an hour, return to the camp for breakfast.

After breakfast, you will trek from the foothills of Phou Louey Mountain across the rugged and mountainous landscape to Poung Nied and The Nests campsite. The trek is approximately 9km with a steep ascent to the top of Phou Phamai Mountain followed by a gradual descent down to Poung Nied Salt Lick and The Nests camp. The route traverses some unique forest and landscapes and trench remains from the war.

Enjoy a picnic lunch along the trail prepared by the village cook.

Afternoon
Continue toward the Tad Loy camp. You will arrive at The Nests camp where you will be shown to your accommodation – the hanging spherical “nest”. The rest of the afternoon is free to relax, bathe in the nearby river and enjoy nature.

Evening
Enjoy a traditional Khmu dinner prepared by the village cooking group before it gets dark. It’s important to take an early dinner so that the smell of food and fire is not strong when you visit the wildlife observation platform later this evening. Dinner is eaten at the camp and is not allowed at the observation tower.

After dinner, you will receive a short briefing by your guide about wildlife viewing at the Poung Nied Salt Lick – one of the largest salt licks in the protected area. It’s important to follow the introduced rules about the observation tower, such as no talking, no eating at the salt lick, and how to return to the camp in case you need to use the toilet.

The guides will inform you about the species of animals you may see during the spotlighting and explain the rules and expectations for spotlighting.

Spot the wildlife at the observation tower until not later than 11:30 pm. An overnight sleeping is not allowed in order to reduce any negative impacts and disturbances to wildlife.

The most common animals that you might spot include Sambar and Barking deer and various species of civets, although, if lucky, you may see also other rare animals such as bears, dhole, several species of wild cats, and others.

Please wear warm clothes as it can be quite cold in the late evening/night time.

Overnight in The Nests
Meals: (B/L/D)

Morning
Before breakfast, your guide will walk you back to the salt lick to identify wildlife tracks. Spend approximately one hour on the observation platform to see birds and enjoy the awakening of a new day. Your guide will also show you the camera traps, and you can help to change the memory cards.

Once back at the camp, enjoy breakfast and help your guide sort through the photos of wildlife taken by the camera traps during the previous night.

Twelve surrounding villages involved in this project receive monetary bonuses in the form of village development funds based on the number and type of wildlife spotted at night and captured by the camera trap.

Your final day of trekking takes you along a 7 km forest path built and maintained by the village. This trail passes through thick jungle and mixed deciduous forests. The local guide will show you medicinal plants and identify animal tracks along the way.

The trek has a couple of moderate ascents before descending into agriculture fields. At the edge of the forest and fields, enjoy a picnic lunch inside the farmer’s hut. From here another tok tok will pick you up and take you through the village rice and corn fields for about 7km to Ban Nam Poung Village, an ethnic Khmu Village, situated on the edge of the national protected area core zone boundary.

Upon arrival at the village, your village guides will bid you goodbye and you will be transferred to Muang Hiem by private truck or van.

Afternoon
Arrive in Muang Hiem and check into your simple guesthouse in town. Take some rest or walk a bit out of town to visit the hot spring, which is very famous among locals.

Overnight in Muang Hiem
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, continue driving about 3 hours to Xieng Khouang, a town that has been totally rebuilt after being destroyed during the secret war in Laos. The town is now located 30 km away from where it was originally. Today, Xieng Khouang, locally called “Phonsavan” is the gateway to the Plain of Jars.

Along the way enjoy the beautiful scenery and see local village life.

Arrive Xieng Khouang around midday and check into your hotel.

Afternoon
Head out to explore the Plain of Jars site 1, which is the biggest and closest to town. The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of the Xiangkhoang Plateau. The jars are arranged in clusters ranging in number from one to several hundred.

If time permits, you can visit the MAG Center in the town. MAG is a humanitarian organization clearing the remnants of conflict for the benefit of local communities worldwide. Lao PDR is the most heavily bombed nation in the world (per capita).

Overnight in Xieng Khouang
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
Rising early to visit the Central Market of  Xieng Khuangto watch the different hill tribe people barter and exchange merchandise.

After breakfast and check out of the hotel, depart Xieng Khuang then transfer to the heritage town Luang Prabang. En route, pause to visit the Buddha images at Tham Pra, a site more than 200 years old, and various Hmong and hill tribe minority villages along the way. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant along the way.

Afternoon
After numerous photo stops, continue driving, enjoying the splendid natural scenery of the mountains, the forest, and the landscape.

The roads are well paved along the way for a smooth journey; you will pass some stunning landscape scenery with a mixture of steep terraced fields and hill tribe villages. Each hill tribe village in Laos has a different feel, some are more prosperous than others but all have plenty of life.

Make a short stop at Ban Phoudam village, where you can see the two hill tribe minorities of H’Mong and Khamu living in harmony, before driving to the photo stop at Ban Kiew Nya for the panoramic view prior.

Evening
Arrive Luang Prabang and check into your hotel. Spend the rest of the day at your leisure. You may stroll around the town and find one of the local eateries for dinner.

Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, meet your guide and driver and head out to explore Nahm Dong Nature park. This is the newly built park locating just 10 km out of town. Here you can choose the suitable trekking trail (there is the easy-to-difficult trail depending on your wish). There is also an opportunity to join the zipline flying over the park with plenty of small streams and waterfalls.

Enjoy the picnic lunch at the park and admire the panoramic view over the region before transferring back to Luang Prabang.

Afternoon
You are free to explore some important heritage sites or climb Mount Phousi to watch the sunset and the stunning panoramic view of the town below.

Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals: (B/L/_)

Morning
After breakfast, you will be picked up by your private guide and driven to the nearby village of Xieng Lom. Upon arrival you are invited to have coffee or tea as your guide for the day provides an in-depth introduction to elephant behavior and the ways you should interact with them.

A quick boat ride across the Nam Khan River will take you to the waiting elephants. You will be introduced to your giant friends. Then you will have a chance to feed them some special treats – a sure way to begin an instant friendship.

Enjoy observing elephants from the river bank as Mahouts wash them in the Nam Khan river. You can also experience elephants washing, swimming, and playing in the water.

After 2 hours crossing through a beautiful stretch of traditional Lao gardens you will arrive at the jungle-covered Huay Nok stream. As you walk alongside the elephants and crisscross through the cool water you will experience a profound sense of understanding, respect, and caring for these amazing animals.

You and your elephant companions will continue walking past a lovely stretch of rice fields and enter a patch of forest where you can rest, relax, and eat. Lunch will be served in traditional Lao fashion, eating on bamboo mats on the forest floor.

Afternoon
Visit the nearby Tad Kuang Song Waterfall, which was named after a Golden Deer spirit seen standing on its crest many centuries ago. If you like, you can take a cool dip, wade, stand under the soft showers of the waterfall, and spend time meditating and admiring the private beauty of this rarely seen natural treasure.

You will sit, watch, and learn as the MandaLao mahout’s show how they communicate and listen to their elephants. This will highlight the special skills each elephant has and give you deeper insight into their individual personalities.

Following the lessons, you can take what you have learned from the mahouts and guides throughout the day and spend quiet, uninterrupted time with the elephants—reading their emotions just as they read yours. You will experience first-hand why humans and elephants have shared such an unwavering bond for thousands of years.

Along with the mahouts, you will bring your elephants to their nighttime feeding grounds. Take time for a long goodbye and in knowing that the connection you have built is not only felt by you but by your new friend as well.

Enjoy a few moments to think about your experiences from the day as you look out at the vast Luang Prabang mountain range from the terrace at MandaLao.

Finish the tour and transfer back to your hotel in the late afternoon. Spend the last night of your great adventure in Laos.

Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals: (B/L/_)

Your private transfer greets you at the hotel after breakfast and escorts you to Luang Prabang airport for a short flight to Bangkok where you connect via your outbound flight home. End of service

Meals: (B/_/_)