Tadlo

Tad Lo is a popular ‘resort’ on the edge of the Boloven Plateau, nestled alongside three rolling cascades. There are several places to stay in this idyllic retreat, good hiking, a river to frolic in (especially in the wet season) and elephant trekking. In the vicinity of Tad Lo there are also several villages, which can be visited in the company of a local villager. The guesthouses in Tad Lo can arrange guided treks to Ban Khian and Tad Soung. The Xe Xet(or Houai Set) flows past Tad Lo, crashing over two sets of cascades nearby: Tad Hang, the lower series, is overlooked by the Tad Lo Lodge and Saise Guesthouse, while Tad Lo, the upper, is a short hike away. A new Community Guides office has been established with a number of trained guides offering treks around the Tad Lo area and to nearby Ngai villages. Elephant treks can also be arranged from here for a 90-minute trek through the jungle and river. There are two Alak villages, Ban Khian and Tad Soung, close to Tad Lo. Tad Soung is approximately 10 km away from the main resort area and are the most panoramic falls in the vicinity. The Alak are an Austro-Indonesian ethno-linguistic group. Most fascinating is the Alak’s seeming obsession with death. The head of each household carves coffins out of hollowed logs for himself and his whole family (even babies), then stacks them, ready for use, under their rice storage huts. This tradition serves as a reminder that life expectancy in these remote rural areas is around 40 and infant mortality of around 100 per 1000 live births; the number one killer is malaria. Katou villages such as Ban Houei Houne(on the Salavan-Pakse road) are famous for their weaving of a bright cloth used locally as a pha sinh(sarong).