North Laos Explore 12 Days

Sabaidee! Welcome to Luang Prabang – a world heritage site. Upon arrival, you will be picked up at the airport and transfer to hotel for checking-in. Free to discover the town by you own.

It is recommended to climb up Phousi hill to admire the panorama view. At night, free to discover the night market by you own.

An optional early start gives you the fantastic opportunity to participate in the daily morning rituals of saffron-clad monks collecting offerings of Alms (ubiquitous sticky rice) from the faithful residents. This tradition is very unique in Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving the procession. From there you will visit the Royal Museum before transferring to the morning Phosi Market, where you will see such diverse offerings as dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the chickens, vegetables and hill-tribe weavings.

Laos is also known for its traditional crafts, and today you will visit local villages of Lao ethnic minority groups at Ban Ouay, Hmong Village, Ban Ou, Laoloum Village and Ban Thapene, Khmu Village, then drive to the beautiful Khouangsi Waterfall where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the turqoise pools or walk along the forest trails.

Later of this day, you will visit Wat Xieng Thong – the most beautiful temple in Luang Prabang.

Our driver will pick you up from your hotel at 6:30 AM, and transport you to the boat pier. The boat leaves at 7:00 AM for the upstream cruise to Pakbeng. French breakfast is served onboard after the introduction of the crew. Shortly thereafter, we will stop to visit the famous Pak Ou Caves (Tham Ting) and its thousands of Buddha images.

For lunch, local food is served onboard. Then, you will have free time for relaxing in the afternoon, until the boat arrives in Pakbeng at dusk. You will be served a typical snack and drink on board in the afternoon. Here, you will retreat to your accommodation for the night.
 

The guide will meet you on the boat at 06:45 AM, which departs at 07:00 AM for continuing the trip up to Houayxay. On the way, we visit a Hill Tribe village. Our guide will explain the way of living and the origins of these rural populations.

After, lunch will be served on board. A final, brief stop has to be made in Pak Tha for having necessary boat documents signed. Then, before arrival in Houay Xay, we will initiate your palate to local flavors by offering a tasting of seasonal fruits, drinks, snacks. Arrival in Houayxay will be around 5:00pm. Transfer to hotel in Houayxay

The tour starts after a one-hour drive from Houayxay. Access walk is steep for over an hour and is thus recommended for trekkers in good physical shape aged from 12 to 50 years old.

A series of very long ziplines flies you from mountain to mountain to the heart of the Nam Kan National Park and to the most giant tree to be found today in the Lao PDR.

Waking up among the heart of Mother Nature, among the rain forest, in a tree house, you can listen the song of the birds and enjoy the beauty of nature. Today you will continue to discover the national park and will comeback to Huay Xay in afternoon.
 

After breakfast, you will rejoin the transfer to head to Luang Nam Tha. You will be drive through the Nam Ha National park, and arrival Luang Nam Tha in the afternoon. Upon arrival, transfer to hotel for checking in and relax.
 

Departure by Tuk-Tuk at 9:00 am to the south along direct via Doiluckkam (Lao word for Gold Mountain), which is about a 35 minutes ride. The native guide knows the trail, forest, and herbal medicine; he will join this tour and guide you all the way up the mountain, and deep into the Nam Ha National Protected Area.

On this path, you will walk through a nice forest area, in which you may encounter or hear wild animals, birds and spot their tracks. Your guide will share some of his ancestral knowledge about the traditional use of medicinal plants, edible leaves, and show you some native skills for the hunting of wildlife. After two hours we have a traditional picnic lunch along the walking path, in the forest prepared by your guides.

Thereafter, you will continue the flat and downhill path through primary forest, within the Nam Ha National Protected Area, and you will finish your trek around 3-4 pm close to Nam Ha, the Khmu Tribal village, which we will visit shortly after. The Tuk-Tuk will get you back to Luang Namtha town.

After breakfast, rejoin the car to transfer to Nong Kiaw - a beautiful rustic little town on the bank of the Ou River in Laos. Upon arrival, transfer to hotel for checking in.
 

We leave Nong Khiaw at 8:30am and cruise up the river via a traditional long boat. Along the way, we stop off to visit several different ethnic villages. We actually pass straight through Muang Ngoi at first and pay the village of Ban Sop Jam a visit. This village is famous for its traditional Lao silk and cotton weaving, here you can purchase some beautiful textiles if you wish.

After spending some time in the village, we turn around and return back downstream to Muang Ngoi. Upon arrival, we take some time to have a break and a coffee before heading off on a small trek which takes us through some gorgeous scenery consisting of limestone cliffs, mountains and rice paddy fields.
Along the trek, we visit a historical cave which was used as bomb shelter by the local during the second Indochina war. Upon returning back to Muang Ngoi we board our boat for the cruise back down the river whilst watching the beautiful sunset over Nong Khiaw, arriving back just before dark.

We’ll start the day with a boat ride on the Nam Ou to a small village where you can learn about the way of life along this river. Then we’ll trek through small streams and rice paddies to reach the base of the 100 waterfalls. The next few hours you will see only water and jungle and hear the 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 on the falls in the middle of it all. Then we’ll take a small villagers’ trail from the top of the falls back down into the valley; along the way, you’ll take in views of the landscapes of the Nam Ou valley.
Hiking back to the village, we’ll have more time to observe the daily life here before heading back back by a small boat to Nong Khiaw. Later of this day, transfer back to Luang Prabang.

After breakfast, you will have last minute shopping by your own before transferring to airport for flight departure.

This is the end our North Laos Explore 12 Days with Asia Tour Advisor. We thank you for joining us on this incredible experience to explore all the wonders of Thailand. Goodbye, and we hope to see you again next time! Asia Tour Advisor can also arrange additional customized trips for you if the above itinerary does not match your expectations.