Laos in Style

Tour guide and driver welcome you & take you to your hotel. After a soft rest, we visit the magnificent Wat Xiengthong. We take a short walk around the small streets of city center to watch the life of local people. Then we visit Royal Palace Museum, built during the French colonial era.

In the afternoon, we climb up to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa and a panoramic sunset view of the city. Enjoy dinner with the traditional dance & folk song at the local restaurant. Then we visit the famous Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textiles made by local and hilltribe people.

Take the ferry crossing the Mekong river to Green Jungle Park. We start climbing to the top of the waterfall for a hiking loop of around 2h30. Enjoy a nice mountain view, discover the natural pool and some centenaries trees. Learn about the tales of Hoi Khua waterfall and local life style. We continue by the governor’s trees plantations project with some wild field, enjoy the natural taste of veggies and walk back to the coffee shop for lunch.

In the afternoon, we will join the zipline flying above the valley for about 1 hour. You are then free to walk around the park, visit the flower garden, or relax and enjoy the cup of coffee while admiring the green nature.

We board on a traditional Long River boat and take a leisurely cruise upstream. Marvel at the thousands of gold Buddha statues placed in sacred Pak Ou caves. Continue upriver and you would reach Kamu Lodge around noon. You can check into your super-size tents and enjoy lunch in an airy SALA settled in the middle of ice paddy fields.

After lunch, you can choose to relax or enjoy the traditional Kamu lifestyles and activities such as rice planting and harvesting in surrounding rice fields, gold panning in the Mekong, traditional fishing techniques, visit of the Kamu village and archery contest. Dinner is a feast by Kamu tribe standards.

You are free in the morning to stroll around the lodge and the surrounding village. The boat Shompoo Cruise will arrive at around 9:30a m to pick you up for the cruise upstream to Pakbeng, a small village located on the Mekong River. Along the way, we will stop at Ban Baw, which is famous for its traditional hand weaving. Arriving in Pakbeng at around mid-afternoon, you will check in your hotel before taking an orientation walk around the town. Overnight in Pakbeng.

The local market attracts numerous ethnic minorities who converge from the surrounding mountainsides or valley to barter and trade their goods. We visit this congregation before setting off on our journey north to Luang Nam Tha via Oudomxay. Oudomxay province is residence to a mixture of 23 ethnic minority groups. We make a few rest stops along the way, which gives you the opportunity to see the ethnic minority groups of Hmong, Khmu, Black Thai and Lu.

We arrive in Luang Nam Tha late afternoon, transfer to your hotel. Free for the rest of the day to explore the town on your own way.

After breakfast, we will take a short visit to the Luang Namtha museum. Then visit Luang Namtha Stupa and the old Phou Pouk Stupa. Visit Ban Nam Ngean “Tai Dam” and Ban Pieng Ngam “Tai Deang” both famous for their many different handicrafts, walk around the villages to see & learn Lao Whisky making, traditional weaving, black smith, bamboo basket making.

Transfer to the village of Ban Nam Dee “Lanten” along a dirt road for 6 km. You''ll learn how to make paper from young bamboo, natural dyeing & the traditional weaving, participate the traditional Baci-ceremony & local music, taste local meals and talk with homestay owner.

We wake up early and drive east through some of the most stunning mountain scenery, with plenty of stops at the various Khmu and H’mong villages. We visit the intriguing Pra Xack Kham Temple with its 400 years old sacred Buddha image. Continue our drive to Phongsaly. You will see beautiful landscapes, banana plantations and local rural life in the villages.

Arrive in Phongsaly late afternoon. The charm of the town is made by the narrow paved streets borded by traditional Chinese houses in wood. Your guide will explain to you more about the history and culture of this multicultural city and the harmony that reigns between Lao people and Chinese immigrants.

Today, you discover Phongsaly’s evergreen forest, green tea and green Lao whiskey. After breakfast, you leave Phongsaly on a track with stunning views over endless mountains. After 3-4 hours, you have lunch in a whiskey-producing Phunoy village!

Then enter the jungle on an adventurous path climbing up into the mountains. After walking through tea plantations, we reach the mountain ridge offering you a stunning 360-degree view (as far as China to the west and Vietnam to the east!). Continue on a small jungle path and reach the top of the Phu Fa Mountain overlooking Phongsaly Town. Enjoy the relaxed descent to the town through the forest. The rest of the day is free at leisure.

After breakfast, you will visit the famous 400-year-old tea plantation, located in the village of Ban Komaen. This village has some of the oldest tea trees in the world, regularly cut and kept to a reasonable size by Phunoy people, climbing to pick the precious leaves. They then process and sell this rare tea in cigar-shaped tubes.

The road to Ban Komaen is passing through more recent tea plantations and offers a stunning view on Phongsaly and surrounding mountains. A newly built tea-tasting shop serves some food and sells the 400-year-old tea. You can also visit the temple and its Buddha statue with big ears. Then you will drive to Muang Khua for about 4 hours. Overnight in Muang Khua.

We board on a long-tail boat downstream the Nam Ou River to Nong Khiaw, the lovely boutique town. Along the way, we may make a short stop to enjoy the drink at one of the bars in Muang Ngoi overlooking the river.

We also make a short stop at Ban Sop Chem, home to the Thai Deang tribe (Red Thai) and Khmu, to see the daily lives of local people, lifestyle, culture ... We have ample time to take the short stop at the fishing village of Muang Ngoi to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the bar before continuing further to Nong Khiaw. We arrive in Nong Khiaw just in time to catch the sunset before checking in your simple guesthouse. Overnight in Nong Khiaw.

Start this day with a peaceful boat ride on the Nam Ou River to explore a small Lao village along the riverside. Learn about the villagers and their way of life along this Northern Laos River. Walking through small streams and rice paddies, you will arrive at the bottom of the 100 Waterfalls. 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. A small village trail on the top of the '100 Waterfalls' will lead us on our hike back down into the valley, offering wide views over the expansive Nam Ou valley.

Back in the village to experience the daily life of the riverside village before heading back to Nong Khiaw by boat. Overnight in Nong Khiaw.

After breakfast, take the direct transfer back to Luang Prabang for about 03 hours

If time permits, we will visit Ban Na Yang (12km from the main road), which is the Thai Lue minority village. This is the very unique village with the traditional house and hand-weaving technique.

Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel to take the departure flight.