Whispers of the Mekong – An Enriching Laos Experience

• Cultural Immersion: Interact with local communities and learn about their traditions.
• Natural Beauty: Experience stunning landscapes, from ancient temples to lush forests and waterfalls.
• Adventure Activities: Enjoy trekking, zip-lining, cycling, and kayaking.
• Unique Experiences: Witness the morning alms ritual and visit remote hill tribes.

Day 1: ARRIVAL INTO LUANG PRABANG

Your expert guide will meet you at Luang Prabang International Airport while your private transportation brings you directly to your chosen hotel.

Meals included: None

Day 2: LUANG PRABANG – CITY TOUR, AND PAK OU CAVES

Today, we enjoy a short-guided tour seeing the city’s oldest temples of Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We then embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside as well as exploring the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by devoted pilgrims. Along the way, we will stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where the local rice wine is produced. On return, we take a short drive to another small village Ban Phanom, which is famous for its hand weaving.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 3: LUANG PRABANG – CITY TOUR, AND KHOUANGSI FALLS

An optional early start gives you the fantastic opportunity to participate in the daily morning rituals of saffron-clad monks collecting offerings of Alms (often in the form of sticky rice) from the faithful residents. This tradition is very unique in Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving the ritual.

After breakfast, we visit the National Museum (closed Tuesdays) at the former Royal Palace.  It displays a collection of artifacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture dating from the days of the early kings right through to the last sovereign. There will also be time for us to look around the Central Market. We then continue towards Khouangsi Waterfall, en route, we visit the local villages of Lao ethnic minority groups at Ban Ouay, Ban Ou, Laoloum and Ban Thapene, and then drive to the beautiful Khouangsi Waterfall.   Here you can take a dip in the inviting pools or walk along the forest trails surrounding the waterfall.  We return to Luang Prabang by late afternoon and continue to Ban Xangkhong, a village well known for silk hand weaving and for traditional Saa Paper making.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 4: LUANG PRABANG – OUDOMXAI – NAMKAT (ROAD)

Our overland expedition begins as we leave Luang Prabang and venture into the mountainous and remote area in Northern Laos. The verdant and rugged mountain scenery combined with the colorful local population makes this an unforgettable experience. We pass Oudomxay province, which is residence to a mixture of 23 ethnic minority groups. We make a few rest stops along the way, which gives us the opportunity to see the ethnic minority groups of Hmong, Khmu, Akha and Taidam. We arrive at Namkat in the afternoon. After the hotel checking in, enjoy your free time at leisure.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 5: NAMKAT TREKKING TO THE WATERFALL

Trekking through the forest of Namkat Protected Area, designed for moderately active people who love getting in the great outdoors. Be able to enjoy the view and seeing the fantastic scenery of Namkat waterfall. Besides enjoying the zip-lining from tree to tree along steel wires in up to 40 meters height and 450 meters in length! Rope-bridges, U&V-bridges and getting back to earth through “Abseiling” add to the extra ordinary excitement. Great BBZ for lunch nearby the wonderful waterfall.

Itinerary:

We departure from the resort to information center by resort’s car and then we will make a short walk and visit the information center. Followed by some trekking up to Namkat waterfall and walk towards the waterfall by flying bridges we can have some great views from the Namkat River top down. Afterwards we will take a break and enjoy a nice lunch at the waterfall. Following we will do a challenging activity called “Zip-lining”. You will get the feeling of flying as you move very fast from tree to tree. For people who don’t want to do the zip-lining a walk back towards the meeting point will be organized.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 6: NAMKAT – MUANGLA (ROAD)

After breakfast, we drive to Muangla. We arrive Muangla in the afternoon.  Here we have the fantastic chance to visit Pra Xack Kham Temple with its sacred Buddha image. The 400 years old legendary statue is said to have many supernatural powers, and is widely worshipped among the faithful local Buddhists.

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7: MUANGLA HILL TRIBE TREK

You leave The Resort following a picturesque route along the banks of the River Nam Pak, to visit two villages of the Ikhos people. The Ikhos are one of the most isolated communities in Laos and originate from Tibet and Yunnan Province in China. In their mountain village with houses built from bamboo and wood, you will learn about their way of life, their belief in the spirit world which affects everything they do and their unique method of dyeing their clothes using extracts from the plants of the forest.

A truly unforgettable experience!

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 8: MUANGLA – MUANGKHAU (ROAD) – NONG KIAU (BOAT)

After breakfast, we take a short drive to Muangkhau, where we will embark on a local private boat for a scenic boat trip to Nong Kiau. Enjoy picnic lunch on the boat (lunch box prepared by Muangla Resort). We make a few stops along the way at local fishing villages. The final stop before we reach Nong Kiau is Muang Ngoi, where we will spend some time walking through the village to observe the daily activities. We arrive to Nong Kiau before sunset. After the hotel checking in, enjoy your leisure time at the resort.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 9: Nong Kiau – Cycling tour and Kayak

We set off from our office and travel via bike to the nearby mountains. Along the way we stop to explore a fascinating cave and learn about its fascinating history from it’s use during the second indochina war. After this we continue onwards until arriving at a local Khmu village tribe who live in a remote location on the mountain. Here we take some time to see how they live and learn about their customs before continuing onwards for a short while before stopping to enjoy a Lao picnic lunch which is served in the traditional way on a banana leaf.

After lunch we make a transition to river transport for the return journey back to Nong Khiaw via Kayak. We will head down the Nam Ou River which meanders thorough the valley passing rice and vegetable fields along the way.

We continue onwards until making a stop at a Tai Leu village located on the riverside, here we take some time to look around before continuing onwards back to Nong Khiaw.

Approximately: 3 hours cycling, 30 minutes caving & 1.5 hours kayaking

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 10: NONG KIAU – LUANG PRABANG (ROAD)

After a leisurely breakfast, we drive back to Luang Prabang.

Arrival into Luang Prabang before noon and you are at own leisure after the hotel checking in.

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 11: LUANG PRABANG – DEPARTURE

After breakfast, free and easy at own leisure until time to transfer to the airport for your outbound flight to the next destination.

Meals included: Breakfast

SERVICES INCLUDED

• Hotel accommodation by twin share basis with daily breakfast
• Ground transportation by private, air-cond vehicle
• Regional ENGLISH speaking guide
• Sightseeing with admission fees
• Private boat trips as programmed
• Mineral water and cold tissues on tours

SERVICES NOT INCLUDED

• International air tickets arrival to and departure from Laos
• Visa stamping on arrival to Laos (US$ 30 per person)
• All other meals & beverages are NOT mentioned in the program
• Personal expenses and Tips