If you love nature and the untouched, least visited, and most rural areas of Laos, this trip is perfect for you. The 12-day Remote Laos Adventure brings you to some of the most remote areas in Laos with the beauty of green nature and a diverse culture. Check it out!
Upon arrival in Luang Prabang, you will be met by your private tour guide and driver and transferred to your hotel in central downtown. Please look for the Asia Pathfinders welcome sign in the arrivals hall.
After a short rest, your city tour begins with a visit to the magnificent Wat Xiengthong, a superb piece of Lao temple architecture, which presents a sweeping two-tiered roof and ornate mosaics, including a beautiful ‘tree of life’ glass montage on the rear temple wall. If time permits, you will take a short walk around the small streets of the city center, watching the lives of local people. After that, you will visit the Royal Palace Museum, which was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for Laos King Sisavang Vong and his family.
In the late afternoon, we climb up to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as a panoramic sunset view of the city and the Mekong River. From there, attend a private Baci ceremony at a local family. The Baci ceremony, as a traditional ritual of the Lao people, expresses the spirituality of the country and is a highly memorable experience and a deep insight into culture of Laos for the participants.
Enjoy a home-hosted dinner, which gives you the very first impression of local life and culture.
Overnight in Luang Prabang.
Meals: Home-hosted dinner.
After breakfast, see your guide and driver in the hotel lobby, and travel to the pier for the ferry crossing the Mekong River. Get off the boat, and drive another 20 minutes to the Green Jungle Park.
After a short introduction and welcome speech, you take a 2.5-hour hike up to the top of the waterfall to enjoy a stunning mountain view and discover the natural pool; and some centennial trees. The guide will give you further information about the jungle vegetation, the tales of Hoi Khua waterfall, and the local lifestyle.
Continue by the governor’s tree plantation project with some wild fields, enjoy the natural taste of some veggies found along the way, and then walk back down to the coffee shop where you will have lunch. Following lunch, you join the zipline, flying above the valley with 13 stations and 900m of zipline. Free to walk around the park, visit the flower garden, or enjoy a cup of coffee while admiring the green nature. Transfer back to downtown in the late afternoon.
Approx. 2.5-hour trek, 1 hour ziplining
Overnight in Luang Prabang.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
At 8:30, you embark on a traditional Long River boat at Kamu Lodge pier. You can enjoy a leisurely cruise upstream while enjoying the refreshments; marvel at the thousands of gold Buddha statues placed in sacred Pak Ou caves by devotees.
Continue upriver, reaching Kamu Lodge around noon. You get a warm greeting with a welcome drink and check in to your super-size tents with attached modern bathroom amenities and facilities. You will enjoy lunch in an airy SALA, settling in the middle of ice paddy fields. In the afternoon, you can either relax or do some optional tours such as rice planting and harvesting in surrounding rice fields (depending on the season), learning about traditional fishing techniques, and walking around the farms and rice fields.
Dinner is a feast by Kamu tribe standards. Let’s see the world through Kamu’s eyes.
Overnight in Kamu Lodge.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.
You are free to stroll around the lodge and the surrounding village. The Shompoo Cruise arrives at 9:30 and picks you up for the cruise upstream to Pakbeng, a small village located on the Mekong River. Along the way, the cruise will stop at Ban Baw, famous for its traditional hand-weaving. After arriving in Pakbeng at around mid-afternoon, you will check in at your hotel before taking an orientation walk around the town.
Shompoo Cruise’s departure times are as follows:
Overnight in Pakbeng.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Visit a morning market, where residents of the nearby villages and hill tribes gather to buy and exchange their goods. After lunch at the lodge, you will leave for Luang Nam Tha, a land of rugged mountains and beautiful tropical forests that shares its border with China and Myanmar. On the way, you can observe rural life and local markets, admire views of corn and banana plantations, or have amazing views over the mountains. You pass through Oudomxay, which was once a dull town, now has become an important trading hub, showing the rapid changes in the area.
You arrive in Luang Nam Tha in the afternoon.
Overnight in Luang Namtha.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast, you visit the Luang Namtha museum and the Luang Namtha Stupa, where you will see an excellent view of Luang Namtha city. Continue to the old Phou Pouk Stupa and visit the two handicraft villages of Ban Nam Ngean Tai Dam and Ban Pieng Ngam Tai Deang. You walk around the villages to see & learn how to cook Lao Whisky, traditional weaving, blacksmithing, and bamboo basket making. Have a drive along the 6km dirt road to arrive in Ban Nam Dee Lantern village, where you learn about traditional weaving, dyeing naturally, and making paper from bamboo.
From there, attend a private Baci ceremony at a local family. The Baci Ceremony is a ritual tradition of the Laotian people, expressing the country’s spirit. It is a highly memorable experience and a deep insight into Lao culture for the participants. Enjoy a home-hosted dinner while listening to many folk tales from the host and being translated by your tour guide. You might wish to stroll around the riverbank and absorb nature, admiring the starry sky before going to bed.
Overnight in a local homestay in Luang Namtha.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
You get up early for a departure east, a beautiful drive with many stunning mountain scenery and some stops to visit Khmu and Hmong villages.
Today, you visit the intriguing Pra Xack Kham Temple with its sacred Buddha image. The 400-year-old legendary statue is said to have many supernatural powers and has been worshipped among faithful local Buddhists. From there, continue the drive to Phongsaly. You will see beautiful landscapes, banana plantations, and local rural life in the villages that border the road, as well as panoramic views over the surrounding mountains.
You can ask your guide to stop whenever you want to take pictures on the way. Your drive ends in the late afternoon. The charm of Phongsaly has been enhanced by the narrow paved streets bordered by traditional Chinese houses in wood. Your guide will tell you more about the history of this multicultural city. He also talks about harmony between locals and Chinese immigrants.
Stay overnight in Phongsaly.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Spend a full day discovering Phongsaly’s evergreen forest, green tea, and green Lao whiskey.
After breakfast, you have a three-hour walk on a track with stunning views over endless mountains, taking you from Phongsaly to the whiskey-producing village of Phunoy. Stop to have lunch in Phunoy and enjoy your first green! Walk through tea plantations to reach the mountain ridge, which offers 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 Phu Fa Mountain (1625m – 400 steps) overlooking Phongsaly Town. Enjoy the relaxed descent to the town through the forest.
Overnight in Phongsaly.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
After breakfast in town, you will go to the famous 400-year-old tea plantation located in the village of Ban Komaen, about 30 minutes south of Phongsaly.
According to some tea experts, this village has some of the oldest tea trees in the world. The root system of the old trees extends deep into the mineral-rich soil and gives “Phongsaly Tea” its specific aroma and taste. The oldest trees stand 6m high, with a stem up to 30 cm in diameter. The Phunoy people always cut and keep their tea trees at a reasonable size.
Then, they will climb to pick the precious leaves. They then process and sell this rare tea in cigar-shaped tubes. The road to Ban Komaen passes through recent tea plantations and offers a stunning view of Phongsaly and the surrounding mountains. In the village, a newly built tea-tasting shop serves some food and sells 400-year-old tea. You can also admire the temple and its characteristic Buddha statue with big ears.
After the visit, you will drive to Muang Khua for about 4 hours.
Overnight in Muang Khua.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
In the morning, you will board a long-tail boat downstream on the Nam Ou River to Nong Khiaw, the lovely boutique town along the lazy Nam Ou River. The scenery along the way is said to be the most beautiful part of the Nam Ou River. Along the way, you may make a short stop to enjoy a drink at one of the bars in Muang Ngoi overlooking the Nam Ou River. Along the way, stop at Ban Sop Chem, home to the Thai Deang tribe (Red Thai) and Khmu, who have a simple life, and see the daily lives of local people, lifestyles, and culture.
You have ample time to take a short stop at the fishing village of Muang Ngoi to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the bars overlooking the Nam Ou River before continuing on to Nong Khiaw. You arrive in Nong Khiaw just in time to catch the sunset.
Overnight in Nong Khiaw.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
It is a full-day tour of many adventurous activities. Get started with a peaceful boat ride on the Nam Ou River, where you explore a small Laos village along the banks of the river; and learn about life along this northern Laos River. Disembark and walk through small streams and rice paddies to reach the foot of the 100 Waterfalls.
For the next few hours, you will see only water, jungle, and hear the constant sound of clear waterfall cascades. Your guide will lead you through the cascades and prepare a local-style lunch. Have lunch next to the falls, surrounded by amazingly green nature. A small trail will lead you on the hike back down to the valley. Once back in the village, you have time to experience the daily life of the Nam Ou Riverside villagers. The day ends with a boat ride heading back to Nong Khiaw.
Overnight in Nong Khiaw.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
After breakfast, take the direct transfer back to Luang Prabang. If time permits, you visit Ban Na Yang (12km from the main road) – the Thai Lue minority village, a unique village with a traditional house and hand-weaving technique. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel to take the departing flight.
Note 03-hour transfer from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang >> the departure flight should be in the afternoon after 02:00 pm.
Meals: Breakfast.
This sample itinerary was created by our travel experts as inspiration for your next trip. Ready for your customization. You pick to suit your budget, desires, and cultural experiences. The price of this trip will vary, depending on the number of people in your party, dates of departure, and the availability of ground services. Please click on Inquire Now (above) and give us the necessary information to enable us to send you a FREE personalized quote within 48 hours if not sooner!
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