8 Days Northern Lao

Arrive in Luang Prabang, meet your guide and drive to the hotel.

When at dawn the bells of the town's monasteries toll, long golden lines of monks emerge to receive their morning rice from the townspeople. If you rise early, you will have the opportunity to witness this moving scene which is typical for old Laos—long lines of barefooted monks weaving through the streets on their alms rounds.

In keeping a respectful attitude towards local cultures and traditions, we ask that you observe this sacred ritual from a certain distance. We also encourage that, if you want to take photographs, that it does not interfere with this highly revered ritual. After this spectacle, we will visit the local fruit and vegetable market on the edge of Luang Prabang

After breakfast we’ll travel by car to the beautiful Kuang Si waterfalls (we recommend to visit the falls in the morning before it gets crowded). On our way we stop to visit Hmong and Khamu villages. Hmong and Khamu villages have different structures and ways of life; here, we can learn about their traditions and the differences between Lao, Khamu and Hmong culture. We will see the multi layered waterfall, which has a striking turquoise color in the dry season. Then we’ll travel back to town.

Then we drive to Wat Visounalat, known as "the Watermelon Stupa," as well as the ornate Wat Mai, and Wat Xieng Thong, an exquisite 400-year-old royal monastery complex. We also visit the National Museum.

We end our town tour by climbing Phousi Hill with its derelict anti-aircraft gun and revered shrine. From the top, enjoy wonderful views of the Mekong and mountains beyond.

This evening, meet your guide and be treated to the refined grace of a private baci ceremony at the village. These gentle villagers, led by their Nai Ban (village chief), offer visitors tidings of good luck and fortune for their life and travels by gently tying cotton cords around your wrists. This symbolizes luck, friendship and good health. The baci ceremony will be held at a private family home and will take from 30 minutes up to one hour.

This morning after breakfast, your guide will lead you into the countryside for a visit to the Mandalao Elephant Sanctuary. Here you'll spend the day with one of Southeast Asia's most beautiful and endangered creatures, the Asian elephant. No riding is allowed, but you'll experience first hand all that is required to both take care of these amazing animals and protect their habitat.

You and your elephant companions will continue walking past a lovely stretch of rice fields and enter a patch of forest where you can rest, relax, and eat. Lunch will be served in traditional Lao fashion, eating on bamboo mats sitting on the ground.

Visit to Tad Kuang Song Waterfalls, which was named after a Golden Deer spirit seen standing on its crest many centuries ago. If you like, you can take a cool dip, and stand under the soft showers of the waterfall.

During a MandaLao mahout's show, you will see and learn  how they communicate with and listen to their elephants. This will highlight the special skills each elephant has and give you deeper insight into their individual personalities.

After this, you can take what you have learned from the mahouts and guides throughout the day and spend quiet, relaxing time with the elephants—reading their emotions just as they read yours. You will experience first-hand why humans and elephants have shared such an unwavering bond for thousands of years.

Along with the mahouts, you will bring your elephants to their nighttime feeding grounds. Take time for a long goodbye and you’ll realize that the connection you have built is not only felt by you, but by your new friend as well.

Late in the afternoon around 16:00 (4:00 PM), you will transferred back into town and your hotel to spend the evening at your leisure.

After breakfast, at 08:30 AM, meet your guide and driver and depart on a journey north into the heart of Laos. We drive to Udom Xai (Muang Xai) where you will spend three nights in a charming eco-resort while you explore the surrounding countryside and ethnic minority villages. You will pass several villages of the Hmong minority. These villages are located on mountain ridges with spectacular views. Your guide will tell you about the turbulent history of these rugged mountain people.

You will stop and have lunch along the way at a local restaurant. This is a long but interesting drive and there will be opportunities to stop along the way. Arriving in Muang La this afternoon check into your charming, boutique lodge with the afternoon at your leisure or explore the town on your own or with your guide.

You will see rivers, mountains and forests typical for the colourful landscapes of Laos. Nestled in these wonderful panoramas, the small villages of the many ethnic groups contrast with the towns and their richly gilded temples and traditional pagodas. In the middle of this enchanted scenery of forests and rice paddies, the Muang La Resort is located. Built with the help of local craftsmen and using only traditional techniques, the resort lies on the border of the small village of Muang La.

Overnight at the Muang La Resort

On the edge of a small village where local people follow a traditional lifestyle, Muang La Resort was built in order to respect its surroundings. Swathed in greenery, the resort is surrounded by forests, rice fields and hot springs that are thousands of years old, offering complete immersion in this natural paradise. In the middle of a luxurious garden, wooden villas, ethnically designed, offer the highest degree of quality and comfort you can imagine in such a remote location. Pieces of Laotian art, created by local artists and sculptors, add the finishing touches to each room

After breakfast in the lodge, at 07:30 AM , you will be ready for another full-day adventure.  Today you will visit villages of the Ikho (Akha), Hmong and Khamu people—three of the many ethnic groups in Laos. Your route climbs to 1,000m above sea level and offers some magnificent views of the stunning mountain sceneries. Your first stop is a completely isolated Ikho village; this ethnic group has its origin from Tibet and Yunnan Province in China. You learn about the daily life of the villagers and how they still follow customs passed down through the centuries.

While we are picknicking, we’ll enjoy the amazing surroundings. After lunch, a short walk takes you to an abandoned Hmong village with a stunning 360° panorama. You continue on to visit a Hmong village—this ethnic group originates from the high steppes of Tibet and you will learn about their way of living, the importance of their livestock (pigs, buffaloes…..) and the care that they give to their animals.

Return to the lodge later this afternoon, where you might want to enjoy the lodge's hot springs and lovely little spa. Overnight at the Muang La Resort

After your last breakfast at Muang La Lodge, we say goodbye to the resort and drive about two hours to the village of Muang Khua along a road that will lead us to the Vietnamese border and to Dien Bien Phu. At Muang Khua, you will board your privately chartered riverboat for a five-hour cruise down the Nam Ou River. We head to the town of Nong Khiow. The boat has comfortable seats. The cruise will take you through some of the most spectacular river scenery in Northern Laos. Enjoy a picnic lunch on a secluded beach.

Due to the construction of a new dam half way down the Nam Ou, you will transfer a short distance by local truck and reboard a same boat on the other side of the dam construction.  We are adventurous here !

The cruise will end this afternoon in the town of Nong Khiaw, where you will stay overnight.

The drive from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang will follow the Nam Ou and then take you up and over the mountains.  Along the way we will visit the village of Ban Na Nyang, which is famous for their traditional cotton weaving.  Almost every household has its own weaving loom where the families create beautiful scarves, table cloths and ornated wall hangings. The art of cotton weaving in Ban Nayang has been passed from generation to generation for almost 300 years.

The local populations from Ban Nayang belong to the Tai Lue (Lü) Ethnic Group who migrated to this area from the Yunnan Province during the 18th century. In Yunnan the Tai Lue are officially part of the Dai Ethnic Group.

After the visit in the village we will continue our road towards Pak Ou Village. Ban Pak Ou. Walk the main street, visit the small temple, and have lunch in one of the restaurants next to the river. Walk down to the river and take a boat to visit the Pak Ou caves. After that, take a boat on the Mekong river to go to Luang Prabang city (not by road). We have a stop in Ban Xanghai to see and taste lao lao (local rice whisky) production. Transfer to hotel. Night in Luang Prabang

After breakfast, relax at your hotel or explore the city on your own, until the appropriate time for transfer to the airport for your departure.