Guided walking & holiday
packages
Touring: France, Vietnam, Laos & Bhutan |
LAO - Nam Tha and the Mekong
Lao: Tour Overview
- Advice Notes
- History
and Geography - Gallery
Tour Overview
Our program to Lao is 15 days in length and visits the
most spectacular regions of Northern Lao on foot and
by raft, boat, and road. We visit the capital of Vientiane,
the northern kingdom of Luang Prabang, the Nam Tha biodiversity
region, and experience a real highlight where we travel
by fast and slow boat down the wonderful Mekong River
which rises in Tibet and discharges into the South China
Sea south of Ho Chi Minh City.
After years of war and isolation, Lao
is justifiably emerging as an exciting new destination
in Asia. Join Dave as he travels through northern Lao
on a very comprehensive and exciting 'soft' adventure.
Unlike its neighbours, Lao's small population,
large tracts of jungle clad mountains, lush valleys,
and the mighty Mekong, plus decades of economic isolation,
have together provided a legacy of vast tracts of natural
landscape. Centuries of history await us, from ancient
temples to French colonial heritage buildings. A strong
culture is evidenced in Buddhist festivals, dance, music
and a resurgence of crafts such as silk weaving. And
then there are the people. Always smiling, calm and
gentle, making visitors very welcome.
Accommodation is both comfortable and
pleasant. We will be using small hotels, family guesthouses,
and of course, village stays. Our personally selected
accommodation is clean with suitable western style facilities.
The village stays will be more basic, but still clean
and well-tended.
TRIP OUTLINE
We fly into Vientiane and have a casual remainder of
the day to allow guests to recover from their flight.
We plan for a short afternoon walk to nearby attractions.
The following day we visit a number of
key attractions in the sleepy capital including Wat
Sisakhet, the former Governors residence, the morning
market, That Luang, the 'vertical runway', and the National
Museum. For those interested we can also visit some
of the better quality galleries.
We fly north to Luang Nam Tha, stay at
a delightful riverside lodge visiting the local museum
and nearby villages and follow this with a two-day trek
deep into the Conservation Area, much of which consists
of magnificent sections of old growth forest. These
forests are still home to various endangered large mammals
such as Tiger, Leopard and Sun Bear and these elusive
animals or their tracks may be seen as we descend further
into the protected area. The night is spent in the Khammu
village of Ban Nalan.
After breakfast prepared by our hosts,
we trek out into the protected area with our guides
who take us through the forest providing lunch en route
as we sit and take in the sounds, smells and noises
of the forest. The night is spent in the Lanten village
of Ban Nam Khoy where the villagers strongly maintain
their traditional culture. Handicrafts produced by local
people often reflect a lifestyle spent surrounded by
wilderness.
Staying within the Conservation Area,
we board rafts for a day of river travel on the Nam
Tha River travelling through stunning scenery and forests.
This section maintains the steady drop in elevation,
providing numerous gentle rapids until we are met by
a longtail boat that ferries us to our host village
for the evening.
Today we join the Mekong River and travel
by longtail boat through changing scenery to Houey Xai,
on the Thai border for one night following which we
join our own 'slow boat' down the Mekong as it winds
through mountains and farming scenery. The boat is spacious
with comfortable seating.
Next up is the former kingdom of Luang
Prabang where we stay for 3 nights. Luang Prabang was
an isolated kingdom and today is a protected historical
town very suited to exploration on foot. There are numerous
wonderful temples, the former palace, historical French
buildings, and hill tribe markets plus a number of craft
villages nearby. Our program is structured so that we
will visit places of interest, but will be flexible
in that we provide plenty of time to absorb the attractions,
people watch or read a book.
From Luang Prabang we have a lovely drive
to Vang Vieng, through rugged mountain scenery as we
rise from the Mekong river valley, pass high mountain
ridges and descend to the valley of the Song River where
the scenery is fantastic limestone karst. Our hotel
verandah must have one of the best views possible. After
soaking up the view, we don our boots and walk though
farming fields and beside the delightful Song River,
enjoying lunch at a small riverside restaurant. After
lunch we can kayak or drive back to Vang Vieng, stopping
at an organic farm for afternoon refreshments.
A short drive takes us back to Vientiane
for our final day prior to flying home.
DATES AND COSTS
16 February – 3 March, 2008
$4393 per person, twin share, from Australia return or
$3343 joining in Lao
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