ON THE ROAD THROUGH LAOS, 12 days (LTRD12)

Meet upon arrival at the airport, transfer and check-in at your hotel. In the afternoon, visit the National Museum (former King’s Palace) displaying a collection of personal artifacts of the Royal Family. Continue to visit the nearby Vat Mai temple, which was the residence of a Buddhist patriarch before 1975, before climbing Phousi Hill to enjoy the sunset over the city and the Mekong River.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

After breakfast, visit Vat Xieng Thong, considered as the most beautiful temple of Luang Prabang with roofs that sweep low to the ground. Then take a traditional riverboat for a 2-hour cruise upstream the Mekong River towards Pak Ou, at the confluence of the Nam Ou and Mekong Rivers, to visit the sacred caves of Tham Ting and Tham Phum, home to hundreds of Buddha statues. On the way, stop at Ban Xang Hai village where sticky rice wine distillation can be seen.  Return to Luang Prabang and visit Vat Visoun temple, built in the 16^th century, with its Singhalese-style stupa, That Makmo, and Vat Aham, one of the city’s major tutelary shrines housing the puppets of the Lao ancestors.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

After breakfast, excursion by car to the beautiful waterfalls of Khouang Sy nestled in the lush tropical vegetation. On the way, visit some hill tribes’ villages such as the H’Mong village of Ban Thinkeo, the Khmu village of Ban Thapaene and the village of Lao Loum of Ban Xom, famous for its cotton production.  Return to Luang Prabang and stroll in the H’mong market.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

After breakfast, depart to Vang Vieng through astonishing karstic landscapes. Visit a few villages along the road.

You will reach Vang Viend around lunch time.

In the afternoon, visit the Vang Vieng Caves.

Overnight in Vang Vieng

After breakfast, drive to Vientiane (about 3 hours drive).    

In the afternoon, visit Vat Sisaket, the only original temple in Vientiane (built in 1818 – it is the sole survivor of a Thai invasion in 1828), the Ho Phrakeo, the former Royal Chapel, where an Emerald Buddha at the early time of the Lane Xang Kingdom was enshrined, the Patouxai and That Luang stupa.

Overnight in Vientiane.

After breakfast, depart for South Laos. The road goes along the Mekong and zigzags between the plantation and the hills.  En route, stop to visit the ramparts of Thakek, the borderline city with Thailand, and the stupa of Sikhotang,  built in the IXth century.

In the afternoon, visit Pha Tha Inghang, built by King Sumihatham 200 years ago and tour the city with its villas and its colonial past.

Savannakhet is the second city of the country with a strong population of Vietnamese origin, who are descendants of the laborers  moved by the French colonists to work in the plantations.

After  breakfast, depart by road to Tadlo, on the Bolovens Plateau.  On the way, visit villages of the Yaheune ethnic groups, Lavai and Katu, who still live at the rhythm of their ancestral traditions and preserved their animists beliefs.  Upon arrival at Tadlo, check-in at your hotel.

In the afternoon, discover the Seset waterfalls and take an elephant ride to the nearby tribal villages, populated by the ethnic groups of Alack and Nge.

Overnight in TadLo

Breakfast at the hotel.  Depart by road to Pakse via Thatheng and Paksong.  On the way, visit a Kaleum village and stop to see the remarkable Tadfane waterfalls, before stopping at the tea and coffee  plantations. Upon arrival at Pakse, check-in at the hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

After breakfast, transfer to the pier and board a traditional riverboat for a 2-hour cruise downstream the Mekong River towards the former Royal capital of Champassak. En route, stop at Ban Houei Thomo village and walk to the nearby ruins of the Khmer temple of Oum Moung, hidden in a thick forest.  Upon arrival at Champassak, continue by car to Vat Phou (8 km from the city), a pre-Angkorian temple dating from the 6-13^th century classified as a World Heritage Site since 2002.

In the afternoon, continue by the road until Ban Hatsai Khoune and cross the Mekong to connect to Khong Island. Arrival in Khong Island before sunset and check-in at your hotel.

Overnight in Khong Island.

After breakfast, board a long-tail riverboat for a cruise through the maze of waterways into the tropical paradise of Siphandone “The 4,000 Islands”. During the rainy season, the Mekong River reaches a breadth of 14 km; when the water recedes, it leaves behind a myriad of islands and islets. Visit Det and Som Islands for a glimpse of  the way of life of the fishermen.

Arrive in Khone Island

Discover Khone Island’s colonial vestiges, including an old railway, which was built by the French in 1897 in order to bypass the powerful rapids that disrupt the navigation along the Mekong River. Continue to Liphi Waterfall, a home to a colony of fresh water dolphins, a rare and endangered species known as Irrawaddy Dolphins. Return to Khong Island.

Overnight in Khong Island.

After breakfast, cross the Mekong River and continue to the famous waterfalls of Khone Phapeng, the largest cascade on the Mekong River along its 4,350 km journey from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea. Drive back to Pakse.

En route, stop at Ban Khiet Ngong village, populated by the Suay ethnic group, and take an elephant ride through the primitive jungle to explore the enigmatic ruins of Phou Asa temple. Upon arrival in Pakse, check-in at your hotel.

Overnight in Pakse.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your departure flight.