Northwest Laos Experience 13 days

Welcome to Huayxay. After finishing the border formality, our guide and driver will pick you up and take you directly to the office of Gibbon Experience to reconfirm and get some information for the tour the days after.

After that, we transfer to a simple guesthouse in town to stay overnight. Enjoy your free time to relax or explore Huayxay on your own.

After breakfast, we will come back to the office of Gibbon Experience and drive to the jungle for the Gibbon Experience.
At around 11:30 am, we will reach to Ban Toup. From here, the local English speaking guide will take care for you. We will have lunch at the village.
After lunch, we start our two-hour hiking to become familiar with the cable network. At the end of the hiking, you will arrive at your tree house.
Free time for the rest of the afternoon. You can keep hiking around or do some ziplining. Dinner will be served at around 5:00 – 6:00 pm. Overnight at your tree house.

Today you will wake up early to seize the chance to hear the gibbons singing while enjoying the tea or coffee.

Then you will have breakfast at around 8:00 am (Optional hiking and ziplining)
At around 09:30 am, we will depart our two-hour trekking to the next tree house
We arrive at the waterfalls at around 12:00 noon. You can go for a swim here then the lunch will be served. After lunch, you will go by ziplines to your tree house.
At around 3:00 pm, you will have optional tour hiking and ziplining.

At around 5:00 – 6:00 pm, dinner will be served. Free time for the rest of evening.

Let’s wake up early to enjoy the gibbon singing.
The breakfast will be served at around 8:00 am. After breakfast, we will hike back to Ban Toup. We arrive in the village around noon to have lunch.
After that, you will get on the waiting minivan to transfer directly to Luang Namtha.

We will have a chance to visit the local villages or admire the panoramic view of northern Laos along the way.

We arrive in Luang Namtha just in time to catch the sunset. Check in your simple guesthouse in town. You will have free time to explore the town on your own.

Today, we will get up a bit earlier. At around 7:00 am, driver picks you up at your hotel in Luang Namtha then we drive to Ban Meutorkhao (Akha village). Along the way, we will stop to have traditional lunch will stop eaten on the way.

After that, we go to Ban Jakhamleu (AKHA VILLAGE). From here, we will take the 1.5 hours walking to Ban Sompanmai and some stop to visit Soplouy School, where a lot of Akha students from the village around come to study.

We will arrive the village of ban Sompammai around 5:00 pm. We will stay overnight here.

While waiting for dinner, we walk around the village and see the daily life of local people or admire the breath-taking beauty of sunset. After dinner, you can enjoy massage if you want. This is traditionally given to the guests who stay overnight in the village.

Today, we will start our morning with an experience of Akha daily lifestyle. After breakfast, 9:00 am, we start our two-hour walking to Ban Jakhatan (AKha village). We then continue onto Ban Phangoa (Akha village) with another 2 hours and spend the time about 30 minutes to visit villages and talking with the local people to see daily life of local people.

Picnic lunch will be provided on the trail.

After that, we will walk down to the Mekong river where a boat will come to pick up to Ban Xiengkhaeng, the village of Thai Lue. You will have time to walk around the village and get familiar with the local people.

After breakfast, we walk up mountain to visit Ban Jainta (Akha village), playing with the children and learn about their way of life.

After that, we will spend around 4 hours walking through the jungle trail will lead us to Ban Japhouthone, where car will come to pick up back to Muang sing with enjoying the stunning views on the surrounding mountains. You will have picnic lunch on the way.

We arrive at Muang Sing at around 4:00 pm and we continue one hour driving to Luang Namtha, where your Golden Triangle Adventure Trail finishes.

Optional tour: Waking up in the early morning, you can walk to the nearby morning market to see the local people from the nearby villages bartering the daily findings.

After breakfast, we will visit That Luang Namtha, which locates on the top of the hill overlooking the town. You will enjoy the panoramic view of Luang Namtha and the nearby area.

We then visit Luang Namtha museum, which contains a collection of local anthropological artefacts, such as ethnic clothing, Khamu bronze drums and ceramics. There are also several Buddha images and the usual display chronicling the Revolution.

After that, we will drive to the village of Ban Nambotakaiy which locates at Km24 north of Muang Xay town.

The drive leads us through some of the most stunning mountain scenery you will find in South East Asia, with plenty of opportunities to stop off at the various Khmu and H’mong villages along the way. 
Upon arrival, we will take a right turn on the dirt road and continue driving another 20Km to the village of Ban Chom Ong, the base for our exploration of the famous Chom Ong cave the day after.

Taking time to walk around the village, you will see several local people producing handicraft products as well as a blacksmith forging the lao machetes.

We will stop at a small shop and cool off with a cold beer before having the dinner with the host family.

After breakfast, we will start our cave-exploration journey by joining 1 hour trekking from the village following the small track to the cave.

Chom Ong Cave, locally called Tham Chia (Bat Cave) is the second longest cave in Laos, and home to a big bat family. The local people traditionally hunt bats in the cave as food and exploit guano, which can be used as fertilizer, explosive agent, or gunpowder. 

Firstly, We will enter the cave via the lower entrance where the river exits the cave. This is one of the most stunning parts of the entire cave, as the light from outside reflects off the river and paints the inside of the walls with an orange glow.

We walk up the river a few hundred meters and then turn around to go to the main entrance which leads to 18+ km of tunnels. The cave almost immediately opened to massive cathedral-like chambers nearly 50 meters high. 

We then wander through the cave to the famous spot where a smaller chamber suddenly drops 18 meters to the underground river that flows through the cave. 

Approaching further, we will hear the steady roar of water before we see where it is coming from. 

The adventurous travelers can continue deeper into the main chambers of the cave, going further than the regular tour allows, where you can explore some more several large chambers full of unique formations.

You have time to take a dip into the natural pool inside the cave before getting out of the cave and walking back to the village. We will have dinner and spend our second night with the host family.

We will have breakfast at homestay. After that, we will bid the farewell to the village and drive south to Nong Khiaw

En route, we stop at Nam Hin Lake, where we will enjoy a short boat ride around the lake.

We then continue making a few rest stops along the way, which gives you the opportunity to see the ethnic minority groups of Hmong, Khmu, Akha and Taidam. The hill tribe people are unfailingly friendly; welcoming you with waving hands and smiling faces.

The journey to Nong Khiaw leads us through areas with dramatic landscape. We will also visit the hilltribe villages of Hmong at Ban Jarong, Ban Songja, Khmu before arriving at Nong Khiaw in late afternoon.

Nong Khiaw is a remote village situated by the KzOvernight banks of the Nam Ou river, across a dramatic valley the surrounding mountainous scenery is stunning.

We will start our adventure time by taking a peaceful boat ride on the Nam Ou River where you will be able to explore a small Lao village along the riverside.
We will learn about the villagers and their daily life along this Northern Laos River before beginning the '100 Waterfalls Adventure Trail'!
Walking through small streams and rice paddies, you will arrive at the bottom of the 100 Waterfalls which were only first explored in October 2008!
For the next few hours you will see only water and jungle and hear the constant sound of clear waterfall cascades. The pools around you are very inviting for a refreshing splash.
Your guide will lead you through the cascades and prepare a local style lunch that you can enjoy on the falls surrounded by amazingly green nature.
A small village trail on the top of the '100 Waterfalls' will lead us on our hike back down into the valley, offering wide views over the expansive Nam Ou valley.
Once back in the village we will have some more time to experience the daily life of the Nam Ou riverside village before heading back to Nong Khiaw (Nong Khiau) by boat.

After breakfast, we will drive to Muang Soune, which locates 65Km from the center in the north of Luang Prabang by the bank of Nam Ou river.

Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by the host family, before strolling around the village to see the life of local people. We then visit the house of the chief of the village, and talk with him about the living condition, the history, or anything about the village.

You will have lunch at the homestay.

In the afternoon, you can choose to either relax or to enjoy agricultural activities such as rice planting and harvesting in surrounding rice fields (depending on the season); Traditional fishing techniques (you can sample your catch for dinner!); or walk around the farm and rice field.

If you wish, the dip in the Nam Ou river is very inviting and worth a try.

You may wish to join and help the host with preparing the dinner. This is the chance to learn about Lao cuisine.

Before the dinner, we will join the Baci Ceremony, held by the elders of the village. 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 Lao culture for the participants.
During the dinner, the folk tales will be told by the host family, and translated by our guide.

You may wish to stroll around the riverbank, and sense the nature, admiring the starry sky before going to bed.

After breakfast, you will join fishing by the stunning Nam Ou river, experience traditional fishing techniques. You will also take the boat trip exploring the surrounding areas.

We come back to the village at 11:00 am to join the transfer back to Luang Prabang.

We arrive in Luang Prabang early afternoon, check in your hotel in town (your own arrangement).

Your tour will end after you arrive in Laos.

Thanks for joining us and we hope to see you again in the future.