Exploration trip in Northern Laos

Always eager to offer itineraries off the beaten track, we recently went to Northern Laos to find captivating places where history, nature, discovery, adventure and unique encounters blend.

Sam Neua, between history and wild nature

We enter Laos, in Hua Pan Province, from Vietnam and Son La Province located in the Northwest of the country. Past the border post, a superb road runs over the roof of the mountains then sinks into a valley to follow the Nam Ma River to Sam Neua, the capital of Hua Pan Province. This city lost in its slowness and sleepiness is a picturesque and isolated corner of the world that will please travelers in search of destinations off the beaten track. People mainly come to Sam Neua to discover Vieng Xay and its spectacular landscapes of karst peaks containing a series of caves that served as a refuge for the inhabitants and the revolutionaries of the Pathet Lao to protect themselves from American bombings during the Vietnam War. Other great interests in going to the region of Sam Neua are to discover the archaeological site of Hintang and its 1,546 menhirs, 153 stone discs and underground chambers, and to explore the Nam Xam National Park known for its abundant flora and fauna including many Asian elephants living in their natural environment.

Night safari on the Nam Nern River

On the road from Sam Neua to Nong Khiaw, we stop in a small village to participate in the night safari on the Nam Nern River which winds through the Nam Et Phou Louey National Park. An incredible activity that will certainly seduce travelers who love nature. After going upstream against the river's current with a dugout canoe in a magnificent wild natural setting, you can stop in a pretty corner of nature on the banks of the river where the guides prepare a typical Lao picnic including meat skewers cooked over a wood fire. As soon as night has set in, we go back down the river in a dugout canoe, engine off, letting ourselves go with the current. It is during the two hours of going back down that we can observe the wild animals that take advantage of the night to go out hunting and quench their thirst at the river. You’ll spend the night in the middle of the jungle in a bungalow with basic comfort but in direct contact with nature.

Going up the Nam Ou River

After the fantastic night safari on the Nam Nern River, we took the road again towards Nong Khiaw located in a superb natural setting of karst mountains. From Nong Khiaw, we went up the mythical Nam Ou River towards the North and Phongsaly Province. What a pleasure to go up this river which was once a vital historical traffic axis for Northern Laos and which offers breathtaking panoramas. Stop at the charming village of Muang Ngoi also set in a sumptuous natural setting then at the river town of Muang Khua before reaching the mystical Phongsaly Province which has always exuded a real scent of adventure.

Discovery of the remote Phongsaly Province

After this epic cruise on the Nam Ou River, here we are in Phongsaly, the capital of the eponymous province, the Northernmost in Laos. A landlocked region, difficult to access, can be very cold in winter but has the privilege of still being well preserved. We appreciate its old Yunnanese-style wooden houses, its few streets still paved with stone, its lively market and its pure mountain air. But we also come to Phongsaly to discover its exceptional tea, the best in Laos, which sometimes grows on tea plants that are more than 400 years old. The Phongsaly region offers some of the most beautiful hikes in Laos and allows you to meet an incredible ethnic mosaic. The province is indeed the territory of many ethnic minorities such as the Khmu, the Tai Dam, the Thai Daeng, the Yao, the Leu, the Hor, the Hmong or the Akha. Meeting them is like taking a big leap into the past and immersing yourself in Laotian tribal culture.

Hiking in Muang Sin

Looking for an alternative to Luang Namtha, we went to Muang Sin, a charming village nestled in the hollow of green mountains about thirty kilometers from Luang Namtha. The surroundings of Muang Sin offer some beautiful hikes, more confidential than those offered in Luang Namtha but just as rich in encounters with ethnic minorities. Muang Sin is the territory of the Akkha, Yao, Tai Dam and Hmong who live far from the modern world in isolated villages where they perpetuate their ancestral cultures. Nights with locals, in the simplicity of a wooden and bamboo house, are a real privilege to understand their complex but oh-so-fascinating culture!

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