TREASURE OF LAOS - 10 DAYS 9 NIGHTS

Sabaidee! Welcome to Luang Prabang, a tranquil town with its gleaming temple roofs, fading colonial architecture and stunning mountain backdrop has been claimed by UNESCO to be “the best preserved traditional city in Southeast Asia”. You are greeted by your guide and driver at the airport for your transfer to the hotel.

Pay a short visit to the Night Market – a great place for wandering, offering a lovely variety of handmade textiles crafted by local and hill-tribe people, along with street food, knick-knacks and friendly banter. 
Enjoy welcome dinner!

Overnight in Luang Prabang.
 

Set off after breakfast for a visit of the Morning Market, together with the guide and local host lady, we pick all ingredients needed for our upcoming cooking class. Today, we will not take part in a regular tourist-oriented cooking class. We will instead drive a little outside Luang Prabang center to a small village where you will join your hands to cook some major dishes. You will experience how typical Laos dishes such as Laap Laos, Orlam soup and papaya salad are cooked. The food is then brought to a local temple to offer for the monks’ lunch, and as part of this ritual, your name will be asked for a blessing chant. Later, join in an open talk about Buddhism in Laos with monks. We will also have the chance to have further exchange with the community before returning to Luang Prabang for a light lunch with the left food you will have cooked.

Afternoon: explore the city highlights including The National Museum, housed in the former Royal Palace, showcases many treasures of Laos' royal past and features the Prabang, the sacred Buddha image for which Luang Prabang was named.
Our next stop at the most reputed and beautiful temple of the city, Wat Xieng Thong – Luang Prabang's largest and most splendid temple, is best known for its impressive Tree of Life mural depicting the Buddhist story.

We then get to the pier. Cruise across the Mekong River to reach Ban Xieng Mene. Countinue this mornings walk through lush green gardens, where you can enjoy listening to birds singing and appreciate the pureness of a Lao morning as you stroll to Wat Long Khoun. Get your heart pumping as you climb up 123 steps to Wat Chomphet, where you will be rewarded with stunning scenic views of Phousi Mountain and the city of Luang Prabang.

Dinner at your own account and overnight in Luang Prabang.
 

After a leisurely breakfast, you head out by vehicle to Ban Long Lao, (Hmong minority village). Wander around to learn more about life in this rural lowland Lao and Hmong community. The hike leads you first for about half an hour through paddy fields before entering dense mixed growth jungle with a remarkable diversity of tree species. After 3 hours of an up-and-down hike through the forest, you reach Kuang Si Waterfall, where water tumbles over tiered limestone formations into crystal clear pools ideal for escaping the heat. Between cooling off in the pools, you can explore the lush forest setting around the falls. At the famous Kuang Si Waterfall, a short walk brings you down to the abrupt waterfall where you will have time for a swim or simply relaxing by the water’s edge. Late lunch by the fall at Carpe Diem Restaurant and get back to Luang Prabang.  
Overnight in Luang Prabang
 

We leave Luang Prabang for our scenic drive to Vang Vieng, a small town which is nestled on a bend of the Nam Song River. Its stunning scenery with its limestone outcrops remains unspoiled, despite recent developments with the advent of tourism. Depending on road and traffic conditions, we will arrive at Vangvieng by mid or late afternoon. Visit Tham Chang Cave with its stunning view over the valley, once used by the local people as a hideout from Chinese invaders in the early 19th century. Overnight in Vang Vieng.

Breakfast at hotel, we take a small boat on Nam Song River for a tour amid beautiful scenery before heading to Vientiane. Vientiane is the capital city of Laos and, located on the banks of the Mekong River, it conjures up exotic images with a curious mix of Lao, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, French influences. 
We continue to see the major sights of the capital; including the oldest Wat Sisaket, the temple with thousands of miniature Buddha statues and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. Next, we will stop to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is well known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph, before continuing to Lao’s national precious heritage, the famous and sacred structure of That Luang Stupa. Overnight in Vientiane.
 

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to Wattay Airport for morning flight to Pakse.
Welcome to Pakse, Laos. Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met and transferred west into the Bolevan Plateau – well known for its cooler temperature as it is located high above the Mekong Valley. The area is famous for its many waterfalls.

Stop at Tad Fane – the 120-m-high waterfall which spilts into 2 powerful streams roaring over the edge of the cliff and plummeting into the pool below. Continue to the impressive Tad Yuang with its twin torrents falling about 40 meters and flowing into lush jungle

You will also make a short stop by an organic coffee farm to see how the local Lao people involved in the coffee industry live and work, and enjoy a cup of truly fresh coffee in the coolness of the Bolaven Plateau (your own account).

Overnight at Sabaidee Valley Resort
 

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel before heading out for the day to the 4000 Islands. Here, the Mekong can reach up to 14km wide during the rainy season and it is dotted with thousands of islands of various sizes. Head out to the breathtaking Khone Phapheng Waterfall. It is Southeast Asia’s biggest waterfall and is known as the Niagara of the East.
Continue to Khone Island and its highlights. Visit the old French heritage sites on Khone and see colonial buildings and the remnants of a locomotive from the first Lao railway; visit Liphi Waterfalls – also called "Devil's Corridor", it is one of the most beautiful waterfalls marking the Lao border with Cambodia. Get on the boat, see the famed Irrawaddy dolphins, an endangered species indigenous to the Mekong River, usually only found in Laos and Cambodia. The dolphins are often seen swimming off the southern tip of Don Khone, and seeing them unobtrusively by boat is a memorable experience.
Overnight on Don Khone
 

After breakfast, say good bye to 4,000 islands; you’ll be transferred directly to Champasak town to visit the religious complex of Wat Phou. Located at the foot of a hill, Wat Phou reflects the Hindu culture of the pre-Buddhist Khmer society that constructed it. The summit, Phu Kao, immediately commands attention because of its shape, identified in ancient times with the linga, the phallic symbol of Shiva, from which originated its ancient name, Lingaparvata, and its reputation as a sacred hill. The permanent spring at the foot of the cliffs is probably one of the main reasons the ancient rulers of the area established a sanctuary to Shiva at this spot.
Get to the pier, a boat will be ready to take you to Don Daeng Island, which was once also part of the Wat Phou sanctuary, evident by The Brick Stupa hidden in the middle of the island. Other temple ruins and rock sculptures were discovered within the river. Enjoy the exceptional natural beauty and unspoilt charm of the Island. Overnight at La Folie Lodge.
 

Spend whole day at your own pace exploring this small island – one of the national protected and preserved islands of the Mekong, where no cars are allowed. 
Enjoy Don Daeng’s authenticity: huge and unspoilt sandy beaches crowded with fishermen and lazy buffaloes, wild forests and enchanting birds, plains of rice fields, small local villages with typical wooden houses and numerous Buddhist temples.
Meet with the charming and ever smiling inhabitants and share their warm welcome. Hop on a bicycle for a casual ride on the Parkland’s pathways. Peddle slowly through the neighbouring village to see the lifestyle of the rice farmers and fishermen firsthand.
 

Breakfast at your hotel. Transfer to the Airport for flight to your next destination. Tour ends here.

Yes. A single supplement is available with a surcharge fee. If you're a solo traveller, please contact us for more information. 

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