Explore all the best Laos has to offer and then some more. Float down the Mekong from Houay Xay down to Pakbeng and arrive in stunning Luang Prabang. Head central and then South following the Mekong and having the trip of a lifetime.
Upon arrival in Luang Prabang you will be picked up from the airport/bus station and transferred to your accommodation. Check out the night market and get involved in some local food!
Walk along temples on to the peninsula. The Phousi Mountain is visible from most parts of Luang Prabang and its worth to climb up the 328 steps to the top. On top is a stupa and it offers a near 360 Degrees view of Luang Prabang. The Mountain is overlooking the former Royal Palace which is now the National Museum and our next stop.
Near the top of the peninsula is Wat Xiengthong, the most famous temple in Luang Prabang, around 500 years old. It is easy to visit nearby temples such as Wat Mai as well if you like. Check out TAEC (Traditional Arts & Ethnology Center), a place rich with information about Laos and its many diverse ethnicities. Here we meet the director who will give us a tour of the museum. After, the director of the TAEC will lead a 1-hour seminar with the focus on “Ethnic diversity and cultural change in Laos”. Experience a local Baci ceremony at a local home in a small village.
Today you will spend half a day at the Living Land Farm, situated in an idyllic countryside setting surrounded by mountains in the middle of ancient rice terraces. Come and let us show you how rice is grown on our farm, experience the life of a rice farmer and try your hand at some of the activities. Or just view it all from the comfort of our traditional Lao rice house terrace. Meet some real Lao people and Rodolphe, our buffalo. Come and see how buffaloes are used to plough the rice paddies and try it for yourself! It is fun, it is educational, hands-on and eco-friendly!
This morning you are picked up and by a shared minivan you are brought to Xayabouly, a town with a long history of Elephants. The annual Elephant Festival is celebrated here, usually in February.
At the Elephant Conservation Center, it is all about the Elephants and not the people. So please understand that the Center tries to limit the contact of humans and Elephants to a minimum as the ECC has the longtime goal to put the Elephants back into the wild. Therefore Elephant riding and bathing is not part of the program. It is more focused on observing and learning about these majestic creatures and their fate in the country that was once known as Lane Xang, the land of the Million Elephants.
On the second day you will meet up with the elephants in the forest. After spending the night grazing in the jungle it is time for another bath. Enjoy strolling together with these magnificent creatures in their natural environment.
On the third day, our guide and biologist will explain the enrichment activities. Enrichment is a dynamic process for enhancing animal environments within the context of the animal’s behavioral biology. We are providing cognitive enrichment in the form of hidden food, toys, a mud bath etc. to give the elephant’s mental stimulation and avoid boredom. They love it! We invite you to take part in this amazing experience by helping our team to prepare the enclosure by cutting and hiding the food, to give the elephants a challenge. Then it is time to say goodbye and continue onward with a private transfer to Vang Vieng (around 5 hours drive).
On arrival you can explore Vang Vieng on your own.
This morning, cross the Nam Song River by bamboo bridge before starting off the day with exploring one of the most unusual caves in the area, Tham Poukham (Blue Lagoon) the amazing „Cave of the Golden Crab“. After this we shall head off via mountain bike on a tour which covers approximately 26 km through the karst range of the Nam Song & Vang Vieng.
Today we leave Vang Vieng after a late breakfast to continue to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. The drive takes 3 to 4 hours and on arrival you have time to get settled in your hotel. Explore the mysterious Buddha park.
Back in Vientiane you will be invited to a cool local beer garden to enjoy the sunset sitting on the mighty Mekong River, followed by a Lao Style Korean Barbeque in a wonderful garden setting if you like, our guide, who should be a good friend by now will be more than happy to accompany you to one of the many local beer shops, the likelihood is that you will be the only foreigner(s) around…no better way to get to know locals!
Vientiane has not as much to offer to visitors as Luang Prabang and many people will advise you to skip Vientiane but last night should have proved us right. Many people, Locals and Foreigners alike, come here and never leave, making Vientiane their homes. Also not well known is that Vientiane has an amazing international food scene. So if you have eaten Local Lao Food for the last 2 weeks, you might welcome the great choice of good restaurants and eateries in Vientiane. And there are some awesome places to visit and things to see like the COPE centre.
Today you leave Vientiane to explore Southern Laos. Usually you will fly in the morning at either 7 or 8 am but in case the flight is not available there is an afternoon flight at 4.15 pm.
Pakse was founded by Colonial France in 1905 and thus features many colonial buildings. It was later the capital of the Kingdom of Champasak until 1946 when the Kingdom of Laos was formed.
On arrival in Pakse, check in and make yourself at home. Explore Pakse on your own.
Meet your guide for a day of waterfalls and exploring! We leave Pakse to take a drive around the Bolaven Plateau for a full day of waterfalls and coffee & tea plantations. Our first stop is Tad Phaseuam, a waterfall which nearby has many different houses of Lao ethnicities to visit. We head back to the main road to return to the road to Paksong.
Early in the morning at sunrise we visit the nearby Khmer temple ruins and World Heritage Site Wat Phou, before going back to the hotel for breakfast. Then you leave Champasak to continue further South. Close to the border to Cambodia are the largest waterfalls of South East Asia, the Khone Phapheng Waterfalls. After spending some time here you continue to Ban Nakasang from where a long tail boat will bring you to Don Khone.
Don Khone Island played an important role in the French colonization of Southeast Asia. As the huge waterfalls blocked the French naval advance they decided to build a railway on Don Khone to bypass the falls.
Today your trip with Mango Tiger ends. You have the choice to return to Pakse to continue exploring Laos or use their international airport to continue to Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia. You also have the option to continue by public bus, to cross the border to Cambodia and head to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Please inform us in advance so we can organize the trip onward for you.