Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
offer great views of the forest outside. On weekends, the cave is packed with day-tripping
locals picnicking and playing cards.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: MAHAXAI CAVES
By motorbike and tuk-tuk
The easiest way to reach the caves is by renting a motorbike
(from 60,000K/day) or chartering a tuk-tuk from Thakhek (expect to pay around 250,000K
for a full day, including fuel).
By public transport
Some visitors prefer to catch a Mahaxai-bound bus to the caves and
then explore on foot. Public transport can be tricky, however: pick-ups and buses travel the
road frequently enough in the morning, but to get back, you'll have to flag down one of the
buses or pick-ups coming from Mahaxai - of which there are several a day - although you
can't count on catching one late in the afternoon.
On foot
If you want to do a walking tour of the caves, a good starting point is Tham Ban
Tham, on the road to Mahaxai, 7km from Thakhek; from here you can walk to
Tham En
, tak-
ing in other caves en route, a 12km walk in all.
Mahaxai
Fifty kilometres east of the Mahaxai Caves lies the beautifully situated town of
MAHAXAI
,
engulfed in limestone karst formations, on the banks of the Xe Bang Fai river. A bumpy
50km drive from Thakhek, this lively little town lacks sights of its own, but is nevertheless
a charming place offering visitors enchanted by the strange beauty of Khammouane's karst
formations a chance to soak up the surroundings at a more measured pace.
Hiring a
boat
to cruise the river, which stretches from the mountainous Vietnamese border
to the Mekong, can be a bit of a chore - ask by the river or around town - but if you can
swing it, a two-hour round-trip by motorized pirogue is scenic in either direction, with the
upstream route taking in stunning cliffs and the downstream option skimming through gentle
rapids, past submerged water buffalo and villagers catching fish. Most
cave
touring origin-
ates in Thakhek, but the area surrounding Mahaxai is also honeycombed with caves.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: MAHAXAI
By bus and pick-up
Buses and pick-ups from Thakhek (5 daily; 2hr) grind to a halt at the
central market, next to an old tin-roofed temple.
Khammouane Limestone NBCA
The most accessible of Khammouane province's three NBCAs is the Phou Hin Poun NBCA,
more popularly known as the
Khammouane Limestone NBCA
and home to a dizzying ar-
ray of wildlife, including elephants, tigers and macaques. Unlike the neighbouring Nakai-
Nam Theun and Hin Nam No NBCAs to the east, the Khammouane Limestone NBCA can
be accessed by road or river from a number of approaches, making it the most practical and
affordable of the three to visit.
