Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Watersports
While most river-journey enthusiasts are satisfied with a slow boat down the Mekong
between Houayxai and Luang Prabang, many opportunities exist for exploring Laos's faster
waterways. Several companies offer
whitewater-rafting
trips out of Luang Prabang on a
number of northern rivers, including the Nam Ou, the Nam Xuang and the Nam Ming.
Even more popular are
river-kayaking
adventures ranging from easy day-trips for begin-
ners to multi-day adventures down rivers with grade 5 rapids. Professional guided kayaking
tours are currently operated on a regular basis on eight northern rivers as well as the Ang Nam
Ngum Reservoir (near the capital) and in Si Phan Don. The best bases for kayaking tours are
Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw and Luang Namtha. Another fantastic
region for kayaking is the
Khammouane Limestone NBCA
.
Among other scenic wonders,
this NBCA features a 7km-long natural river-tunnel through the heart of a mountain, and is
becoming popular for organized tours out of Vientiane.
Caves and rock climbing
With its great forests of limestone karst scenery receding into the distance like an image in a
Chinese scroll painting, Laos is a great destination for cave exploring, spelunking and rock-
climbing. Prime areas for limestone karst scenery in Laos include Vang Vieng, Kasi, Thakhet
and Vieng Xai. For most tourists,
caveexploring
is limited to climbing up to and wandering
around in caves that are fairly touristy and have clearly defined pathways. Serious spelunkers
can find vast cave and tunnel systems to explore in the Khammouane Limestone NBCA and
the Hin Nam No NBCA, but should seek local permission before launching any major exped-
itions as many caves have yet to have archeological surveys done. With so many awesome
unclimbed and unnamed peaks,
rock climbing
is one sport that seems to have a huge future
in Laos. At present the sport is still in its infancy, but new routes continue to open up around
Vang Vieng.
Mountain biking
With some of the best untamed scenery in Southeast Asia, many unpaved roads, and little
traffic, Laos is becoming a very hot destination for cross-country
mountain-biketouring
. A
lot of independent travellers do self-organized mountain-bike touring in northern Laos, bring-
ing their bikes with them from home.
Route 13
from Luang Prabang to Vientiane seems to
be the most popular route, but be warned that despite the beautiful scenery, the route is also
extremely mountainous, crossing several large ranges before reaching the Vientiane Plain.
There are much better routes in
Hua Phan
and
Xieng Khuang
provinces where you'll find
fantastic landscapes, plenty of remote villages and paved roads with very few vehicles on
them.
