Rural Rivers Round Trip – A Six Day Tour

Laos is a country with thousands of rivers, teeming with life. This vast network of rivers feeds the Mekong Basin and contribute to around one third of the water that flows in the Mekong river.

We will travel slowly by boat along the mighty Ou river, branching out from Mekong just north of Luang Prabang. We will visit villages and ease into to the rythm of local life. If you wish, you can even paddle for yourself, taking in the lush hills gliding by. As always, I will be more than happy to tailor this trip to your needs and expectations.

Day One – Sunset in Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw from Pha Deng Peak – see also day two! (Photo: Terje Strømdahl)

This first day will be a transport day – a three hour van ride.

AWe will check in at Nong Khiaw, a village surrounded by breathtaking limestone mountains.

Since this is our first day, we will take it easy. After resting at the hotel, we will enjoy a good dinner in the beautiful sunset at the Pha Daeng peak.

Then we will depart back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Day Two – village and trekking

(Photo: Ton)

After breakfast, let's go for a walk around town! It is quite small, so your feet will not get sore. We will walk from the most pittoresque east side, then cross the bridge and see boats coming down the river with farmers from the hills bringing their good to the market. Then, we can experience the real local life on the western side of the village – in the small streets around the bus station.

Trekkers on top of the Pha Deng Viewpoint. (Photo: Ton)

After our tour of the village, we can go trekking back up to the Pha Deng peak. Going there on foot takes about two hours, and is quite an experience. There are several resting places with benches along the Nong Khiaw Viewpoint Trail leading up there.

After our trekking, lunch in the village will taste excellent! The rest of the day is free for exploring Nong Khiaw on your own. Maybe you would like to rent a bike and go to one of the dozen local villages in the vicinity?

Day Three – Slowboat to Muang Ngoy

Slowboat on Ou river (Photo: Terje Strømdahl)

Muang Ngoy lies in a peaceful valley, surrounded by mountains shrouded in green. The only way to get there is by boat.

At around 10:30 Am, the slowboat departs north. It navigates upstream for a couple of hours at a leisurely pace, and we arrive at Muang Ngoy around noon.

We will check in at our guesthouse and have lunch. After that, a half hour walk will take us up to the Phanoi viewpoint, where the village, river and mountains around unfold their beauty.

Then we will depart back to our guesthouse for dinner, and maybe visit a local bar in the evening for some drinks.

Day Four – A Walk in the Rice Fields

Rice fields (Photo: Ton)

We start at around 9 AM, and walk past rice fields to a local village. Now, we are really out in rural Laos – no electricity or other modern conveniences here. But after a delicious, local lunch we will return to our guesthouse in Muang Ngoy for a restful evening dinner by the river.

Day Five – Paddling Along the River

Paddling on the Ou river in Muang Ngoy (Photo: Terje Strømdahl)

This day too, we will start at around 9 AM from Muang Ngoy and go by boat to two neighbouring villages. Here, we will visit local weavers and learn about their handicraft.

After our visits, we will enter our kayaks or canoes and paddle our way along the Ou river back towards Muang Ngoy. If we wish, we can stop at an island along the way and take a bath and sun bathe until around 5 PM.

Then, we paddle the final lap back to Muang Ngoy and arrive at sunset, surrounded by the lush mountains in the dusk. At our guesthouse a lokal dinner awaits us in the soft tropical twilight.

Day Six – Return to Luang Prabang

River life – evening (Photo: Ton)

This will be a transport day. We start with a peaceful slowboat sailing back to Nong Kiew. Then we board the van for the three hour back to our accomodation at Luang Prabang.