Quietly resting between five other countries, Laos has its own distinct character according to countryaah. Short for LAO by abbreviationfinder, the country of Laos has a history that dates back thousands of years. There is a lot to see and we have done the work for you and selected our favorites. Here you can marvel at beautiful Buddhist temples, walk down streets lined with colonial architecture and then travel to the countryside and see the magnificent nature with dense forests, meandering valleys and stunning caves.
Laos – 11 days
Day 1 Departure from Sweden
Day 2 Arrival Luang Prabang
Upon arrival you will be met by our local guide for transport to the hotel. After lunch you will take a tour of the small town with its gleaming temple roofs and beautiful Buddhist temples. Luang Prabang or “Jewel of Indochina” as the city is sometimes called is located in very beautiful surroundings. Surrounded by mountainous terrain and a lush valley where the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers meet. You end the tour by going up Phousi Hill from where we have a glorious view of Luang Prabang and the Mekong River
Day 3 Luang Prabang
At dawn you get up to see the orange-clad monks walking through the city streets in the early morning hours to collect food and alms from the people. After breakfast, head out on the Mekong River and head to the famous Pak Ou Cave, a limestone cave filled with more than 5,000 Buddha images, donated by Laotians to have a better life in the next life. In the afternoon you take part in the traditional life in the countryside and visit e.g. the village of Ban Xang Khong known for its paper and silk production.
Day 4 Luang Prabang – Vang Vieng
After breakfast, the journey continues through a beautiful mountain landscape that offers lots of beautiful views with green fields and surrounding high sugar peak mountains. We take our time and make several stops along the way and get to see life in the countryside among different ethnic groups. In Phoukhoune you stop at the lively local market. In the afternoon you arrive at Vang Vieng beautifully situated on the Nam Song River and surrounded by high karst mountains. When the afternoon light is at its best, you take a boat trip along the Nam Song River.
Day 5 Capture Vieng – Vientiane
The morning is free to explore Vang Vieng and its surroundings on your own. A tip is to take a bike ride on the roads around Vang Vieng, among the villages, rice fields and the strange mountain peaks with their caves. Here you get to experience up close the tranquil countryside and the beautiful nature with its high sugar peak mountains. After lunch, visit the caves of Tham Chung before continuing through the beautiful landscape south towards Vientiane. The landscape changes from the characteristic mountainous in the north to more open landscapes in the south by the Mekong.
Day 6 Vientiane
Vientiane, also known as the “City of the Moon”, was founded as early as the 11th century and was then colonized by the French at the end of the 19th century and then became the capital of Laos. You start the day by visiting the strange Buddha Park in Xieng Khuan on the banks of the Mekong River with a variety of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures of varying sizes, many a little bizarre. Then you continue with a sightseeing tour in Vientiane and see, among other things. the triumphal arch Patouxay and That Luang, Laos’ most important monument and national symbol. You will also visit Vientiane’s oldest monastery, Vat Sisaket, built in 1818, the Ho Phrakeo Royal Temple, which is now a museum of Buddhist art, and end the tour in Tsalat Sao, where you can buy fine textiles and handicrafts.
Day 7 Vientiane – Pakse
After early breakfast you will be picked up for transfer to the airport for further travel to Pakse. Here you visit the Bolevean Plateaun which is located high above the Mekong Valley, and is known for its slightly cooler temperature and the beautiful waterfalls, Tad Fan, which rushes down into a deep gorge surrounded by flowering plants. In the surroundings you see plants such as coffee beans, tea, cardamom and banana. Before returning to Pakse, visit a tea and coffee plantation and a couple of minority villages where the traditional way of life is still preserved.
Day 8 Pakse – Wat Phou – Khong Island
Today you travel south along the Mekong River to Champasack, where you explore the surroundings and visit, among other things. the ruins of the ancient Khmer temple of Vat Phou, one of Southeast Asia’s most dramatically located temples and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch, continue by boat to Khong Island, the largest of the 4,000 islands that coexist in this part of the Mekong River. Here you get an excellent opportunity to get an insight into Laotian everyday life and explore the surroundings on foot or by “Tuk-Tuk”. You end the day by enjoying the sunset on the Mekong River, one of the most powerful rivers in Asia.
Day 9 Khong Island
After breakfast you go on the Mekong River, to the islands of Don Det and Don Khon where there are old houses from the French colonial era. Here you can also see Laos’ first railway built because the Mekong, right here on the border with Cambodia, is not navigable by boat. The railway is 14 km long and narrow gauge and runs on a bridge between the islands. This part of the Mekong, often called Si Phan Don, which means 4,000 islands, is very different from other places along the Mekong and has a timeless atmosphere, where the people perform their chores as they have done since time immemorial. After lunch, continue by boat to the mainland to look at Southeast Asia’s largest waterfall Khon Phapeng before returning to Don Khong.
Day 10 Return to Vientiane to begin return to Sweden
Day 11 Return to Sweden.
