Spirit of Laos 8D7N

Day 1: Arrival – Luang Prabang – Half Day City Tour

On arrival at Luang Prabang International Airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel. After you have had time to rest and freshen up we will head off on bicycles to see some of the highlights of Luang Prabang including a visit to the Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts from the Royal period in Luang Prabang. Cycling on, we are seeing the city’s oldest temples, the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roof sweeping low to the ground, representing classical Lao architecture, the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrine of Wat Aham. Overnight in Luang Prabang

Day 2: Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Caves – Xiengmene (B,L)

Today we embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, stopping at Ban Xiengmene, Wat Long Khun and the limestone cave of Tham Sakkarin.

Following a picnic lunch we continue our boat journey the mysterious Pak Ou Caves. These caves are an ancient pilgrimage site and contain thousands of gold lacquered Buddha images left there over hundreds of years.

Returning to Luang Prabang you have the option of visiting Ban Xiengkek and Ban Xangkhong where villagers making jute paper and continue to visit the textile village of Phanom, a small village known for its hand weaving or returning to your hotel to relax. Overnight in Luang Prabang

Day 3: Luang Prabang – Khuang Si Waterfall (B)

After breakfast we begin our journey to Khouangsi Waterfall stopping along the way to visit the morning Phousi Market, this where all the locals of Luang Prabang come to do their daily shopping. You will see a variety of local foodstuffs and products including dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the chickens, fish, vegetables and fruit, everything needed for daily life in Laos.

On arrival at the Khouangsi Waterfall you will have the opportunity to cool off with a refreshing swim in the topaz pools below the falls, walk along the forest trails and visit the Bear Sanctuary.

Returning to Luang Prabang your afternoon is free to explore or relax at the hotel. Overnight in Luang Prabang

Day 4: Luang Prabang – Vientiane – half day city tour (B)

This morning you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Vientiane, upon arrival in the capital you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

You are seeing the major temples of Vientiane including the oldest, Wat Sisaket, with its thousands of miniature Buddha statues, and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. We also visit the national icon of Laos, That Luang Stupa, stopping along the way to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph, from there you visit COPE Center. The COPE was created in response to the need to provide UXO survivors with the care and support they required, namely by way of orthotic and prosthetic devices. This museum was set after in 1997 to help covering the victim during Indochina war. Overnight in Vientiane

Day 5: Vientiane – Tadlo – Pakse (B)

You have an early this morning for your flight to Pakse. On arrival at Pakse we head for the refreshing mountain climate on the Bolevan Plateau. The area is famous for its many waterfalls and we will visit two of the best, Tad Fan, with it’s impressive twin falls cascading over 100 metres to the valley floor below and Tad Ngeuan, with it’s pristine pools for taking a refreshing dip and coffee shop and plantation where you can sample some real Lao coffee.

Along the way you will see the rich soils of the region being cultivated for coffee, tea, cardamom, bananas, and other crops before we arrive at Tad Lo, home to another scenic waterfall and numerous ethnic minority groups. We visit the villages of Alak, Nge, and Katu and drive back to Pakse by late evening. Overnight in Pakse

Day6: Pakse – Champassak – Khong Islands – Done Khone (B)

After an early breakfast, we head down the mountains towards Champasak and the 4000 islands area. Passing through Pakse town we cross the Mekong River by ferry to visit the fascinating pre-Angkorian ruins of Wat Phu, one of Southeast Asia’s most dramatically situated mountain top temples.

Following lunch we continue our journey by car & long tail boat to the 4000 Islands, where you have the rest of the day to relax. Overnight in Done Khone Islands.

Day 7: Khong Islands – Done Det – Done Khone (B)

After an early breakfast we head south by road and boat to Done Khone. Here we retrace the island’s French colonial-past at Ban Khone with it’s old colonial houses still standing and a glimpse the first Lao railway with its own locomotive. We continue our exploration of the area by boat and visit the beautiful Liphi waterfall, also known as the Samphamith, which forms a natural border between Lao and Cambodia.

We return to Ban Nakasang and drive to the famous waterfall of Khone Phapeng, the largest waterfall in South East Asia, also known as the ‘Niagara of the east’. Overnight in Done Khone Islands.

Day 8: Khong Islands – Pakse – Departure (B)

Very early morning breakfast you will be transferred back to Pakse for your departure flight or to exit Laos overland Cambodia border