What have waterfalls and a little-known Asian country, Laos, in common? Maybe you haven’t put those two together, but it’s worth considering for an adventure destination. Laos (aka the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’) ‘does’ waterfalls by the bucket load(s), if you pardon the pun. They make a huge splash in terms of number, height, width, size and pace – just picture the rapids before the water starts tumbling down with a dense jungle backdrop.
So perhaps you need a bit more convincing to plunge into a Laos waterfalls holiday like seen one waterfall, seen them all? No, no, no. Think dreamy, invigorating, exhilarating and being able to play like a pup in pools and under the torrents of uber-clear water. For a spot on sensual description about the experience of exploring the iconic Kuang Si Waterfalls, read travel blogger Amy Deverson’s review. The only thing negative about waterfalls is the ions that abound. Come again? Yep, there can be 30,000 to 100,000 negative ions (charged air particles) per cubic centimetre around waterfalls. According to Body + Soul’s well-researched report, negative ions are nature’s antidepressant. In contrast, stuffy indoor air – positively charged ions – leads to headaches, blocked or itchy noses, dizziness and dry throats, according to Body + Soul’s well-researched report. You’ll never look or feel the same about waterfalls after Laos.
Post Contents
- The Laotian backstory
- Getting in and when
- Planning on visiting Waterfalls in Laos?
- Getting the touristy stuff out of the way
- Your must-see waterfall
- Falls by height, width, pace, size and number
- Budget-conscious traveller
- Planning on visiting Waterfalls in Laos?
- Solo traveller
- Luxury-loving traveller
- What to pack
- Let the waterfall bug bite
- Planning on visiting Waterfalls in Laos?
The Laotian backstory
Laos, population nudging seven million, is nestled between Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand. The Mekong River courses through its mountainous jungle terrain. This island that’s supposedly home to the Buddha’s breastbone. Other highlights include the northern town of Luang Prabang. It’s UNESCO-listed with its well-preserved 34 Buddhist temples, colonial and Chinese architecture, and natural features. These days Laos has only one legal, political party and is a social state that supports communism. Brush up on your school-day French to read the bilingual signs – they’re a legacy of French colonisation and rule until 1953. English isn’t commonly spoken as the country’s only opened up to the world since the 1990s.
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Listen up, though. The government wants to make hydropower the country’s largest revenue source by 2025. That means dams on the Mekong River, so that’s another prompt to get going with your holiday plans before those gorgeous waterfalls are, well, no more.
Laos is a developing country that depends on foreign aid – about eight in 10 Laotians work in agriculture. During the Vietnam War (from 1955 to 1975), Laos became the world’s most heavily bombed country per capita. However, it wasn’t directly involved. Many bombs haven’t detonated and are still lurking, particularly in Xaisomboun Province, east of Vang Vieng. There’s also been a spate of shooting incidents and attacks there, plus tourists have died or been injured in accidents along the river, according to the Smartraveller advisory website. Route 7 (Phou Khoun to Phonsavanh) and Route 6 (near the town of Sam Neua, Huaphan Province) are hot spots for crime, too. Elsewhere, though, exercise normal precautions. All good. Erh, although, the numbers of drug-related deaths of tourists are on the rise so beware of ingesting drug-spiked food or drinks – keep an eye them. And while we’re doing cautionary tales, be mindful of some motorcycle hire companies that try to extort cash from existing damage or even, gasp, organise for bikes to be stolen from the renter. If you’re going to hire a motorbike, pay for theft insurance cover.
Getting in and when
You’ll need a visa from your nearest Embassy of Laos or you can get a 30-day tourist one when you arrive including at the Vientiane international airport. Since December 2016, you can only enter Laos via Vietnam twice a year. When to go? Most people visit in the dry season from November to January, another lure is September-October for the dragon boat races on the Nam Khan River and also when Laos is in the thick of the ‘green season‘. August is the country’s wettest month. We’d advise steering clear of May to September, the wet season known for tropical storms, flooding and landslides. Feeling fit? You need a decent level of fitness to traverse the tracks, which will be wet, slippery, steep in parts and elsewhere eroded.
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Getting the touristy stuff out of the way
Here’s a link to the official tourism website, which estimates that about five million tourists visited Laos in 2017. Download free maps here, or explore an interactive one here, and there’s another tourist site (backed by hotels.com). Also worth a look is the Eat Drink Laos Facebook page. An Aussie copywriter (with young children) based in Laotian capital of Vientiane set up the page in July 2015 as a food, culture and travel blog. A bit of trivia: the 2013, multi-award-winning Australian film, The Rocket, was filmed in Laos. For more highbrow info, get the wrap about the country here, or scroll through the English-language Vientiane Times. Get a prepaid SIM card in Laos – here are your options to hook into the 4GSM network.
Your must-see waterfall
If you’re just going to do one waterfall in Laos, make it the 60m Kuang Si Waterfalls. You know it’s major when Tripadvisor lists more than 8,500 reviews which average 4.5 out of five stars. Lose one minute of your life by watching this gorgeous drone vid of the falls. You can reach the falls via minivan (up to $AUS12 per person), tuk tuk (up to $AUS47 pp) or motorbike (about $20 not including petrol) from Luang Prabang, about 30km north. Entry fee is just over $AUS3 and for that you’ll get access to pools, rope swings, a picnic area, change rooms and hiking trails set in lush green jungle terrain and entry to the Bear Rescue Center. To get to the top of the falls for a Laotian countryside panorama, avoid the muddy trail on the right – the left one has steps – much easier. Flick through Ban Khoy’s Instagram album to immerse yourself. If you have time, visit the Butterfly Park less than a kilometre from the falls.
Falls by height, width, pace, size and number
And for spectacular waterfall height of 120m, add the twin falls at Tad Fane on the Bolaven Plateau in Southern Laos. They’re set in a tropical rainforest that shelters elephants, monkeys, leopards and tigers. Your easy option is to soak up the view from across the gorge or you can hire a guide to take you through the Dong Hua Sao National Protected Area for a jungle hike for the fit to the top of the falls.
Pick up the pace and tour mighty rapids – stretching almost 10km – along the Mekong River and the largest waterfalls in Laos and Southeast Asia by visiting the Khone and Pha Pheng Falls (21m high) in Si Phan Don. The latter is also known as ‘4000 Islands’ and you’ll find it in the Champasak Province near Cambodia. The Khone Falls are reportedly the world’s widest at 10,783m (Niagara Falls in the US are about 790m, by the way). Each second about 11,610 cubic metres of water rush through them – that’s power. Speaking of speed, if zip lining near waterfalls grabs you, there’s one near Tad Sae near Luang Prabang. Gorgeous pool there, too, for swimming.
You’ll be spoilt for choice so we’ll mention the more falls here: Ta Yuang (40km from Pakse) is good for swimming either above or below the falls and the Tad Thong Falls (6km ride from Luang Prabang).
Take online reviews with a bit of salt. Even among our loose group of travellers, we weren’t all wild for the same waterfalls. It’s horses for courses and the ambience and vista will be different depending on when and where you go and who else is there. Armed with a bit of knowledge can nudge you to what’s right for you. But you’ll need cash and Laos accepts the local currency, kip, the Thai Baht and US dollars in most hotels, restaurants and shops. There are ATMs in the bigger centres, but you can only withdraw about $AUS90 at a time. Make your life easy and have a good wad of kip handy – do your research to gauge how much you’ll need – if you’re venturing out into regional areas. You can’t exchange kip outside of Laos.
Budget-conscious traveller
Accommodation options can be cheap from $AUS9 to $AUS24 for camping, river bungalows, guesthouse or home stays in Champasak Province, in the country’s southwest. You’ll find St Phan Don, also known as the Four Thousand Islands, temples, freshwater irrawaddy dolphins (functionally extinct, says WWF, though) and, of course, waterfalls, in the region. Pakse is the provincial capture and from where you can hop on a long bus trip ($AUS10) or a converted ute (locals call it a songthaew) for about $AUS6) to the chilled backpacker-friendly Four Thousand Islands area (cheapest stays will be found Don Det and Don Khong). If you’re coming from Vientiane, it’s an overnight bus trip. For a couple of dollars you can hire a bicycle to ride over the rusty French railway bridge, explore Don Khong island and take in South-East Asia’s largest waterfall, Khone Phapheng. Your budget might stretch to a fishing trip or hiring a kayak or a self-catered beach party if you’re in Don Det, which hasn’t much nightlife after 10pm.
Consider making waterfalls just one day of a four-day tour Luang Prabang in Laos. Check out City Nomads’ trip here. They also squeezed in street food, temples and museums. They did a half-day trip from that town to see the Kuang Si Falls for $AUS8 per person return. To improve your chances of seeing those falls without having to jostle tour groups, get there early morning or just before closing and avoid weekends, especially Sundays. You could even park yourself there all day as food is available as are changing rooms.
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Solo traveller
For a quiet hike, swim and possibly people-free waterfall area particularly in the mornings, try Tad Thong, a 6km hilly hike, drive, bus trip or mountain bike ride from Luang Prabang. Entry fee to the waterfall is about $AUS3.
How about a private tour of Kuang Si Waterfall from Luang Prabang? That will set you back about $AUS70 and, if you want to see Pak Ou Cave, you could pay all up between $AUS135 and about $AUS200. Meanwhile, Tat Somphamit (or Li Phi) near Don Khone has a pricier at $AUS5 entry free than some of the other falls, but you’re paying for better tourist facilities. Be prepared for knee-deep swimming, though. Bamboo fishing traps pop up among the smaller rapids.
Luxury-loving traveller
Rest up big in any of these top 10 hotels in Laos. The small boutique five-star hotel, the Barasari Heritage Luang Prabang has five stars is on the Riverwalk and strolling distance to Kuang Si Falls (10 minutes), the Royal Palace, temples, the night market and more. Here are the top 10 for shopping in Vientiane, covering markets, galleries and others selling silk, textiles and wine. While in the capital, check out these for a decent feed or two, and here for nightlife options.
When you’re refreshed and ready to explore, how about notching three digits of waterfalls in one place? Then explore the 100 Waterfalls on the Nam Ou River in Nong Khiaw. It’s a bit of a misnomer as no-one knows exactly how many are there. Adventure travellers have only been discovering it en masse for less than 10 years. The only way you’ll get in there is via ecotourism company, Tiger Trails, which runs a one-day tour from Nong Khiaw. Here’s one of the early videos from the tour company, showing feet sloshing through waterfalls to the sound of constant pounding water.
Muddy feet not your scene? How about taking your hotel with you? The three-day Vat Phou Cruise Tour takes you in a “floating air-conditioned teak hotel” with your own 12-square-metre cabin and private showers. Expect to walk barefoot while on the boat, which is about 25 years old now. There’s a lounge and restaurant on board. You’ll discover the 4,000 islands, Khong Island, Don Khone and the Pha Pheng Waterfall. Ramp it up a level with a luxury 11-day/10-night Pandaw Laos Cruise for $AUS4,300. From Vietiane, you’ll glide along the Mekong, to Pak Lai, Ban Park Bor Village, Ban Mouang Khai Village, Luang Prabang, Pak Ou Buddha Caves, Pak Bend and head into Chiang Kong in Thailand and the Golden Triangle.
What to pack
When visiting a conservative country, it’s best to leave your more revealing garb at home. Long pants/jeans and shirts should get you into just about anywhere, but when it comes to swimming, bikini/budgie smugglers are fine, just don’t parade in them when out of the water. If you’re planning to do dip into fast torrents, go river tubing (such as in the city of Vang Veng) or cliff jump or rope swing into the lagoons or pools, go for snug-fit swimmers, please. A good point from the AsiaOne website is for women to wear dark clothing on cool days or risk your underwear showing through when you get wet at the falls. A cardigan or lightweight jacket for evenings is a must as is mozzie repellent. You’d want to douse your feet and legs with them particularly as we recommend wearing open hiking sandals rather than hiking boots or trainers (which would get too sludgy). Speaking of moisture, carry a quick-dry towel, waterproof or ziplock bag for your valuables. Also pack a hat, sunscreen and, to deter the leeches, salt. We did see one woman besieged by leeches flick them off with a crazy dance, but not all of us are that limber nor leeches that compliant.
Let the waterfall bug bite
So, once your armchair travel bug for waterfalls has bitten, do a deep dive into the world’s database of waterfalls. Yes, there is such a thing. Only two Laos waterfalls rate a mention on the database – Khone and Tad Fane. Maybe your quest is to add more to the list, but then again, are waterfalls this country’s best kept secret?
Planning on visiting Waterfalls in Laos?
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