Luang Prabang Encounter

Welcome to the spiritual capital of Laos. Upon arrival in to Luang Prabang, your guide will greet you and transfer you to your hotel for check-in. This evening you will have a short orientation tour. Climb the 328 steps to Mount Phousi and watch the sun set over the city and surrounding hills. Transfer back your hotel, stopping along the way at the hill tribe evening market for some shopping.

Your guide will pick you up at your hotel in Luang Prabang at 08:30 with your adapted bikes. After doing a fitting and adjusting your bike, you will start your tour by the former Royal Palace, now the National Museum, where you will explore the history of Laos. Continue to Wat Mai, a temple renowned for its golden bas-relief.

Visit Wat Visoun, the holiest temple in the city, which was entirely rebuilt in 1887 after being destroyed by the invading Black Flags from Southern China. In the courtyard of Wat Visoun stands the Watermelon Stupa shaped like the fruit from which it takes its name. Continue passed Wat Aham, which was first built in the 1500s, and on to Wat That where the ashes of King Sisavang Vong are kept inside the large central stupa.

Ride along the Nam Khan River to visit Wat Xieng Thong, the most revered temple in Luang Prabang. Located at the end of the peninsula, close to the Mekong, this temple was built in 1560 by King Setthathirat and is decorated with ornate carvings and mosaics.

Lunch at Tamarind (Note: closed on Sundays) for some of the best local food in Luang Prabang (Lao set menu included).

This afternoon you will leave the town behind and ride to the Phosy Market, where you can join the locals and support vendors by buying fresh products or fruit. Your guide will be here to encourage you to taste some of the exotic flavors of the local fruits, helping to identify new items not found in your grocery store back home!

Continue your ride to Ock Pop Tock. This non-profit organization seeks to preserve traditional weaving techniques, a trade which was once an important source of income for many Lao families but is slowly fading out as modern technology has evolved. A short tour introduces the process of silk weaving from the initial stages of creating the dyes to the final process of loom weaving.

Ride along the Mekong back in to town for your final stop of the day. The Traditional Arts & Ethnology Centre is dedicated to exploring the rich diversity of Laos’ ethnic minorities. Traditional costumes, tools, and artifacts are on display alongside in-depth descriptions and written histories. It is a great opportunity to gain insight in to the Lao people (Note: closed on Mondays).

Return to your hotel by bike.  

This afternoon enjoy a relaxing time at L’Hibiscus Spa. Upon arrival you will be treated to a hot spa welcome drink before a 30 minute herbal foot massage on a private balcony for two. Your foot massage will be followed by a 90 minute aromatherapy massage in a private room for two including hot compress, hot rocks or hot oil. After your massage share sunset on the balcony and try delicious L’Hibiscus sorbet.

After breakfast you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to a pier on the Mekong River for a boat ride up the River.

Laos has several waterways that have traditionally been used as the local form of transportation and they continue to be used in that manner today in many parts of the country. Taking a local boat cruise is probably one of the most rewarding ways to discover the life along the rivers. As you cruise along, observe the daily activities of fishermen, how they throw their nets in an elegant arm gestures, and rely on the water for their livelihood. For the villages settled along the Mekong, the river plays an important role in their daily life and usually represents the only means of transportation and commerce.

Two hours upstream from Luang Prabang, disembark to visit the famous Pak Ou Caves. Locally called Tam Ting, the caves are filled with thousands of gold-lacquered Buddha statues. The statues range in size from a few centimeters tall to the height of a human and are crammed into the cave which is nestled in a limestone cliff. The caves are a destination for local pilgrimages, especially at Lao New Year (Pi Mai) in April.

After visiting the caves, reboard the boat for a cruise back to Luang Prabang. En route, stop at Ban Xang Hay, a village which specializes in making traditional rice-wine.

Lunch is at your convenience in Luang Prabang. 

In the late afternoon learn the secrets behind the delicious Lao cuisine with a cooking class run by one of Luang Prabangs most famous restaurants; Tamarind. (Note: closed on Sundays) The expert chefs will demonstrate how to prepare authentic Lao dishes before it is your turn! You will be given a cook book that you can take home and use as a guide to impress your family and friends with new flavors and your new expertise. As a reward for your hard work, sit down to a delicious meal of the dishes you have helped create.

For early risers, there is a very special dawn visit to watch the monks collecting the alms.  As the sun begins to rise, long lines of orange-robed monks leave their pagodas and walk barefoot down the streets collecting offerings from Luang Prabang residents. It is a beautiful, serene ceremony that highlights the spiritualism of the Laos people. Return to the hotel for breakfast. Transfers to and from Alms giving are by tuk-tuk. Breakfast at the hotel.

Your guide and private car will meet you at your hotel for a short transfer through the Luang Prabang countryside to Kuang Si Waterfalls. Along the way, you will drive through beautiful landscapes of rice fields, hills, and small villages. There are also many viewpoints overlooking the Mekong River.

Stop en-route to visit a small village which is home to one of the area’s many ethnic minorities. You will have an opportunity to learn about their traditions and culture, much of which has remained unchanged for centuries.

Upon reaching Kuang Si Waterfall, relax and enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings. The water tumbles down a large drop and cascades gently in to several cool, clear pools where you can enjoy a refreshing swim.
Before you leave you might like to visit the bear sanctuary which is next to the falls, run by Free The Bears Fund Inc. There are currently 23 Asiatic Black Bears living in the sanctuary, which has saved them from poaching. The main threat to these bears is poaching due to the use of their bile in Chinese medicine. You can read about their habits and observe their playful nature, whilst learning about the difficulties they are facing.

Enjoy a picnic lunch next to the falls before returning to Luang Prabang for an afternoon and evening at leisure.

On the way back to Luang Prabang, you will stop at the Kuang Si Butterfly Park to visit the beautiful garden filled of hundreds of Laos’s butterflies! (Note: closed on Tuesday)

As the day comes to the end, you will have the unique opportunity to experience one of Laos’ oldest traditions, The Baci. The purpose of the Baci, which is a mix of Animist and Buddhist beliefs, is to call back escaped spirits to the body. This is something that is very important before major events such as weddings, births, travel, welcoming friends and farewells.

This morning is free for last minute shopping or sightseeing before your guide and private car meet you at your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.