Author: Lonely Planet
Category: Nonfiction
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Provincial Hospital ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %071-254023; Ban Naxang; doctor's consultation 100,000K) OK for minor problems but for any serious illnesses consider flying to Bangkok or returning to Vientiane and neighbouring hospitals across the Thai border. Note that the hospital in Luang Prabang charges double for consultations at weekends or anytime after 4pm.
Money
There are lots of ATMs in town. Several tour companies on Th Sisavangvong offer cash advances on Visa or MasterCard for around 3% commission. They'll also change money but rates tend to be poor.
BCEL ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Sisavangvong; h8.30am-3.30pm Mon-Sat) Changes major currencies in cash or travellers cheques, has a 24-hour ATM and offers cash advances against Visa and MasterCard.
Lao Development Bank ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 65 Th Sisavangvong; h8.30am-3.30pm Mon-Sat) Has a 24-hour ATM.
Minipost Booth ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Th Sisavangvong; h7.45am-8.30pm, cash advances 9am-3pm) Changes most major currencies at fair rates and is open daily.
Post
Post office ( GOOGLE MAP ; Th Chao Fa Ngum; h8.30am-3.30pm Mon-Fri, to noon Sat) Phone calls and Western Union facilities.
Telephone
Most internet cafes in town have Skype and can offer international calls at 2000K per minute or less.
The Minipost Booth sells mobile phone SIM cards.
Tourist Information
Provincial Tourism Department ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %071-212173; www.tourismlaos.org; Th Sisavangvong; h8am-4pm Mon-Fri; W) General information on festivals and ethnic groups. Also offers some maps and leaflets, plus information on buses and boats. Great office run by helpful staff.
Travel Agencies
All Lao Travel ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %020-55571572, 071-253522; www.alllaoservice.com; Th Sisavangvong; h8am-10pm) One of the best ticketing agents in the city; it sells plane, boat and bus tickets.
Jewel Travel Laos Useful tour company offering a range of excursions.
Treasure Travel ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %071-254682; www.treasuretravellaos.com; Th Sisavangvong; h8am-9pm) Organised and customised tours throughout Laos. Prices depend on duration and group size.
Travellers with Disabilities
Upmarket hotels in Luang Prabang are more accommodating to travellers with disabilities. The city centre is fairly navigable and flat for wheelchairs, with less broken pavement than Vientiane.
Visas
Immigration office ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %071-212435; Th Wisunarat; h8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri) It's usually possible to extend a Lao visa for up to 30 extra days (US$2 per day) if you apply before it has expired.
Vietnamese ConsulateCONSULATE
( GOOGLE MAP ; www.vietnamconsulate-luangprabang.org; Th Naviengkham, Luang Prabang; h8-11.30am & 1.30-5.30pm Mon-Fri)
Arrange your visas for Vietnam here.
8Getting There & Away
Air
Around 4km from the city centre, Luang Prabang International Airport has a smart new building as of 2013 and an expanded runway. For Bangkok, Bangkok Airways (www.bangkokair.com) and Lao Airlines ( GOOGLE MAP ; %071-212172; www.laoairlines.com; Th Pha Mahapatsaman) both fly twice daily. Lao Airlines also serves Vientiane several times daily and Pakse, Chiang Mai, Hanoi and Siem Reap once daily. Vietnam Airlines (%071-213049; www.vietnamairlines.com) flies to both Siem Reap (codeshare with Lao Airlines) and Hanoi daily.
Boat
Though not always the quickest way to travel, journeying by river allows you to slow down and take in the city and surrounding country from a different angle.
Pak Beng & Huay Xai
For slowboats to Pak Beng (130,000K, nine hours, 8am), buy tickets from the navigation office behind the Royal Palace. Through-tickets to Huay Xai (220,000K, two days) are also available, but you'll have to sleep in Pak Beng. This also allows you to stay a little longer in Pak Beng should you like the place. The main slowboat landing ( GOOGLE MAP ) is directly behind the navigation office, but departure points can vary according to river levels.
The more upscale Luang Say Cruise departs on two-day rides to Huay Xai from the Xieng Thong jetty opposite Wat Xieng Thong. Rates include an overnight stay at the Luang Say Lodge in Pak Beng. A cheaper alternative is Shompoo Cruise, a two-day cruise aboard a smart boutique boat; accommodation in Pak Beng is not included.
Fast, uncomfortable and seriously hazardous six-person speedboats can shoot you up the Mekong to Pak Beng (190,000K, three hours) and Huay Xai (320,000K, seven hours). However, there are no fixed departure times and prices assume a full boat, so unless you organise things through an agency, it's worth heading up to the speedboat station the day before to make enquiries. It's around 5km north of town: turn west off Rte 13 beside the Km 390 post then head 300m down an unpaved road that becomes an unlikely dirt track once you cross the only crossroads en route.
Thailand's Golden Triangle
River levels permitting, Mekong River Cruises makes lazy seven-day trips from Luang Prabang to Thailand's Golden Triangle on innovative new two-storey German-Lao riverboats with a sun deck and 16 cabins in which you sleep as well as travel (departs Thursday).
Bus & Minibus
Predictably enough, the northern bus station ( GOOGLE MAP ; %071-252729; Rte 13) and southern bus station (Bannaluang Bus Station; GOOGLE MAP ; %071-252066; Rte 13, Km 383) are at opposite ends of town. Several popular bus routes are duplicated by minibuses/minivans from the Naluang minibus station ( GOOGLE MAP ; %071-212979; [email protected]; Rte 13), diagonally opposite the latter. Typical fares include Vientiane (170,000K, seven hours) with departures at 7.30am, 8.30am and 5pm; Vang Vieng (110,000K, five hours) at 8am, 9am, 10am, 2pm and 3pm; Luang Namtha (120,000K, eight hours) at 8.30am; and Nong Khiaw (70,000K, three hours) at 9.30am.
For less than double the bus fare, another option is to gather your own group and rent a comfortable six-seater minivan. Prices include photo stops and you'll get there quicker. Directly booked through the minibus station, prices are about 1,000,000K to Phonsavan or Vang Vieng and 500,000K to Nong Khiaw, including pick-up from the guesthouse.
Vientiane & Vang Vieng
From the southern bus station, there are up to 10 daily Vientiane services (115,000K, nine hours) via Vang Vieng between 6.30am and 7.30pm. Sleeper buses (150,000K, nine hours) leave at 8pm and 9.30pm.
Sainyabuli & Hongsa
Buses to Sainyabuli (60,000K, three hours) depart from the southern bus station at 9am and 2pm. The new Tha Deua bridge over the Mekong River is now open and has reduced the journey time to Sainyabuli to two hours or so by private vehicle. There is also a new minibus service to the Elephant Conservation Center in Sainyabuli, operated by Sakura Tour (%074-212112) which picks you up outside the post office. For Hongsa, the new bridge means it is easiest to travel to Sainyabuli and connect from there.
Phonsavan & Vietnam
For Phonsavan (10 hours) there's an 9am minibus (120,000K) from Naluang minibus station and a 8.30am bus (ordinary/express 90,000/105,000K, 10 hours) from the southern bus station. You can get to Dien Bien Phu (220,000K, 10 hours, leaves 6.30am) and Hanoi (380,000K, 24 hours, leaves 6pm) in Vietnam.
Nong Khiaw & Sam Neua
For Nong Khiaw (55,000K, four hours), 9am minibuses start from Naluang minibus station. Alternatively, from the northern bus station take the sŏrngtăaou (pick-up trucks fitted with benches in the back for passengers; 55,000K) at 9am, 11am and 1pm or the 8.30am bus that continues to Sam Neua (140,000K, 17 hours) via Vieng Thong (120,000K, 10 hours). Another Sam Neua–bound bus (from Vientiane) should pull in sometime around 5.30pm.
Northwestern Laos & China
The sleeper bus to Kunming (450,000K, 24 hours) in China departs from the southern bus station at 7am, sometimes earlier. Pre-booking, and checking the departure location, is wise. From the northern bus station, buses run to Udomxai (60,000K, five hours) at 9am, noon and 4pm; Luang Namtha (105,000K, nine hours) at 9am; and Huay Xai (Borkeo; 130,000K, 15 hours) at 5.30pm with a VIP service at 7pm (150,000K).
8Getting Around
&nbs
p; Bicycle
A satisfying way to get around is by bicycle. Numerous shops and some guesthouses have hire bikes for 15,000K to 30,000K per day.
Be careful to lock bicycles and motorbikes securely and don't leave them on the roadside overnight. Note that the peninsula's outer road is one-way anticlockwise: signs are easy to miss. Although you'll see locals flouting the rule (and riding without helmets), police will occasionally fine foreigners.
Boat
Numerous boats to Pak Ou Caves ( GOOGLE MAP ) depart between 8.30am and lunchtime; buy tickets at the easily missed little longboat office ( GOOGLE MAP ; Th Khem Khong; h9am-5pm Mon-Sat). Banana Boat Laos offers better organised boat trips for those who aren't worried about every last kip; boats leave from behind the Royal Palace.
Bus
New to Luang Prabgang is Lao Green Travel's E-Bus (www.laogreengroup.com; trips from 5000K), an electric zero-emission tuk-tuk (green and yellow), which circulates around the old town. You can buy tickets in shops and guesthouses. It also offers an E-Bus Tour, which takes passengers around the city on a guided tour.
Car & Motorcycle
Motorcycle rental typically costs 120,000K per day. KPTD ( GOOGLE MAP ; %020-97100771, 071-253447; Th Kitsarat; semi-automatic 100,000K, automatic 120,000K, 250cc dirt bikes per day US$70; h8am-5pm) has a wide range of bikes available, including Honda Waves (semi-automatic), Honda Scoopy (automatic) and a thoroughly mean Honda CRF (US$70) for motocross riders only. Motolao rents Honda 250cc motorbikes.
Sŏrngtăaou
Located on the opposite side of the Mekong to Luang Prabang, about 400m up from the river, the Chomphet sŏrngtăaou stand ( GOOGLE MAP ) serves local villages only.
Tuk-Tuk
Luang Prabang has no motorbike taxis, only tuk-tuks, plus the odd taxi-van from the airport charging a standardised 50,000K into town. These will cost more if more than three people share the ride. From town back to the airport you might pay marginally less.
Around town locals often pay just 5000K for short tuk-tuk rides, but foreigners are charged a flat 20,000K per hop. To the speedboat landing reckon on 50,000K for the vehicle.
Around Luang Prabang
Some of the most popular activities in Luang Prabang are based in the countryside beyond, including trekking, cycling, motocross, kayaking and rafting tours. A popular destination is the new forest attraction Green Jungle Flight, almost nearing completion when we passed, with its botanical gardens, swimming pool, cafe and ziplines.
Tours to waterfalls and the Pak Ou Caves are particularly popular and prices are generally competitive, but it still pays to shop around. The Pak Ou Caves and Tat Kuang Si are an odd combination, given that the sites are in opposite directions, but the advantage is that the vehicle to the Kuang Si waterfalls should be waiting when you return to the agency office from your boat trip. Note that tour prices don't include entry fees.
Thirty-two kilometres south of the city, Green Jungle Flight is a slice of natural paradise reclaimed from a rubbish dump. It uses the forest and a stunning cascade as its backdrop for a spectacular cat's cradle of ziplines (900m), monkey bridges and rope courses. Also here is a cafe, a restaurant and flower gardens. There were also plans for an organic produce market, swimming pool, and elephant-viewing area where ex-logging jumbos can bathe and socialise.
To reach the park, you catch the comfy boat by the navigation office in Luang Prabang; you'll ride downriver for 30 minutes and then be taxied the rest of the way by road to the park.
Pak Ou Caves ຖ້ຳປາກອູ
Where the Nam Ou (Ou River) and Mekong River meet at Ban Pak Ou, two famous caves in the limestone cliff are crammed with myriad buddha images. In the lower cave a photogenic group of buddhas are silhouetted against the stunning riverine backdrop. The upper cave is a five-minute climb up steps (you'll need a torch), 50m into the rock face. Buy boat tickets from the longboat office in Luang Prabang.
Most visitors en route to Pak Ou stop at the 'Lao Lao Village' Ban Xang Hay, famous for its whiskey. The narrow footpath-streets behind the very attractive (if mostly new) wat are also full of weavers' looms, colourful fabric stalls and a few stills producing the wide range of liquors sold.
An alternative is to go by road to Ban Pak Ou (30km, around 150,000K return for a tuk-tuk) then take a motor-canoe across the river (20,000K return). Ban Pak Ou is 10km down a decent unpaved road that turns off Rte 13 near Km 405.
Tat Kuang Si ຕາດກວາງຊີ
Thirty kilometres southwest of Luang Prabang, Tat Kuang Si is a many-tiered waterfall tumbling over limestone formations into a series of cool, swimmable turquoise pools; the term 'Edenic' doesn't do it justice. When you're not swinging off ropes into the water, there's a public park with shelters and picnic tables where you can eat lunch. Don't miss the Kuang Si Rescue Centre near the park entrance. Run by Free the Bears, this excellent centre cares for some 38 Asiatic Wild Moon bears – 15 have been saved in the last three years – confiscated from poachers who sell them to horrendous bile farms serving the appetites of Chinese traditional medicine. These happy little bears merit equal reason for your visit as the cascades themselves. The centre depends on donations and sponsorship: consider buying a T-shirt or adopting a bear.
Kuang Si Butterfly Park, 300m before the Kuang Si waterfall, was opened in 2014 as a breeding sanctuary for Laos' myriad butterflies. Open to travellers, it has a foot spa where you can have your feet nibbled by miniature fish, or wander the beautiful gardens on a tour. Great fun for kids. There's also a cafe here.
Many cheap eateries line the entrance car park at the top end of the Khamu village of Ban Thapene.
Visiting Kuang Si by hired motorcycle is very pleasant now that the road here is decently paved and allows stops in villages along the way. By bicycle, be prepared for two long, steady hills to climb. A tuk-tuk from Luang Prabang costs 250,000K for one person, and 85,000K per person in group of three, so it's best to get a group together.
Tat Sae ນ້ຳຕົກຕາດແສ
The wide, multi-level cascade pools of this menthol-hued waterfall 15km southeast of Luang Prabang are a memorable sight from August to November. Unlike Tat Kuang Si, there's no single long-drop centrepiece and they dry up almost completely by February. But several year-round gimmicks keep visitors coming, notably a loop of 14 ziplines (%020-54290848; www.flightofthenature.com; per person 300,000K) that allows you to 'fly' around and across the falls.
Part of the attraction of a visit is getting here on a very pleasant seven-minute boat ride (20,000K per person return, 40,000K minimum) that starts from Ban Aen, a peaceful Lao village that's just 1km east of Rte 13 (turn east at Km 371.5). A 30-minute tuk-tuk from Luang Prabang costs up to 150,000K return, including a couple of hours' wait.
Ban Phanom & Beyond ບ້ານພະນົ້ມ ສຸສານຫມູຫົດ
If you climbed Phu Si you'll surely have spied a large octagonal stupa painted a dazzling golden hue near the 'New Bridge'. This is the 1988 Santi Chedi (ສັນຕິເຈດີ, Peacefulness Pagoda donation expected; h8-10am & 1.30-4.30pm Mon-Fri); its five interior levels are painted with all manner of Buddhist stories and moral admonitions.
It's on a gentle rise, 1km off Rte 13 beside the road to Ban Phanom, a prosperous weaving and handicrafts village less than 1km further east. A mostly unpaved road initially follows the Nam Khan east and south, looping round eventually after 14km to Ban Kok Gniew, the 'pineapple village' at Km 372 on Rte 13, just 500m short of the turning to Tat Sae waterfall. The road is dusty and gently hilly but quiet and scenic with some attractive karst scenery and several points of interest.
Around 6.5km from Ban Phanom, and less than 2km further along the road from the tomb of Henri Mouhot, are the mural-daubed old wat and gilded stupa of Ban Noun Savath . The scene is especially photogenic in afternoon light with a large karst-hump mountain forming a perfect backdrop.
River Life
The Mekong River is the lifeblood of Laos. It’s l
ike an artery cutting through the heart of the country, while other important rivers are the veins, breathing life into the landscape and providing transport links between remote landlocked communities. For many Laotians, the river is not just part of their life, it is their life.
Mekong River | SUTIPOND/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Nam Song, Vang Vieng | DON MAMMOSER/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
River travel, Laos | LMSPENCER/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Mekong River, Si Phan Don | JEAN-PHILIPPE BABU/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Near Vang Vieng | JOE8211943/BUDGET TRAVEL/ LONELY PLANET ©
Northern Laos
Northern Laos Highlights
Xieng Khuang & Hua Phan Provinces
Phonsavan
Around Phonsavan
Sam Neua (Xam Neua)
Around Sam Neua
Sam Neua to Vietnam
Sam Neua to Nong Khiaw
Vieng Thong (Muang Hiam)
Muang Ngoi District
Nong Khiaw
Muang Ngoi Neua (Ban Ngoi Kao)
Around Muang Ngoi Neua
Phongsali Province
Muang Khua
Phongsali ()
Around Phongsali
Northwestern Laos
Udomxai (Oudomsay, Muang Xai)
Around Udomxai