Day to Day Itinerary:
Prior to our departure we will have an evening meeting the night before.  Hotel accomodation is included on the night before we ride.

Day 1: Luang Prabang - Vieng Thong
We depart early from Luang Prabang and are on the way to the north east of Laos.  We'll take on some moderately easy dirt road in some excellent countryside and meet up with a rural paved highway.  Our goal today is to get comfortable on the bikes and take on several different terrain types we will encounter for the entire trip.  Our arrival in Vieng Thong is late afternoon and we'll take a little side off road diversion around the south of town as well as visit the local Wildlife Conservation Society offices to see what's up with the tigers in the national protected area.

Accommodation: Guesthouse 
Ride Time : 6 - 7 hours
Meal plan:  B, L, D

Day 2:  Pathet Laos Caves Tour

We ride early from Vieng Thong and cross several small passes on our way to Xam Nua for an early lunch.  We continue on to Vieng Xai and take the afternoon full tour of the caves.  We first visit Khayson Cave, the office and residence of the Pathet Lao chief with its various rooms inside. We continue to Souphanouvong Cave also called Red Prince Cave, the office and residence of royalty and Prince Souphanouvong. Our last visit before lunch is Nouhak Cave, named for Nouhak Phoumsavang who served as Lao PDR president from 1992 to 1998.

We continue to visit Artillery Cave and Hospital Cave. The Hospital Cave is one of the deepest caves, which was used for hospital facilities. If time permits, we can visit other caves which housed weaving mills, printing press and other facilities needed by the Pathet Lao to remain self-sufficient

Vieng Xai is in a stunning setting, similar to Ha Long Bay Vietnam, Guilin China and Vang Vieng, Laos.  Opportunities for taking photos of the landscape are many today and stops are at your request!   We will overnight in Vieng Xai tonight

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Ride time : 5 hours
Walking time: 2 – 3 hours
Riding difficulty: Easy
Walking difficulty: Easy/moderate
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 3: Vieng Xai - Xam Nua

f We begin today with a visit to a few caves not covered on the official tour.  We start in the Vieng Xai town area and we'll work our way east on the main road to Vietnam.  We ride over Pha Deng  "Red Hill" and are about 5 km out of town.  Our stops on the un-opened caves are at the Cuban Hospital Cave and two hidden cave complexes near the main road. These caves are massive and quite impressive but completely empty and have nothing set up for tourists.  They offer a different insight into how large the entire hidden city of Vieng Xai is.  We'll also try to get to some points of interest related to US bombing of the area before late lunch in Vieng Xai. 

We continue with our ride and head back to Xam Nua with a few stops for photos along the way.  Once in Xam Nua, we'll get to some locations not in the guide books and sites related to the Indochina war.  

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time : 5 hours
Walking time: 2 - 3 hour
Riding difficulty: Easy, moderate mountain roads
Walking difficulty: Easy to Difficult
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 4: Xam Nua to Phonsavan

Departing early from Xam Nua, we ride to our first stop, slightly off the main road,  Hing Tang (Suan Hin), a collection of standing stones often compared to Stonehenge.  This archaeological site remains a mystery but is believed to be related to the Plain of Jars.  We are riding a bit hard on sealed roads and will break for drinks and fuel but our next scheduled stop is over 100 km down the line.  We stop at Tham Piew Cave. The cave was used by local people during the Second Indochina War as a bomb shelter but unfortunately became the site of where over 400 villages were killed in a US air strike against supposed insurgents from Vietnam.  From the cave entry is a great view of the forest and plains below with a stream and small irrigation dam at the base of the cliff completing a stunning view.

Phonsavan is our destination and we'll take the main road until about 25 km out of town and then circle around the top of town taking in a few bomb crater areas that are quite remote and still as pronounced as the day they were formed.  This is a dirt road track and we'll come into town mid to late afternoon. 

After a rest at the hotel, we take in a movie at the local MAG - Mine Advisory Group office.  We'll see either Bombies or Bomb Harvest tonight and this will give us a better insight into the ordinance dropped on Laos during the mid 60's to early 70's. Dinner locally.

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time : 6 hours
Walking time : 1 hour
Riding difficulty: Easy - moderate
Walking difficulty: Easy, some uneven terrain
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 5: Phonsavan area tour

After breakfast, we drive to Site 1 of Plain of Jars for a visit. We continue to Site 2 and hike to Site 3 (hiking is difficult in the rainy season from June to September). The sites are covering an area of around 1000 square kilometers, at an altitude of 1000 metres.  It gets its name from the hundreds of stone jars scattered across the landscape, ranging in site from 1-2.5 meters in height.  There is considerable speculation as to the origin of the jars.

The area around Phonsavan was extensively bombed and changed hands several times during the American War in Vietnam.  We tread carefully in the area.

After exploring 3 sites with interesting stories about the Indochina War, we drive to Muong Khoun for lunch. Muong Khoun was once the capital of Xieng Khoang Province. There is time to visit temples such as Wat Chom Phet and Wat That Phoun which were built the same time as That Luang in Vientiane. We can also visit some colonial building and old Lao Military Base

We then take a really off the beaten track looping back to Phonsavan with a few remote villages and some challenging terrain.  Upon arrival in Phonsavan, we continue with a visit to the local information center for a look at the war scrap and possibly a trip to the metal foundry if they are in operation.  In the evening, we'll have dinner at a different hotel and view "Long Chien - the Most Secret Place on Earth".

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time : 6 hour
Riding difficulty: Moderate – dirt roads, some challenging aspects
Walking difficulty: Easy
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 6: Phonsavan to Vieng Thong (south)

The first 40 km is a backtrack but in the early morning and we are on paved roads only for about 40 km today.  Heading south, we take a very less traveled road and will be stopped a few times by local militia and rangers.  We are on the way to Vieng Thong, south of Thathom and we'll be taking a section of the Ho Chi Minh Trail's northern line.  While this section of the trail was mostly for support in the fighting around the Phonsavan area, it is very scenic riding and sometimes challenging.  We'll be navigating several large streams depending on the time of year.  After lunch, we'll take a ride up to a local border crossing to Vietnam (time permitting). This day of the itinerary may change and our overnight stop may be Vieng Thong or Thathom depending on how we are doing on time - we are flexible and this can be a long ride day!

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Ride Time : 7 - 8 hours
Riding difficulty: Easy-moderate
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 7: Vieng Thong to Kong Lor – Boat ride on the underground river – Lak Xao

Leaving early, we ride south and continue through the beautiful karst landscape to Konglor Village. We then take boat ride on an underground river through the 7km long Konglor Cave. We’ll enjoy a picnic lunch at the mouth of the cave.

The cave is a truly one of the natural wonders of Laos. You can rest and swim in the beautiful blue lagoon at the mouth of the cave while our guides prepare you for a cave exploration upstream through the other side of this long cave.

After exploring the cave, we ride to Lak Xao for the night. Lak Xao sits 40 km from the Vietnamese border and was a very small passby for Vietnamese troops and supplies. The town is small and not much to do.  Most people retire early here, this is a sleepy little town in Laos. On our way, we will pass "Bomb Boats".  These boats are salvaged fuel cells from F-4 and F-105 fighter bombers from the war and there are hundreds of them in Laos!

Day 8: Lak Sao - Xepon

 We ride south and the first 30 km today are pretty rough.  We'll be passing the massive hydroelectic project in Laos and should make an early lunch in Gnommolath.  We turn east and get close to the Mu Gia Pass, the main entry for the Ho Chi Minh Trail's southern Laos segment.  We'll trace some of the route today over Ban Napoung, Ban Hinlap and then via Villaboury, site of the largest gold mine in Laos.  We are on the way to Xepon and should arrive late afternoon.  Based on arrival, we may take a 70 km side trip to a bombed out bridge or simply chill out in the area where Operation Lam Son 719 occurred.

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time : 6 - 8 hour
Walking time : 1 hour
Riding difficulty: Easy-moderate, difficult when raining.
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 8: Xepon

After breakfast, we depart east towards the Mu Gi border pass at Na Phao were a majority of the Vietnamese troops headed south entered Laos.  We follow a dirt road down over Bualapha, a major intersection and heavily bombed area in Laos stop for lunch.  We continue on secondary roads and cross the Xe Nou River and continue on an upgraded road past the largest gold mine in the south of Laos.  We arrive in Xepon and check into the hotel and you have time to visit the local market.  Time permitting; we’ll stop at a firebase of the Lam Son 719 Operation and also look around for local war scrap recyclers.

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Ride Time : 7-8 hours
Riding difficulty: Easy-moderate, difficult when raining.
Meal plan: B, L 

Day 9: Xepon – Ta Oi  

In the morning, we’ll depart for Ban Dong and stop at a developing Indochina War focused mostly on the Lam Son 719 Operation.  We head south and over difficult terrain – the Ho Chi Minh Trail - with a few technical challenges and arrive in Ta Oi.  We overnight in Ta Oi, deep in the Lao jungle at a simple guesthouse.

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Ride Time : 6 hours
Walking time : limited
Riding difficulty: Challenging
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 10: Ta Oi – Sekong - Attepue

Following breakfast we turn south and take a side track used mostly by loggers and arrive in Sekong for a late lunch.  This track is southern leg of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and we meet up with a smooth highway but only take it for a short time, less than 10 km and then head east again to hook up with another leg of the Trail.  We’ll pass thru Paam on our way to Attepue and take time at an abandoned SAM II missile site where the missile still sits.  We arrive in Attepue and enjoy a great dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time : 7
Walking time : limited
Riding difficulty: Moderate - Difficult
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 11:  Attapeu – Nong Fa Lake

We take a last run along the Ho Chi Minh trail to the south of Attepue for about an hour and then return up it.  This section of the trail leads into Cambodia where it becomes the Sihanouk Trail.  We return to the main highway and drive east again in the direction of Vietnam on our way to Nong Fa Lake.  We pass an old CIA listening post along the way and will check it out on our return leg.  We overnight again in Attapeu and enjoy another great meal.

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time : 7 hours
Walking time : limited
Riding difficulty: Easy - Moderate
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 12: Attapeu – Paksong - Pakse

Today we make our journey to Pakse through the Bolaven Plateau. We’ll stop at Paksong, Laos’s coffee capital. We will spend a bit of time at one of the many waterfalls along the route and weather permitting, take a dip. During the drive around Paksong, we’ll stop places marked by the Ravens and some photos from the late 60’s early 70’s to put it in perspective. On arrival in Pakse, you check into your hotel and relax.

Accommodation: Guesthouse or Hotel from out LIST
Ride Time : 4 – 5 hours
Walking time : 1 hours
Riding difficulty: Easy
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 13: Pakse Departure

After breakfast, you are free until the transfer to the airport

Meal plan: B