Day 1: Fly Vientiane – Xam Neua

We take the afternoon flight to Sam Neua. On arrival, you check into your hotel and take a short walk visiting the town.  We’ll get familiar with the motorcycles and take a short ride to get the kinks worked out.

Xam Neua, one of the country’s least visited provincial capitals of Hua Phan Province, sets against a backdrop of picturesque mountains, forested hills and rice fields.  It is a staging post for the road to Vieng Xai caves.  The original town was obliterated by US bombing but has since been reborn and is a thriving trading center for northeastern Laos.

Accommodation: Guesthouse or Hotel from out LIST
Transit: 1 hour flight/ short transfer airport

Meal plan: D

Day 2:  Pathet Laos Caves Tour

We don’t have to wait any longer to visit the Hidden Caves City. The very scenic drive toward Lao – Vietnamese border leads us to the former Pathet Lao Revolutionary headquarters with its famous hundred limestone cliffs and caves from the Indochina War.  The journey from Xam Neua is possibly one of the most picturesque in Laos, passing rice terraces, pagodas, charcoal and copper-colored karst formations, misty mountain peaks emerging from dense jungle. 

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.

After lunch, we continue to visit Soldier 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 return to Xam Neua for the second night.

We will not be able to visit LS-85 at this time.  Visitation to the site is forbidden by the Lao Military and access is restricted to very few.

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Ride time: 1 hour
Walking time: 3 – 4 hours
Riding difficulty: Easy
Walking difficulty: Easy/moderate
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 3: Xam Neua - Nam Neun - Phonsavan

Departing early from Phonsavan, 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.  Our last stop is made 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 reached by late afternoon. It is the main town of Xieng Khuang Province, surrounded by huge mountains, the highest of which is Phu Bia.  The town has a ‘wild west’ character but won’t win any beauty contests. Before checking into the hotel, we take a small side trip to a higher elevation to the north of town for a view.

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time: 6 - 7 hours
Walking time: 1 hour
Riding difficulty: Easy, moderate mountain roads
Walking difficulty: Easy
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 4: Plain of Jars Tour – Muong Khun

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

On the way back to Phonsavan, we can stop by village where local people collect scrap metals which are partly from UXO and bomb shell.  When we arrive back in Phonsavan, we stop at the Tourism office and see the extensive collection of UXO’s and war items.  If possible, we’ll take time tonight to view a short movie in the MAG office. 

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Ride Time: 2 hours
Walking time: 3 hours
Riding difficulty: Easy
Walking difficulty: Easy, some uneven terrain
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 5: Phonsavan – Thathom – Paksan

An early departure will be needed. The tough road is taking us through remote and forested areas where villagers still live with very minor impact by modernization. The entire area is inhabited by Hmong ethnic minority. There are several river crossings with no bridges and are sometimes difficult in wet season – or impassable.

We’ll have a simple lunch in Thathom. Thathom locates at the mid point between Phonsavan and Paksan via dirt road No 10. This remote village has never been an attraction on a tourist map. That’s why we are here! It’s a rugged drive and when we meet paved road at Paksan, we stop for the night.  We come close to several former LS sites and try, conditions permitting to visit one.  Our arrival in Paksan takes us to the end of the day and we’ll enjoy a drink along the Mekong before checking into our hotel for the night.

Accommodation: Hotel
Ride Time: 7 hour
Riding difficulty: Moderate – dirt roads, some challenging aspects but few of them.
Walking difficulty: Easy
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 6: Paksan – Na Hin – Kong Lor – Boat ride on the underground river – Na Hin

Leaving early, we ride highway for about 150 KM to Na Hin and then continue through the beautiful karst landscape to Konglor Village, and 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 return to Na Hin for the night. Ban Na Hin sits in lush valley surrounded by tall karst peaks. The town is small and not much to do.  Most people retire early here, this is a sleepy little town in Laos.

Accommodation: Guesthouse
Ride Time: 5 hours,  2 hours long tail boat
Walking time: 1 hour
Riding difficulty: Easy-moderate
Meal plan: B, L, D

Day 7: Na Hin – Lak Sao - Gnommalath – Tha Khek

We first ride toward Lak Sao where a section of the Ho Chi Minh Trail enters Laos. You can spend some time visiting the market. On the way, you’ll also see the bomb boat (boat made out of the external fuel tanks of American aircraft). The ride is on and off the trail taking though dense jungle.  A massive hydro electric project is underway and we’ll stop along several times to view the construction. We will visit a remote Buddha Cave before we arrive in Thakhek. We deserve a cold dink over sunset on the Mekong! On arrival in Thakhek, you check into your hotel and take a little walk the surviving Franco-Chinese architecture around the fountain.

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

Day 8: Tha Khek – Bualapha - 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