| 15
Days Through a Huge Cave
and S.E. Asia’s Biggest Waterfall
| Days: |
15 |
| Location: |
Laos |
| Activities: |
Kayaking (Class 2), hiking, cave exploration,
cycling |
BRIEFLY
We’ll paddle through one of Asia’s most amazing landscapes:
the limestone karsts of the Khammoune Range whose grotesque shapes
resemble a Lord of the Rings fantasy. After trekking a remote valley,
we’ll paddle through a 7.5-km. (four mile) long cave. Farther
downstream, we’ll hike through another cave to explore a lost
city. We; then move into the 4,000 Islands of southern Laos, spending
many days paddling in and around Southeast Asia’s largest
waterfalls, through a flooded forest, and watching dolphins feed
near the Cambodian border. We finish at the ancient Angkorian temple
of Wat Phou. This is the trip Outside Magazine called “one
of 48 trips of a lifetime”.
ITINERARY
Day 1
Fly on your own to the old royal Lao capital of Luang Prabang,
exploring this UNESCO World Heritage City on the edge of the Mekong
River, and then we’ll meet for dinner.
Day 2
After observing Laos present rice to Buddhist monks, we’ll
discover the treasures of this ancient town. After lunch, we fly
to Vientiane, the nation’s capital and spend the afternoon
wandering its backstreets.
Day 3
We spend the morning looking at the market and the city’s
landmark temples. After lunch, we begin driving south along the
Mekong and entering the Khammoune Range. We’ll take a rainforest
walk to look at unique flora and swim in a waterfall.
Day 4
We drive and ride to the hidden village, spending the afternoon
trekking towards a waterfalls on the valley wall.
Day 5
We paddle through the cave with headlamps as our only illumination,
exploring a cavernous side room. We then paddle to a lodge for
the night.
Day 6
We spend the day paddling through a beautiful valley filled with
farmhouses. We’ll talk with farmers and fishermen and, after
bathing in the river, have a village dinner and spend the night
in a farm house.
Day 7
We paddle all day to a sandy beach in a gorge hemmed by sheer-sided
walls 700 ft high, the scenic highlight of the Hinboun River.
Camp and a campfire on the beach.
Day 8
A morning of quiet paddling takes us to a new village which we
use as our base for wading through a cave to a mysterious old
city abandoned by its inhabitants.
Day 9
More kayaking through a lovely farming region, ending the day
on a secluded beach where we camp.
Day 10
Long-tailed boats move us downriver to Highway 13. We then drive
south, arriving in Pakse where we’ll spend the night in
the former Prince of Champasak’s palace.
Day 11
Drive downriver to the put-in and paddle to a riverside Buddhist
monastery and from there to the rafthouses on an island in the
4,000 Islands.
Day 12
After visiting a school, we hike to the put-in below Liphi Falls
and head into the Flooded Forest where we’ll have a picnic
on a quiet beach. As the afternoon is beginning to wane, we paddle
into an area near the Cambodian border where the Mekong broadens.
This is the feeding area for Irrawaddy dolphins. After observing
them, we paddle to a village homestay to spend the night.
Day 13
We visit a small old monastery, then walk up the old French railway
line, back to our rafthouses. In the afternoon, we bicycle up
an adjacent island and then float down the Mekong on innertubes.
Time permitting, a local fisherman will teach us how to cast fishing
nets in perfect circles.
Day 14
In easily the most exciting portion of the river, we paddle to
the head of the Khone Prapheng Falls, Southeast Asia’s largest.
We’ll then move below the falls to ride the whirlpools to
the Cambodian border. We then drive north to catch a quirky old
ferry across the Mekong to the old kingdom of Champasak.
Day 15
Up at dawn to climb to Wat Phou, a 7th century Angkorian temple
which may once have practiced human sacrifices. After a tour of
a jewel of a museum, we re-cross the Mekong to Pakse. Those remaining
in Laos leave us here. Those returning to Bangkok ride with us
to the Thai border, cross to Ubon, and ride to the Ubon airport.
For more information and prices, e-mail +662 653 9712 and +6681 450 5340
noting your country of departure. |
