It is true that an international airport and an increasing number of glowing reviews of the jewel that is Luang Prabang no longer classify Northern Laos as ‘undiscovered’, but there are still plenty of reasons to venture outside its magnificent capital to explore less visited places – they surely will be the true highlights of your trip.

An easy day trip out of Luang Prabang and a must on many visitors list is Kuang Si Waterfalls. Located about 30km south of the city, you’ll enjoy a scenic ride passing through rice fields and cute villages on the way before witnessing the natural marvel of the falls in all their turquoise splendor.

You can hike all the way to the top to see the source, a 50m waterfall tumbling down from the jungle and feeding a series of stunning cascades and pools in which you can swim and just enjoy the refreshingly cool water. Nature’s very own infinity pools…

Very popular with both tourists and locals who come here with their family and a picnic, it’s the ideal place to escape the heat and cool off for the afternoon. The shade provided by the surrounding lush tropical jungle cools off the water of the swimming holes nicely.

Before leaving, you can also visit the Asiatic Black Bear rescue centre at the entrance of the park which houses a few animals rescued from poachers and traffickers.

For true adventure travel though, you’ll want to head north to experience what I consider some of the best ‘off the beaten path’ locations in Southeast Asia. The north of Laos receives far fewer visitors than its neighbors so you’ll get the incredible mountain scenery and remote hill tribe villages practically all to yourself.

A 3 hours ride from Luang Prabang (don’t worry, there’s plenty to see en route!) will bring you to Nong Kiau (or Nong Khiaw), a small town on the banks of the Nam Ou river which is as much a destination in itself as a stepping stone to a more in-depth journey further north.

The town straddles the river with the bus station, tour companies, and boats on the western side and a handful of guesthouses and restaurants on the eastern side. The bridge is at the center of life here and doubles as one of the best vantage point for taking shots of the most picturesque river views you’re likely to see…

… definitely one of the most scenic spot in northern Laos (looking north).

And looking south…

Once you’re here, there are really only two possibilities to fill up your days: go trekking through the untouched forests and minority villages, or relax on the river. For the latter, you couldn’t pick a better spot than Nong Kiau Riverside Ecolodge which stretches over 300 meters along the river.

The 15 large bungalows are comfortably laid out with 4 poster beds, mosquito nets,…

…and most importantly a huge balcony looking out over the coffee colored waters and stunning jagged limestone mountains – magnificent.

You’ll want as I did to simply absorb the tranquil and remarkable scenery, soaking up every sunrise and sunset, never tiring of the views and chilled atmosphere of what remains one of the most laid back places in Laos.

If you itch for a bit of activity though, there is plenty to do whether you want to borrow a bike and go explore some famous caves, go tubing down the river, or simply take one of the trails near the resort for a morning walk after a hot Lao tea.

The gentle hike will have you walk past isolated farms and remote villages all with the gorgeous backdrop of the river and imposing mountains.

Keep your eyes open for butterflies as they are incredibly numerous and quite stunning around here.

rA journey to northern Laos wouldn’t be complete without stepping in a boat which is often the only way to get around. The Nam Ou river offers some of the most breathtaking panoramas in the country and a real insight into the lives of the local tribes established on its shores.

Heading north of Nong Kiau

Water buffalos can be seen bathing all along the river.

Stopping at a village en route, I was able to witness a bit of the local life.

The Khmu tribe is one of the largest minority ethnic groups in Northern Laos.

Traditional bamboo basket weaving is one of the tribe’s craft specialty.

Late afternoon, I partake in a favorite ritual in Laos – drinking homemade Lao Lao with a local family while chatting up the village gossips (they were talking, I couldn’t understand!). Lao Lao is the local rice whiskey, one of the cheapest alcohol in the world and, at over 40% alcohol content, a quick way to feel comfortable and engage with the locals…

Back in the boat, we continued gliding amidst the ever so pleasant vistas for a while… has to be one of my favorite commutes in all my past travels.

The next stop, and the end of my Northern Laos journey, is the gorgeous and sleepy riverside village of Muang Ngoi. A true hideaway, the ‘no wifi’ zone has only a few hours of electricity in the evenings and hammocks on almost every guesthouses balcony so you can practice what you should really be doing here: chilling out. Without any cars or motorbikes, the silence is shocking at first but deeply gratifying afterwards.

Tell your family and friends you’ll be incommunicado for a few days and spend the days swinging and appreciating the most spectacular stretches of the Nam Ou river on either side of the village.

Village children spend their days splashing in the water and will be more than happy to include you in their games. The people of Laos are in general really friendly but those of Muang Ngoi win hands down. They are accustomed to hosting backpackers, of which you’ll surely meet a few,  and eager to practice their English over a Beerlao.

The only street, or path, is a 500m long dirt road linking the monastery towards a dramatic craggy green limestone mountain towering above.

While I unfortunately had to take the river back down towards Luang Prabang, more adventures await to the North in one of the last frontiers of true adventure travel in Asia. The roads may be rough and the rivers slow but I can’t think of a more wonderfully relaxed, friendly, and easy to get around part of the world.

Lao cuisine isn’t as well-known as those of neighboring Thailand and Vietnam and though it does share some tiny similarities, it’s a very distinct way of cooking and mixing flavors that I found totally refreshing.

The freshness of the ingredients is very important to Laotians who prepare everything from scratch. They eat a great deal of vegetables and herbs which appear in almost every meal, with a preference for bitter and herbal flavors, and almost everything in Laos is eaten with sticky rice which they crush into a ball with their fingers and use like a sponge to soak up sauces.

Grilled or steamed meat or fish round out the meal, with the addition of spices, fish sauce and chilli. The Lao diet is almost completely lacking in processed foods which result in wonderfully fresh flavors and dishes that are low in fat.

The only ‘non-fresh’ ingredients you’re likely to find at any market are the snacks and sweets Laotians are so fond of. They include fried buffalo skin, banana chips, fried river weeds (only in Luang Prabang), all kinds of jerky, fried little coconut flour donuts, etc.

Just like in any Southeast Asian country, street food stalls are everywhere in Luang Prabang serving delicious noodle soups, spring rolls, grilled meat, etc. for merely nothing and a stop at the food alley from the night market (seen above) is a must. Backpackers and tourists are also filling up the outdoor tables near the National Museum where a myriad of fruit stands sell fresh juices, smoothies, and sandwiches to the expat crowd.

Besides streets stalls, Luang Prabang as an equally impressive number of excellent restaurants. I ate a lot of my breakfasts at my hotel, The Apsara, which has a fantastic restaurant mixing Laotian and French cuisine. Being an old French colony, the baguette is a staple at breakfast time and most restaurants and hotels will serve it toasted with butter and locally made jams.

My favorite breakfast though was the Lao porridge, a comforting rice porridge in chicken broth with a heap of fresh herbs, fried garlic, and spices – perfect healthy and filling morning kick.

Similarly soothing, the chicken noodle soup is another breakfast staple.

If there’s one restaurant though you must absolutely visit in Luang Prabang, it’s the famous Tamarind. Luckily for me it sat right next to my hotel on the banks of the Nam Khan river so I had the pleasure of visiting it multiple times. Tamarind is all about promoting greater understanding of Laotian culture and food and has become an institution for tasty traditional Lao food and its top-rank cooking school.

The way to go here is to order the tasting menu which will introduce you to the majority of the Lao cuisine staples.

It starts with a bamboo and vegetable soup.

Then moves on with the Lao snacks (to the right) which include: dried river weeds ‘chips’ which you eat with Jeow Bong (a spicy sweet chilli paste mixed with buffalo skin), a mild tomato salsa, a smoky eggplant dip, sweet and dried buffalo meat jerky, and Luang Prabang pork sausages. You’ll obviously get sticky rice, served in its own little woven basket to keep it warm. The other platter contains stir fried young pumpkin with kaffir lime and ginger (one of my faves)…

…lemongrass stuffed with chicken…

…and herbed fish steamed in banana leaf.

The tasting menu concludes with an amazing purple sticky rice dessert in coconut milk with tamarind sauce and some sweet fried concoctions to the side.

During subsequent visits, I tried many other dishes included this shrimp dipping sauce served with fresh vegetables and steamed noodles.

Laap, the national dish of pounded meats and herbs, is a favorite. The finely chopped meat or fish is mixed with spices, broth, and uncooked rice grains that have been dry fried and crushed. It tastes incredibly fresh and is perfect for Laos sweltering days (temperature hovered around 44ºC the whole time I was there!!). Tamarind serves a traditional buffalo laap, pictured below, which you can order with tripes as I did for a truly authentic taste.

Nearby there’s another excellent restaurant also focused on traditional Lao cuisine – Tamnak Lao. Housed in a beautiful French colonial home, it’s a quieter place to enjoy a few more Lao dishes such as fried eggplant with minced pork.

Their chicken laap was exquisite.

It would be impossible to walk around Luang Prabang without noticing the French influence of this former colony, which graced the town with magnificent mansions and adorable cafes and restaurants. A favorite of mine, Le Banneton, was the perfect place to linger over a cup of coffee, watching the monks go by as it faces one of the nicest temples in the city.

It is also where you’ll find the best croissants, baguettes, and viennoiseries, ready to be eaten warm in the morning or taken on your daily excursions.

On the higher end, L’Elephant Restaurant is considered to be the best dining in town. Run by French expats, the open-air colonial room with rattan chairs and twirling fans is as retro-chic as it gets. With a blend of French and Laotian cooking, you can indulge in local Mekong fish stew or coq au vin as just about anything here is extremely good.

Cold Ratatouille with Mushrooms and a Bouquet of Young Mixed Leaves

Three medallions of Buffalo grilled with Fresh Thyme served with Pumpkin cooked in the English style and Parsley Steamed Potatoes

Tart Tatin with three fruits (mango, pineapple, apple) and a little pot of cream

For something quite different, super healthy, and decidedly original in these parts, you have to try their sister restaurant next door – L’Elephant Vert.

One of the first ethno botanical “living” cuisine restaurant in Southeast Asia, L’Elephant Vert focuses on the locally grown organic produce to offer a raw and vegetarian experience well worth trying.

I went with one of their set vegan menus – 5 courses with a drink which really fills you up though you’re left feeling incredibly healthy…

Bee Blast Elixir with Hibiscus iced tea

Lao Market Greens Soup

Mixed Mushroom and Peanut Tarts with Honey and Lemongrass Dressing

Seasonal Vegetable Rolls on Shredded Greens…

…with 3 dipping sauces: Sesame & Cashew, Green, and Baby Aubergine

Pineapple Carpaccio with Rosella Sorbet, Lime Zest, and Thai Basil Sprinkle

Laos produces world class coffee which can be sampled anywhere in the city, but nothing beats sipping it on a terrace overlooking the Mekong river like at Saffron Coffee. Their special Arabica coffee is grown right in the mountains surrounding Luang Prabang so you can’t find anything more local than this.

Lao coffee is rich and strong and most Laotians would never drink it black – instead, they mix it with powdered milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk for a thick, sweet and delicious concoction ready to perk up any weary traveler. Mulberry tea, here served iced, is also a popular and supposedly extremely healthy thirst quencher.

Fresh coconuts are widely available and a favorite drink of locals, young and old…

Walking around will yield many a food sight as Laotians prepare a lot of their dishes and ingredients outside. Here some rice cakes are drying in the sun.

Lao sausages drying in front of a deli are usually made of pork, seasoned with herbs such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, cilantro, galangal and flavoured with fish sauce. Beef strips are left to dry in sunlight too, then deep fried until lightly crispy for the Lao version of beef jerky. Both sausages and jerky are popular snacks and go down extremely well with a cold Beerlao.

Women selling vegetables by the roadside

The best place to witness Lao food in all its diversity and freshness is at the morning market which spills onto a web of alleys every morning from sunrise until about noon.

Many of the vendors live in the forests, hills, and along the rivers around Luang Prabang, and they bring whatever they have gathered the days before, as small as it may be.

Local herbs, greens, and mushrooms will likely find themselves in a salad at a few of the city’s restaurants tonight.

These cones made from banana leaves and marigolds are offerings for the Buddhists.

Bunches of lychees

Close-up of lychees

Snails

Beetles

Ant eggs are a delicacy in Laos and are used in soups and curries,

Fresh river fish

Bushmeat butchering

The butcher section is ready to cut anything to order and offers various offal and blood for sale

Pink eggs, or ‘Century eggs’, are black inside and the result of a Chinese preservation method – coated with a paste of clay, tea, quicklime, salt and wood ashes, they’re put in a jar and filled with rice chaff for 3 months!

If you get hungry while browsing there’s plenty of BBQ stands

But as it’s still early, I would opt for the fresh noodles that are made right in front of your eyes near the end of the market…

…they’ll fill you just enough until lunch where you’ll  inevitably have another family style Lao feast!

The ancient town of Luang Prabang in northern Laos has to be among the most atmospheric destinations in the region. Strikingly situated on a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, Laos’s spiritual capital forms a unique and most enchanting picture postcard increasingly difficult to find in Southeast Asia.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, the city beautifully blends colonial mansions built by the Europeans in the 19th and 20th century, traditional timber houses, and Theravada Buddhist temples.

With all the charm of a quaint European town mixed with the exotic and woodsy spice of Asia, the popular pastime here is simply lounging in a quiet cafe with a baguette and coffee and watching local life pass by.

The tranquil Nam Khan river is lined with quaint boutique hotels and restaurants where you can just sit for hours and take in the views of the mountain range and kids playing in the water.

Utopia is a bar/cafe offering one of the best spots to relax, read a book and contemplate life…

Strolling the old city streets, you’ll get to marvel at all the glistening temples that dot almost every corners (there are apparently over 33 of them in the city).

This former Royal capital still remains the main centre for Buddhist learning in Laos and is the perfect location for spiritual contemplation. You can hardly take a few steps without catching a glimpse of vivid orange from the monks robes, casually strolling around town.

The most magical moment though, and one no visitors should ever miss, is getting up at the crack of dawn to witness over 200 Buddhist monks walking through town in single file to gather their daily meal.

Luang Prabang is the perfect place to see this most sacred Lao traditions, the Buddhist Alms Giving Ceremony, also called Tak Bat.

A tradition dating back to the 14th century, alms giving today still is very much the same with locals waking early to prepare the food for the monks (usually sticky rice, fruit or simple traditional snacks) and waiting quietly by the roadside to give their gifts.

Young monks in training are differentiated by their yellow or light orange sash around their waist. They can start as early as 10 years old.

This daily ceremony is very peaceful and spiritual and gives you a wonderful opportunity to experience an ancient Lao tradition.

The monks will then retreat to their respective temples and I found it the ideal time to wander around the quiet town (the ceremony usually ends around 6am) while the sun and accompanying stifling heat were still at bay.

Wat Sensoukharam on the main road, also known as Wat Sene, was one of my favorites with deep maroon walls lacquered in gold, and it was right behind my hotel The Apsara.

Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, on quieter Kounxoau Road, has one of the most dazzlingly beautiful colored roofs, in the Thai style.

Wat Xieng Thong (or Temple of the Golden City) is one of the most interesting examples of Buddhist art and architecture in Luang Prabang and one of the most important temples in Laos.

Built around 1560, this temple was used for the the most important Royal ceremonies and houses the bones of King Sisavangvong.

There are a few other beautiful buildings in the temple grounds you can visit.

One of them holds the ornate carved and gilded funeral vehicle of the former king inside.

During the 1960s, the main temple was completely redecorated into the splendor it is today. Both the interior and the exterior walls were covered with black, glossy lacquer and decorated with figures and symbols in gold leaf.

Colored glass mosaics were used to vividly depict scenes from the royal life.

Another sumptuous monastery, Wat Mai, is fairly ‘new’, having been rebuilt in 1821.

The unusually roofed front verandah features detailed golden reliefs depicting scenes from village life, the Ramayana and Buddha’s penultimate birth.

The large and majestic red interior with a multitude of gilded Buddha statues at the altar and the large Buddha provide evidence of the religious, aesthetic and architectural importance of Wat Mai.

Right next to Wat Mai lay the Royal Palace and its Wat Ho Pha Bang (which translates to “Royal temple”).

The soaring, multi-roofed temple was designed to house the Pha Bang Buddha, Laos’ most sacred Buddha image.

Only recently completed (2006), the very ornate structure with extensive glass and gold decorations is a sight to behold.

Locals and monks come to pray to the Buddha image located inside on a shrine.

The Royal Palace sits in the middle of the gardens, perfectly framed by an avenue of tall palm trees. It now houses the National Museum where one can see various royal religions objects, gifts from foreign envoys, cultural artifacts, as well as the former royal family’s decidedly sober residential quarters.

Street musician

One last temple here is famous more for its location than its looks, sitting atop Mount Phousi smack in the center of town. You’ll have to climb 328 zigzag steps to reach the top and your reward…

The climb is interspersed with small shrines and statues.

Once you reach the summit you get the most amazing 360 panoramic view of the whole town.

Crowds of tourists gather here to watch the sunset, any other time of day the ‘Holy Mountain’ is pretty quiet and you’re likely to have it all to yourself.

Walking down, it’s better to take the stairs at the back as they will lead you directly to the night market now in full swing by the Royal Palace.

The nightly event takes place between 17:00 and 23:00, running along Sisavangvong Road to the town centre.

The hill-tribe traders setup here to sell ethnic handicrafts and trinkets, bed covers, embroidered bags and purses, opium pipes, paper lanterns, silk scarves, jewelry made out of bombs, etc.

Stay tuned for my next blog post on the food of Luang Prabang!!