Walking in Northern Laos: Nong Khiaw

Northern Laos is our favourite three days in the country and it is the part that nobody plans for, because Luang Prabang absorbs the attention and the map makes the north look like a detour. It is a detour of about 87 miles (140 km) from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw, three and a half to four hours by

This is the honest version of walking in northern Laos: what each route actually involves, when it works, and the one safety rule that is not optional.

What the walking here is, and is not

It is not high-altitude trekking. Nong Khiaw sits at around 1,000 feet (300 m) and the viewpoints above it top out around 3,000 feet (900 m). There is no altitude issue, no technical ground and no glaciers.

What there is instead: heat, humidity, gradient and mud. The climbs are short and relentless, cut straight up the ridge with almost no switchbacks, on ground that is loose dust in February and slick clay in August. Most people find them harder than the numbers suggest and it is worth knowing that in advance rather than halfway up.

If you are comparing this against other Asian walking, we have set the region out side by side in trekking in Asia compared. The short version is that northern Laos is at the easy end for altitude and the moderate end for effort, and it is the best of the lot for having the trail to yourself.

The four walks worth planning around

Pha Daeng Peak viewpoint, Nong Khiaw

Time: two and a half to three and a half hours return. Ascent: roughly 1,600 feet (490 m). Difficulty: hard for the distance, straightforward for the terrain.

The classic. A dirt path up through scrub and bamboo, with three false summits and a set of viewing platforms on the ridge looking down at the river bending between the towers. The gradient is unrelenting and there is very little shade in the middle section.

Go at first light, at around six. In the dry season the valley holds mist below the ridge until eight or nine and you are above it. In the middle of the day in March or April it is unpleasant and there is nothing to see through the haze.

There is an entrance fee, collected at the trailhead in cash. It has changed several times in recent years, so treat any published figure as guidance and carry small notes.

The Sleeping Woman viewpoint, Nong Khiaw

Time: two to three hours return. Ascent: roughly 1,300 feet (400 m). Difficulty: moderate to hard.

The newer of the two main climbs, on the opposite side, with a different angle on the same valley and usually fewer people. Some sections use bamboo ladders and fixed rope on rock steps. Not exposed, but not for anyone who dislikes using their hands.

Muang Ngoi and the village walks

Time: two to five hours, flat. Difficulty: easy.

Muang Ngoi is an hour upriver from Nong Khiaw by boat and has no road. From the village a track runs inland through rice fields and karst to Ban Na and Ban Huay Bo, small Khmu and Lao villages where you can eat lunch, and the walking is essentially level. In the wet season it is mud to the ankle and gaiters or a willingness to be dirty are required.

This is the day we recommend most often, because it is the one where the walking is a way of being somewhere rather than an achievement.

Multi-day village-to-village, out of Luang Namtha or Muang Ngoi

Time: two to three days. Difficulty: moderate.

The Nam Ha protected area around Luang Namtha, further north and west, runs community-based treks with village homestays, and they are the real thing: two days of forest and hill tracks, a night on a mattress on a floor in a Khmu or Akha village, food cooked by the family, no electricity for part of the evening.

Two honest notes. The accommodation is basic in a way that some travellers find wonderful and some find a night too long, and we will ask which you are before booking it. And the quality of these treks depends entirely on the guide, which is where a ground team earns its fee: we use two operators we know rather than whoever is selling from a shopfront.

The season, which decides most of it

November to February. The window. Dry ground, clear air, cool mornings, and views that actually exist. Luang Prabang in December runs to highs around 82F (28C) and lows near 57F (14C), and it is colder again in the hills at dawn. Bring a fleece for the six o’clock start. Most people do not.

March and April. We usually argue against walking in the north in these months. Agricultural burning across northern Laos, northern Thailand and Myanmar produces a persistent haze that can sit over the region for weeks, and in a bad year the view from the top of a two-hour climb is a grey wall and the air is genuinely poor to exercise in. It varies year to year and it is not predictable more than a fortnight out. The full calendar is in Laos month by month.

May to October. Green, spectacular and slippery. Waterfalls at full volume, leeches on the forest sections, tracks that turn to clay, and roads in the north that become difficult or impassable. Walking is still possible and the villages are at their most beautiful. It requires slack in the schedule and an acceptance that a day may be lost.

The rule that is not optional

Stay on marked paths and on cleared ground.

Between 1964 and 1973 Laos was bombed more heavily per head of population than any country in history. More than two million tons of ordnance were dropped and a significant proportion failed to detonate. In Houaphanh and Xieng Khouang, which are the northern provinces most affected, and in Savannakhet, Salavan, Sekong, Attapeu and Khammouane further south, unexploded ordnance is still in the ground.

The established trails, the villages and the fields in daily use are safe and walked every day by the people who live there. What is not safe is leaving the path because a slope looks interesting, walking into an old crater, or picking up metal. If you see a clearance marker, the white side is cleared and the red side is not. Walk on the white side.

This is not a reason to stay off the hills. It is a reason to walk with a local guide who knows which ground is which, which is what we do on every walking day here, and to accept that the shortcut across the field is not yours to take.

Practicalities

Guides. $30 to $50 a day for a local walking guide, more with a village homestay arranged. We use guides on every walking day in the north, and not because the navigation is difficult.

Footwear. Trail shoes with real grip in the dry season. Boots with ankle support in the wet, plus a willingness to ruin them.

Water. Two litres per person for a viewpoint climb. There is nothing to buy on the way up.

Leeches. Present in the wet season on the forest sections. Long socks, and salt or the flick of a fingernail. They are unpleasant and they are harmless.

Accommodation. Simple. River bungalows at Nong Khiaw for $30 to $70, a handful of better lodges at $110 to $180, and homestays in the villages. Intermittent hot water and occasional power cuts are normal. Bring a battery pack.

Cash. There is a cash machine in Nong Khiaw and it is not reliable. Bring what you need from Luang Prabang.

How many days. Three nights in Nong Khiaw is the number: one climb, one village day by boat, one day free. It fits the twelve-day adventurous route and it fits a fourteen-day trip comfortably, as we set out in the best two-week route through Laos.

What we would not do

A day trip from Luang Prabang. Seven or eight hours of driving for two hours in Nong Khiaw. People ask, and we say no.

Both viewpoint climbs on consecutive days. They are similar enough that the second one is a duty rather than a pleasure. Do one, and spend the other day on the river.

The old Nam Ou multi-day boat journey to Muang Khua. Dams on the river have interrupted the route and older guidebooks still describe a trip that no longer works as written. Short local legs still run and they are good.

A trek sold on the street the night before. In this part of the country the guide is the trip.

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Frequently asked questions

How fit do you need to be?

For the viewpoint climbs, reasonably. If you can climb the equivalent of a hundred flights of stairs in the heat with rests, you will get up. For the village walks, no particular fitness at all.

Are the walks safe for children?

The village walks from Muang Ngoi, yes, and children usually enjoy the boat more than the walking. The viewpoint climbs are steep with drop-offs at the platforms and we would put an age of about ten on them.

Is there anything at altitude in Laos?

Not meaningfully. The highest point in the country is Phou Bia at about 9,240 feet (2,820 m) and it is closed to visitors. If you want altitude in Asia, that is Nepal, Bhutan or Kyrgyzstan.

Can we walk without a guide?

The two viewpoint climbs at Nong Khiaw are signed and busy enough to do alone. Anything that leaves the marked route, and anything in the villages, we would not do without a local guide, for the reason above.

When is the mud worst?

August and September. It is also when the country is at its most beautiful, which is the trade. —

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Walking in northern Laos: the climbs, the villages and the river