This three day tour shows you the mighty Mekong, one of the longest rivers in the world, where a huge un-surmountable rock wall blocks the waterway and making the river impassable for ships. We explore the Bolaven Plateau, believed to be an extinct volcano, with stunning nature around. The fertile grounds have attracted over the centuries people of different origin. The area is therefore a melting pot for ethnic minorities and you will visit some of their villages. The coffee of the plateau received recognition from all over the world. Ride an elephant to have an overview of the Xepian Protected Area and its wetlands and watch the rare Irrawaddy dolphin.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Pakse - Bolaven Plateau - Champasak
After departure at 8:30 a.m. from the Green Discovery Laos office in Pakse we drive up to the Bolaven Plateau and make our way to Tad Phaseuam waterfall. Here we enjoy an easy trek to nearby villages of ethnic minorities villages like Laven, Alak, Taoy and others. Then we continue to Tad Lo waterfall where we stop for lunch. After lunch we drive up to Ban Thatang through banana and coffee plantations and have a stop-over in Ban Ka Toth village to visit a coffee fair trade farmers’ co-op. We observe the processing of the coffee beans from planting to roasting to the final product in your cup. Then we stop at the amazing 120-meter Tad Fan waterfall. After a short rest here, we head south to Champassak town, where we will stay overnight.
Approximately: 5½ hours drive / 2 hours walking
Accommodation: Inthira Champhanakhone Hotel
Transportation: Minivan
Meals: L, D
Day 2:
Early in the morning at sunrise we visit the Khmer temple ruins and World Heritage Site ‘Wat Phou’, before going back to the guesthouse for breakfast. Thereafter we will enjoy a ride by long-tail boat downstream on the Mekong to see the wonderful scenery of Si Pan Done, the famous 4000 Islands. On the way we may encounter numerous water birds such as kingfisher and green shanks, plovers or thick-knees. The beautiful tour will take us several hours before we reach Don Khone island. We will stay overnight there.
Accommodation: Sala Done Khone
Transportation: Minivan / boat
Meals: B, L, D
Day 3:
After breakfast we will start an excursion by walking or cycling around the island to visit the old colonial French bridge and the gorgeous Phili (or Somphamit) waterfall. We then embark on a boat for a 20 minutes ride to the dolphin area right at the Lao-Cambodian border. This is one of the last though threatened sanctuaries in the world of the almost extinct Irrawaddy Dolphin. We will spend about an hour for trying to spot and photograph these extremely rare and endangered freshwater mammals.
After another boat ride we reach Veun Kham at the Lao-Cambodian border, where our van will wait for us to take us to Khone Phapheng, the breathtaking and biggest waterfall in South-East Asia. We will have our lunch here. Next we drive to Ban Kiet Ngong for an elephant trek to the ancient Phou Asa temple on top of a huge cliff. From there we have wonderful far-reaching views over the Xepian National Protected Area, which is well-know for its extensive wetlands and diversity of water birds. In the late afternoon we will return to Pakse.
