Classic Luang Prabang

On arrival at Luang Prabang Airport, meet your guide and transfer to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Begin your tour at Wat Xieng Thong, an exquisite 500-year-old temple, the best example of the classic Luang Prabang style. From here, make your way through small side streets to beautiful Wat Sene, known as the Temple of 100,000 Treasures. Continue walking up the peninsula, stopping at temples and other sites as you wish.

Visit the National Museum in the former Royal Palace, with exhibits from Laos’s royal past. Overlooking the palace is Phousi Mountain. It is said that those who do not climb the 328 steps up have not really arrived in the city. Venture up the hill to be rewarded with remarkable views of the city and the Mekong River.

For a late visit, we suggest the night market, where you can find a beautiful collection of hand-woven textiles and other crafts made by the hill tribes and local people of Luang Prabang.

Embark on a cruise up the Mekong River, observing daily life along the banks, to Pak Ou Caves, a mystical pilgrimage site perched high above the river. Call at Ban Xang Hai village, where rice wine is distilled.

Visit Pak Ou caves, which house thousands of Buddha statues and have been for centuries a place to worship the spirits of the river. The two caves are set into steep, vertical limestone cliffs over the river. The lower and upper caves contain more than 10,000 images of the Buddha left by pilgrims. The centuries-old wooden figures, some damaged, display various mudras and vary in size from a few centimetres to fairly large.

On the way back to Luang Prabang, stop at Ban Xang Khong village, known for hand silk-weaving and traditional Saa paper-making.

Travel south of town to Kuang Si Waterfalls. Take a leisurely hike through the national park to the waterfalls and pass by the Asian bear rescue center. Enjoy the mist from the cool, turquoise waters of the various waterfalls. You may like to have a swim.

Enjoy a morning at leisure before your transfer to Luang Prabang International Airport for your onward flight.