We would like to thank our friend Zaški for this article. World travelers have long been trying to persuade me to write an article about my travels. Honestly, I have never been into writing articles, but I figured it had to come at some point and decided to give it a shot. So, consider this article as my debut.
I decided to write about a specific place in Laos, the highland Bolaven Plateau, which most travelers skip or may never even venture into this country.
The idea to explore these parts came up back in 2015 when I was traveling in Asia for the first time. I was in Laos, but I heard about this area from a backpacker. Supposedly, there is a region that is perfect for a motorbike road trip, full of waterfalls and beautiful nature. However, at that time, the trip to these places was not a priority, and I went straight from the city of Vientiane to the 1000 Islands (a 12-hour night bus ride, phew). Currently, I am living in Vietnam, so I thought I could give it a try via Laos on my way back home.The whole planning went like this: I told my Laotian friend Panoy, who is studying in Vietnam, that I could come to visit her for a few days during the summer holidays. Since she was home at that time, we could go on this road trip. The plan was to buy a plane ticket and go sometime during the summer. Preparations? There were probably none 😀
Day 1
There are two possible ways to drive around the Bolaven Plateau. The small loop and the big loop. The small loop takes two days and you can see beautiful waterfalls along the way. The big loop takes approximately 3-4 days, but it will take you to places where tourists usually don’t wander. You can see real life there (such as unexploded ordnance from the Vietnam War dropped by Americans). We decided to take the longer route since we had enough time.
Day 2
The first goal was clear: to see the waterfall. We completed the initial preparations, had breakfast, refueled, and hit the road. After about two hours, we arrived at Tad Fan waterfall. I dare say I have never seen anything more breathtaking!
Thanks to ziplining, we had an incredible view over the valley – something we couldn’t miss out on 🙂
This great experience took up most of our day, so the plan for the afternoon was clear – find accommodation in Paxong. We succeeded and, besides that, we managed to see a few more waterfalls.
In the evening, we were completely exhausted and went to bed.
Although Laos has a tropical climate, Paxong is located at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level, so it can get quite cold in the evening. Therefore, we enjoyed our beer outside wearing sweaters.
Day 3
As the whole plateau is perfect for coffee cultivation, our first stop was near a coffee plantation and morning coffee.
Since we visited this area in August, right in the middle of the rainy season, we equipped ourselves with raincoats for the next part of the journey.On this day, we wanted to cover as much ground as possible and at least reach the Tad Katamtok waterfall. Luckily, the weather was favorable in the morning, so by around 11 o’clock we were already at the starting point for a two-hour descent into the canyon towards the waterfall. Since it had been raining quite a bit in the past few days, the path was very entertaining and especially muddy. However, it was all worth it in the end as we found ourselves right at the heart of the waterfall. The funniest part was that we had a dog guide with us the whole time, waiting at every jungle turn to show us the right way. It would have taken us much longer without him.
In the afternoon, a storm was brewing, so we hit the gas to at least reach Seong, a small provincial town with a cozy guesthouse, where we could hide from the rain for the evening.
Day 4
The sun was already shining brightly in the morning, so right after breakfast and coffee (once again, directly on the plantation), we set out on our journey. We walked until lunchtime when hunger and a storm stopped us. Luckily, we found ourselves in the village of Panoy, at a family-run local restaurant, where it was no problem to explain that we wanted to eat.
We wanted to visit another waterfall that was supposed to be completely off the beaten path. Everyone along the way tried to dissuade us, saying it wasn’t safe. However, it was our last day. We knew that if nothing happened, we would return to Pakse that day, so we took the risk. We had to turn off the main road and go through muddy, flooded, dirt roads. It was an experience. Eventually, the water was so deep that we had to leave the motorcycles parked and continue on foot.
The local Laotians are very hospitable, and before long, we found ourselves being given a ride on a tractor.
This waterfall was a disappointment, as despite following the locals’ instructions, we didn’t manage to find it. Since we needed to get back to the town in the afternoon, we gave up and turned back.
The last day is usually the best, and this time was no exception. In the final section, I slipped in the mud and ended up rolling around in it with my bike. Well, at least there were some experiences 🙂
In the evening, we arrived back in Pakse and managed to have some evening beers, chat, and after three days on a motorbike, finally lie down and sleep.
And with that, our short road trip in Laos came to an end. The next day, I boarded a bus and crossed the border into Thailand…
But that’s a different story. Nevertheless, I definitely recommend such an experience to anyone in the vicinity of the mentioned places. And most importantly: be careful!
