Win a Tree Top Adventure - Wat Phou Cruise in Laos*

7 days Explore Laos on a new top tree jungle adventure and then relax on a magical river cruise through remote villages and ancient temples.

Win This Tour for 2! How? Discover it here!

Day 1: Arrival Pakse, Laos

Arrive in Pakse by your own arrangement (flights, transfer assistance available) and be met at the airport and transferred to the Champasak Palace Hotel – a former Royal Residence. 

Day 2 Tree Top Explorer:

Driving from Pakse for 1 hour you will arrive at Ban Nongluang where you will meet the village guides who will accompany you for the next three days in the jungle. They will give you your first lesson, an important safety briefing.

We then hike to the Treetop Explorer site through coffee plantations and small vegetable gardens until wild semi-evergreen forest gradually takes over. Along the way, the guides explain the plants traditionally used in the village kitchen or as herbal medicine.

The first challenge is a breath-taking canopy walkway in the heights of the trees and across a steep river valley. The trek then continues, passing the huge Tad Seua (‘Tiger’ waterfall) and soon after the giant ‘Kamet’ waterfall (name of a monkey), where the water plunges more than 100 m down into the valley.

Then the zip-lines start and the real thrill takes over. Brace yourself for an adventure of a lifetime! Depending on the time you may be ready to prove your boldness by taking on the first, smaller cables. Or take a rest on one of the zip-line platforms high in the tree tops.

Then it will be Lunch and you are invited to have a comfortable lunch in the wilderness after which you will have the chance to explore the secrets of the area and have a cooling swim if the desire to master the absolute unbelievable zip-lines immediately is not stronger.

The cables crisscross the valley in front of the majestic waterfall, letting you feel the stunning height and the spray of the water. Enjoy the sensation of being weightless and one with nature. Let your adrenaline rush come to a maximum. It’s joy, sheer joy multiplied by the views.

After a day of great activity, the first night will be spent in our Treetop Hotel where you will settle for the night in the wonderful camp with our restaurant nearby. For dinner, local food and absolutely delicious barbecues are on the unwritten menu. There will be a chance to chat about your experiences of the first day. About 10 o’clock you will retire to your own tree house almost 10 metres above ground. These houses in traditional architecture, made of wood, bamboo, and grass, can only be reached by a (short) zip-line.

Bathrooms are near the restaurant and offer hot and cold showers, powered by tiny hydro-electric generators. Without a doubt you’ll instantly fall into a cosy sleep shrouded by the fiddling sound of the forest crickets.

Day 3: Tree Top Explorer

Recharged and fresh for the adventures of the day you will wake up amidst the warbling, piping, chirping and twittering of the numerous birds in the dense canopy around us.

A simple but energizing European-style breakfast prepares us for an easy 30-minute trek through great forest before reaching the first cable. Today, be ready for extended flights through the jungle! The longest cable (400 m!) of the entire park is the highlight of the day. Its speed and the proximity to the usually invisible upper stratum of the forest is an amazing and unforgettable experience.

For lunch a picnic lunch is served on the tour inside the forest. We return to the camp in later in the afternoon, passing by the ‘red rock’ stream (Houay Hin Daeng), where we will have time for some rest and for swimming.

Back in the camp you’ll enjoy a deserved dinner the same as the first day before falling asleep in your tree house.

Day 4: Tree Top Explorer

Day 4 is another day of excitement and more challenges, but also a day of saying goodbye. After breakfast, we slowly trek uphill passing a section of forest where gigantic trees dominate. The zip-line project contributes to rescuing these giants from being felled and for the generations to come.

Then it gets a bit tough and jaw-dropping when the trail suddenly “ends” at a steep rock wall. The trail is narrowing into a ‘via ferrata’, where iron U-bolts are fixed and glued into the rock. Yes, glued, and rock-solid! We have to overcome this obstacle via these bolts in order to get to the other side. There is no other way around. But don’t worry, it’s all safe and you are secured by modern gear like harness and a separate safety line. And it’s not really long, just thrilling. Latch your karabiner step by step onto the bolts and soon it’s done.

Upon reaching the top of the mountain, one of the highest peaks in the area, an open plateau without much vegetation affords once more – and for the last time - stunning views of three waterfalls and vistas over the Mekong deep into neighbouring Thailand. We’ll have our well-deserved lunch here before hiking for 1 1/2 hours, this time without much effort, back to Ban Nongluang, where a car is waiting to take you back to Pakse and the Champasak Palace Hotel.

Day 5: Wat Phou Cruise 

Meet your guide at Sinouk Coffee House in Pakse at 9:30am and transfer to a longtail riverboat for a 2.5 hour journey to Champasak.

Arrive at the Wat Phou Boat and check into your cabin to unpack before being served lunch on deck. In the afternoon visit the historical and UNESCO World Heritage Listed Wat Phou Temple where you have time to explore the temple in depth as well as visit the museum at the site entrance.

Return to the Wat Phou Boat at dusk to enjoy sunset on the deck followed by dinner.
The boat docks for the night at a remote Lao village.

Day 6: Wat Phou Cruise 

Enjoy breakfast on board as the boat departs for Huei Thamo Village. Huei Thamo Village is a small, picturesque village a short walk through the forest brings you to the hidden, atmospheric Oum Muong temple.

Return to the boat and continue cruising down the Mekong passing beautiful scenery.

Lunch is served on board as the cruise gently approaches intricate archipelago of the 4,000 Islands (Si Pan Don).

In the afternoon, disembark and discover the traditional, small Lao village of Ban Deua Tia by foot where you gain a great insight into Lao life, culture and history. The cruise finishes the day at the north of the largest inhabited island; Don Khong where guests can explore or relax in the free time after dinner on board.

Day 7: Don Khone / Pha Pheng Waterfall / Pakse 

As you enjoy breakfast on board, the Wat Phou boat departs from its port at Don Khong and cruises to the small village of Ban Veuthong. Here you will be transferred to a smaller boat enabling a deeper exploration of the 4,000 Islands and it's waterways to Khone Island.

Visit the old French railway and bridge connecting Khone and Det Islands.
Back on the smaller boat, cruise back to the mainland for lunch in a small fishing village called Xieng Di on the banks of the Mekong.

From here, transfer by bus to the ‘Niagara of the East'; Pha Pheng waterfall on the Lao/Cambodian border before heading back to Pakse for the end of cruise experience.

This will mark the end of the tour, and guests will need to arrange onward transportation.

For more info visit

http://www.champasak-hotels.com/Treetop_Explorer_3days

http://www.champasak-hotels.com/Wat_Phou_Mekong_Cruise