1. Wat Phou Champassak Festival

The highlight of this trip is being able to witness the Wat Phou Champassak festival amidst these atmospheric ancient ruins – which date back to when this region was a part of the Khmer Empire, which was centred on Angkor Wat in present day Cambodia.

 This unique festival attracts thousands of local pilgrims who climb to the sanctuary at the top of the ruins to make offerings to the Buddha images and then collect water fram a holy spring in a small cave. The following morning there is an especially auspicious monks alms round, where hundreds of monks perform a special Tak Bat, or monks morning alms round.

Lines of the faithful line either side of the stone causeway and the monks walk down the middle collecting so many donations that many of them have their own bag carriers for when their begging bowls are full!

As well as the religious aspects of the festival there are stalls selling local food and clothes, as well as fairground attractions to entertain the local crowds.

The atmosphere is vibrant,  lively and welcoming with surprisingly few tourists.

2. Explore the Plain of Jars and bomb scrap villages

Many tours of Laos never reach the Plain of Jars in the Northeast of the country. In total there are between 2000 and 3000 ancient stone carved jars spread across over 90 sites. Most of the jars are between one and two metres, but the largest Hin Taem is over three metres and weighs between 6 and 10 tonnes.

No one truly knows the origins of these enigmatic jars. They originate from the Iron Age, and are believed to have been made for funerary practices, although there are claims that they were used to ferment rice wine to celebrate a great military victory.

This part of Laos experienced heavy bombing and even battles between the Pathet Lao and Government Loyalist forces during the Indochina war, and as the result only a handful of the sites have been properly cleared of UXO. Even so, you can see great bomb craters and war damage to some of the jars. 

As well as exploring a couple of the most impressive Jars sites we will head out to some of the nearby villages to see how the locals put some of the war scrap to use – using cluster bomb cases for fences and even vegetable planters.

3. Discover ancient Khmer ruins swallowed by jungle

You don't have to travel to Angkor Wat in Cambodia to see ancient Khmer ruins, swallowed by jungle. In the 10th to 12th centuries the Angkorian kingdom expanded into southern Laos and constructed the ruins of Wat Tomo - also known as Oum Moung.

Wat Tomo is a part of the Wat Phou complex, but is across the Mekong River and is seldom visited. The site has been atmospherically been reclaimed by great trees, some of which are growing out of the rocks. This makes it a wonderfully atmospheric place to visit – not least as we will be in Wat Phou Champassak in the middle of a festival and visiting Wat Tomo will allow us to explore  will allow us to explore ancient Khmer ruins in solitude and without crowds.

4. Witness the monks morning alms round in Luang Prabang

Every morning at dawn you can see saffron-clad monks emerge from every monastery in Laos in silent lines to collect donations from the faithful who wait by the side of the road in an entrancing ritual is known as tak bat.

In the UNESCO recognised town of Luang Prabang in the north of the Laos, you can see more monks carrying out the tak bat than anywhere else in the country. There are 33 active Buddhist monasteries in Luang Prabang and an estimated 1000 monks and novices. each morning many of them will walk in quiet, single-file lines through the old town streets to collect daily food offerings from local residents.

In some parts of the city the tak bat has turned into something of a zoo, with tourists jostling for pictures and getting in the way of the monks. I have been photographing the ritual for many years though and can take you to the best places where you can witness it without the crowds – and see it in the way that it has been performed for generations.  

Crucially, you will also be able to see the tak bat, and take pictures in a respectful way which doesn't intrude or offend in anyway – one of the benefits of insider knowledge. 

You can see more on photographing the tak bat in Luang Prabang in an ethical way on this link.

5. Meet highlanders in the mountains and jungles of Oudomxay

Branching out from the Muang Xai in the Oudomxay Province leads into a spectacular landscape of rugged mountains, limestone caves, and hidden waterfalls.  We will spend two nights here at the Namkat Yorla Pa Resort, which has its own jungle walkway.

This is an area where there are many traditional Mountain Peoples, and  the surrounding valleys offers a rare opportunity to visit traditional Khmu and Hmong communities, where ancient customs and unique textiles remain a vibrant part of daily life, and we will spend some time visiting a number of ethnic villages and meeting local people.

The Khmu are one of the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Laos, primarily residing across the mountainous northern provinces. Their rich spiritual lifestyle revolves around animism, with deep-rooted traditions that dictate building homes aligned with the sun for spiritual protection. They are highly regarded for their rich heritage of oral storytelling, fine bamboo basketry, and the cultivation of sweet, potent rice wine.

The Akha are a Tibeto-Burman speaking group who live in small, high-altitude villages tucked into the rugged peaks of northern Laos. They possess a strikingly distinct cultural identity, most visibly recognised by their elaborate traditional attire adorned with intricate embroidery, vibrant dyes, and heavy silver jewellery. Originally migrating from China in the early 20th century, they maintain a highly independent lifestyle deeply tied to ancestral customs and mountain farming.

The Tai Phuan are a Theravada Buddhist group belonging to the lowland Tai-Kadai ethnolinguistic family. Historically rooted in the central Plain of Jars region where they founded the ancient kingdom of Mueang Phuan, their communities were severely fractured by centuries of forced wartime migrations and slave raids. Today, they are celebrated for preserving a remarkably stable language and for their exceptional artistic traditions, which include master knife-making and weaving intricate pasin tin jok textiles.

6. Experience the power of waterfalls at Si Phan Don 

In the South of Laos, the mighty Mekong River branches out into a vast inland delta, forming many large and small islands that form the region Si Phan Don – or 4000 Islands. As the Mekong is forced through the reduced channels it forms two of the most famous and dramatic waterfall systems along the Mekong River: Khone Phapheng Falls and Li Phi (Somphamit) Waterfalls

These two waterfalls are so powerful that they effectively block all navigation along the Mekong River. During colonial times the French resorted to building a narrow gauge railway to bypass the falls – completely with massive gantries at either end, which can still be seen.

The power of these waterfalls is best witnessed up close, and they present a number of opportunities for photographers. They can be photographed with a fast shutter-speed to freeze the bubbling water, or if you bring a tripod, with a long shutter-speed to allow the water to blur. There is more on photographing waterfalls in Laos on this link. 

7. Walk with elephants at Mandalao

Laos used to be known as the Land of a Million Elephants after the 14^th century Lang Xang kingdom. In Lao, Lang Xang means Million Elephants, which symbolised the kingdom's power, prosperity, and military strength. Even a hundred years ago there were tens of thousands of elephants in the country, with about 10% of this population being in captivity: used for logging and ceremonial purposes.

Currently, there are estimated to be just 800 elephants with only half of them still in the wild. Many of the rest are in tourist elephants camps where the exploitation continues. Reflecting Intrepid Travel’s strict animal welfare policy we visit the most ethical of all of the elephant camps in Laos – the Mandalao Elephant Rescue Sanctuary.