Pakse and the Bolaven Motorcycle Loop: Plantations and waterfalls
Starting point: Pakse
The best hostels in Pakse are Sanga Hostel and 1918 Hostel. Sanga usually sells out, so book in advance. Across the street from Sanga is the Pakse Hotel and Restaurant -- the restaurant up on the roof is quite good, and reasonably priced. It's a great place to watch the sunset. If you are staying in Laos for a very long time, then you might like to spend a few days just hanging out in Pakse and enjoying its limited charms. But if you’re spending less than a month in Laos, then there are way better places to spend your time other than Pakse, and I would only use Pakse as a logistics hub.
If you want to see the loop but you don’t want to ride a motorbike, you need to hire a private car and driver. This will be expensive, so get price quotes from several drivers. Resist the urge to save money by zipping through everything too quickly — in that case you’re better off just downloading pictures from the internet.
Rent your motorbike from Miss Noy motorbike rental in Pakse if possible. It’s run by a Frenchman named Yves and his Lao wife. Every night at 18:00 (whether you are renting from him or not), Yves gives an excellent free briefing in English and French about the Loop: what you can see, where to stay, etc. Go in the morning to reserve your motorbike for the next day, because by the time of the 18:00 briefing, all their bikes will be reserved for the next day. Whether you rent here or not, even if you will travel by car, GO to the briefing. It is very informative, and also a great place to meet other riders.
If you haven’t yet found a group to travel with, go at 7 AM to pick up your bike, and wait around. Very soon many others will come, and someone will invite you to travel with them.
What you see on the Loop: Several beautiful waterfalls (delightful for swimming on a hot day), and two coffee plantations (one of them is in a tribal village with very unusual customs, which you will learn about on the tour). The scenery on the Bolaven Loop is rolling hills and agricultural valleys -- a lot like Cambodia, not like most of Laos.
DETAILED MAPS OF THE LOOP are attached below.
For general advice on renting and driving motorbikes in Laos, click here
You can either do the Short Loop (minimum 2 days, but you really need at least 3 and I enjoyed doing it in 4) or the Long Loop (minimum 3 days, but you really want 4 or 5). The Long Loop includes many more kilometres, and one additional set of waterfalls. All other waterfalls, and both coffee plantations, are on both the Short Loop and the Long Loop. The only advice from Yves that I might disagree with is his opinion that the Long Loop is worth doing. Personally, I spent 4 full days doing the Short Loop at a really relaxed pace, and I loved that. Everyone I met who did the Long Loop said it wasn't worth the dangers or the extra kilometres.
The Long Loop requires driving two dangerous roads -- one is dangerous because of robberies, and one because the road itself is in very bad condition. If you do the Long Loop, don’t be stupid -- do the dangerous part in a group. And really try not to stop for ANY reason in the robbery-prone area. Most of Laos has an extremely low crime rate, and there is no reason to spend time in the few places where violent crime is frequent.
Bolaven Short Loop Itinerary - Day 1
Pick up your motorbike early. Ideally be underway by 08:30 AM. First step, buy fuel, because the tank on your rental bike will be empty. Yves will show you were to buy it. Head east out of town on Highway 13, Laos’ main national highway from north to south. This road is very crowded and your first 6 kilometres (on this road) are crowded and dangerous. Look in your mirror constantly and drive defensively.
On the outskirts of Pakse, the road will fork. The main highway (highway 13) will turn south. You will bear left to keep going east, on highway 16E. It will still be busy with many trucks, but not as bad as before. You will ride this for about 20 kilometres to Highway 20. The turnoff is not well marked, but it will be a big “T” junction with dozens of kiosks selling fruit, water, chocolate, etc. etc. As soon as you turn left (north) onto highway 20, the traffic will get very light and easy to drive.
Your first stop will be about 40 kilometres along highway 20 — Mr Vieng’s Coffee Homestay. Mr Vieng does a great tour of his multi-crop plantation (see photo above) and you can get an excellent cup of coffee here. If you’ve timed it right, you’ll be here as the mid-day heat is building, and his shaded dining area will feel very relaxing. If you are spending at least 3 days on the loop, I would definitely make a 2-hour stop here, and plan to overnight in Tat Lo. But if you’re rushing through the entire Short Loop in 2 days and 1 night , then skip Mr Vieng’s entirely, do just a quick 2-hour stop at Tat Lo, and overnight at Captain Hook’s (see below).
Continuing north on highway 20 another 25 kilometers or so will bring you to Tat Lo village and waterfalls (see photo above and maps below). Your first accomodation option (1-2 km before Tat Lo village) is Fandee Island - I tried to stay there but it was booked up. It looked wonderful. Or continue another 1-2 km to Tat Lo Village: as you cross a bridge over the river on highway 20, you’ll see Tat Hang (the biggest waterfall) to your right. Keep going straight (i.e. away from the falls) for a very short distance and take the first right turn — that goes into Tat Lo village and another right turn takes you to Tat Hang; the smaller Tat Lo and Tat Soung waterfalls are just upstream behind Tat Hang. You will find plenty of guesthouses there, very few of them listed on the internet — just see a few and choose one. I stayed at the delightful Sailomen Guesthouse on the riverside, in an upper-floor room with a balcony looking directly onto Tat Hang. You should pay around $6 per night for a basic but comfortable private room with private shower, which is the usual price everywhere in Laos except the big cities.
Most people only spend one night in Tat Lo, but I spent two. During my full day there, I spent a wonderful cool morning hiking and motorbiking along the many smaller waterfalls behind Tat Lo, and then the hot afternoon swimming in the falls. On both nights I met many fun fellow travellers to dine and drink with. It was one of my best days in Laos. For more info on spending a day or more at Tat Lo, see the detailed map below and this great website.
Bolaven Short Loop Itinerary - Days 2-3
Leaving Tat Lo, head north again on Highway 20 for 5 km to the village of Beng. Leave Highway 20 there, turning right (southeast) towards the town and monastery of Thateng - this road is well paved, but has no highway number. 5 or 6 km after making that turn (so only about 10 km after leavingTat Lo) you’ll see a dirt-road turnoff to Captain Hook’s Coffee Plantation and Homestay in the Katu tribal village of Ban Kok Phung Tai. The village’s main street is a wide but unpaved and muddy downward-sloping track. Most people who are spending 3 days on the Short Loop spend their second night here. Anyone doing the loop in just 2 days should spend their only night here.
Although the plantation tour will have some overlap with Mr. Vieng’s, a lot of what you’re here for is the tribal village experience. The Katu tribe are animist, not Buddhist. Some of their traditions will thoroughly shock you, but it is a learning experience and one of the easiest ways to do a tribal homestay. Even if you’re not overnighting here, you should plan to spend at least 3-4 hours. This is one of the most memorable stops on the loop. The sunset walk down to the fishing pond (where you can help cast the nets to catch dinner, as you see in the photo below) is delightful. If Captain Hook’s is full, there is at least one other guesthouse in the village.
If you are spending at least 3 days and 2 nights on the loop, then you’ll divide your time on day 2 between the following three activities: (a) a morning hike and/or swim at Tat Lo (particularly if you arrived in Tat Lo too late to do that on day 1), (b) 3-4 hours on Captain Hook’s village and plantation tour (he runs both a morning tour and an afternoon tour), and (c) about 2-3 hours for the Phou Tayoun Mountain Extra Loop, which you can see on the map below and goes like this: From Captain Hook’s you drive about 10 km south to Thateng Monastery, and turn left there onto highway 16 eastbound (it’s a big intersection). Stay on that highway for about 15 km, going through and just past the village of Trường học. Then turn right (south) onto a very scenic little road - Yves at Miss Noy in Pakse will tell you exactly how to know it’s the right one. This road goes up and down through rolling agricultural hills (see photo above), first going south, then curving right to follow a river westward, and finally curving right again to the northwest to meet back up with the main highway. There, turn right again and go straight (north) back to Captain Hook’s for his very good dinner and great company with him, his family, and your fellow travellers. If this sounds a little confusing, don’t worry, Yves will explain it very well at the briefing, and you have the maps below. If you’re doing the entire loop in just 2 days, then you must skip this scenic mini-loop.
On your final day (either day 2, or day 3, or if you’re really taking your time as I did, then day 4), you’ll drive from Captain Hook’s back to Pakse with a couple of stops at fabulous waterfalls. Coming out of Captain Hook’s village onto the paved road, turn right and go south for about 10 km to the town and monastery of Thateng. There you keep going straight to merge onto Highway 16 southbound. Another 45 km down the road you’ll pass through the large town of Paksong. You can overnight if you want to — for example, if you couldn’t get any lodging at all in Captain Hook’s village), then the Kai Lions International Hostel is located here, run by Ali Ahmad (aliahmad1980@hotmail.com). But more likely you’ll pass straight through Paksong and bear right to merge onto highway 16E heading west into Pakse.
Shortly after leaving Paksong you’ll come to turnoffs for three very impressive waterfalls just a few kilometres apart: first Tad Yuang on the left (called Tad Genuang on Google Maps for some reason), then Tad Champee on the right, and finally Tad Fane on the left. Two of them are very close to the highway, but Tad Champee requires a 10-km drive on a very rough dirt road, so drive carefully. I think all of them are worth a stop. You can find a lot of information about them on the Web.
After those waterfalls, get back on highway 16E going west and go straight to Pakse. The traffic will get steadily heavier as you go, especially when you merge onto Highway 13 to drive back into downtown Pakse. If you haven’t yet visited the hilltop Buddha across the Mekong river overlooking Pakse, and you arrive back in Pakse with a few hours of daylight left, now is the perfect time to do it. Drive straight on through Pakse (going right past Miss Noy’s), and cross the Mekong bridge. The parking lot for the Buddha is on your left just after crossing the river. You can either park in the lower lot, lock your bike, and walk up the steep staircase, or there is a winding road all the way to the top. A LOT of tourist vans use that winding road, so if you drive up to the top, drive carefully on those blind curves.
As already discussed, you should book lodging in advance in Pakse - this is true for the night(s) before you do the loop, and for the night you get back into town. But you don’t need to book advance lodging for the Loop itself - I had no trouble finding nice, good-value lodging on arrival either in Tat Lo or in Captain Hook’s village.
Bolaven or Thakhek? The scenery on the Thakhek loop is more dramatic than the scenery on Bolaven, but Thakhek’s scenery is also very similar to what you can see in Vang Vieng and Nong Khiaw. By contrast, the rolling agricultural landscapes of Bolaven are much more like Cambodia, not like the rest of Laos. If at all possible, I would do both loops. But if you only have time for one, then it depends in part on what else you will see during your trip.
Excellent free maps of the Loop and Tat Lo provided by “M Maps - Pakse Info”
The dangerous areas of the Long Loop are in the southeast, to the east and west of Ban Houay Kong
