On arrival at the airport, you will be met and transferred to
check in the hotel.
After a soft rest, your city tour begins with a visit to
the magnificent Wat Xiengthong, a superb piece of Lao temple architecture,
which presents a sweeping two-tiered roof and ornate mosaics including a
beautiful ‘tree of life ‘glass montage on the rear temple wall.
If time permits, we will take a short walk around the
small streets of city center, watching the life of local people.
After that, you will visit Royal Palace Museum, which
was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his
family.
Late afternoon, we climb up to the top of Mount Phousi
for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as a panoramic
sunset view of the city and the Mekong River.
From there, join a private Baci ceremony at a local family.
The Baci ceremony as a traditional ritual of the Lao people expresses the
spirituality of the country and is a highly memorable experience and a deep
insight into Lao culture for the participants.
Dinner will be served after that for you to share with
the host family. This is the best chance for you to have first experience of
local life and culture.
Overnight in Luang Prabang.
Meal: Dinner.
Tour included: Private transportation with English speaking guide,
entrance fee, dinner with the host family, accommodation.
Wake up as
the sun rises, we will prepare to join the most sacred tradition of Laos, the
daily morning alms giving, which dates to the 14th century. More than 200 Buddhist
monks depart from various temple to gather their daily meal from the faithful
residents sitting quietly on the streets.
From there,
we will visit the temporary morning market near the former Royal Palace. Just
set on the ground, the local people come here to barter their day’s catch from
rice, to vegetable, to fish, or chicken. This is the best chance to experience
the taste of local life.
Breakfast at the hotel.
We will first visit the city’s oldest
temple of Wat Sene. After that, we embark on the leisurely cruise upstream on
the Mekong River, which also gives us a breathtaking view of the tranquil
countryside, before reaching the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, a 16th century cave
monastery filled with thousands of Buddha images, which locates 25 Kilometers
North of Luang Prabang in the limestone cliffs overlooking the Mekong
river. En route, you will stop at Ban
Muang Keo, a well-known village for its traditional Lao rice whisky distilling.
You will arrive back in Luang Prabang.
On arrival back in the city, we visit
Wat Mai, which is one of the most beautiful temple of Luang Prabang. We then
continue to Wat Visoun, dating back to 1513 during the reign of King Wisunarat
(Visoun), this is Luang Prabang’s oldest temple and was once home to the
Prabang Buddhas. Our last stop today is the Traditional Art and Ethnology
Center (closed on Monday) to learn about Laos’ many ethnic cultures. Overnight
in Luang Prabang.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch.
After breakfast, we transfer directly to the beautiful Kuang Si
waterfalls which is the biggest in the Luang Prabang area with three tiers
leading to a 50-metre drop into spectacular azure pools before flowing
downstream. The pools also make great swimming holes and are very popular with
both tourists and locals
We will also take a short visit to the Bear Rescue Center, which
houses a couple of dozen animals rescued from the hands of poachers and
traffickers.
In time permits, we will take a short visit to the Ock Pop Tock
Living Craft Center, set serenely close to the Mekong, this beautiful,
traditionally styled workshop, where weavers, spinners and batik makers produce
top-quality fabrics, offers free tours every half-hour.
We then transfer to take the departure flight (Better depart
after 04:00PM).
Meal: Breakfast, lunch.
