BIKING & KAYAKING THROUGH THE NAM KHAN RIVER VALLEY

High water season, August to January:

We’ll get you sized up for one of our quality mountain bikes, have a quick safety briefing, and then lead you along backroads to see Wat Pa Phon Phao, a golden temple with a great view of Luang Prabang. Afterward, we’ll continue along the Nam Khan River to the grave of Henri Mouhot, the French explorer who popularized The Angkor Complex in Cambodia.

We’ll finish the 15 km ride in the Nam Khan valley amid a spectacular vista of mountains, rivers and small villages and then break for lunch at our Adventure Camp mountain-view terrace or at Tad Sae Waterfall (depending on season and timing).

A short boat ride will bring us to Tad Sae Waterfall for a refreshing swim under jungle canopy. That’ll be followed by another short ride, to our kayaking center, where we’ll conduct a brief kayaking instruction and safety review. Then we begin our adventure down the river. During the rainy season the river is high and moves at a nice pace through lush jungle countryside. It’s is 20 km (12.5 mi) of easy to medium kayaking and normally takes 3-4 hours with breaks included. We’ll wrap up just under the Luang Prabang city bridge, where we meet our truck for a 10 minute return ride to the city center.

Low water season, February to July:

In the low water season, the itinerary is the same with the following exceptions to give you the best experience possible.

We take a slightly different bike route that includes Wat Pa Phon Phao, some unpaved riding with some fun hills, and a river crossing by boat with the bikes.

The river is lower and exposes white sand beaches and riverbanks where we can stop for photo ops and to visit sites including Henri Mouhot’s resting site in the jungle a short walk from the river.

Kayaking ends just below the local Ban Noun village and is approximately 2 hours easy to medium with some small rapids. Return by vehicle about 15 minutes to conclude the tour.