Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw

By bus the journey from Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw is scheduled to take 7 hours 30 minutes.

Bus Times from Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw

There is currently 1 bus service a day from Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw available to book online.

Buy Tickets from Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw

Use the Search Box below to buy your tickets from Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw.

Luang Namtha Bus Station

Laos Luxury Travel services from Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw depart from the Into The Wild Laos Travel Company office in Luang Namtha.

Nong Khiaw Bus Station

Laos Luxury Travel Services from Luang Namtha to Nong Khiaw terminate at the Ing Ing Guesthouse Mountain View.

About Travel to Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw is a very picturesque small town with a population of around 3,500 located 140 km by road to the north of Luang Prabang. Despite the small size of the town it has relatively good facilities whilst also being in a remote location of enormous natural beauty.

Accommodation in Nong Khiaw

Hotel booking websites list around 50 hotels and guesthouses in Nong Khiaw. The cheapest accommodation is offered by hostels such as Sunset Backpackers Hostel and Emily Dormitory Hostel which charge the equivalent of $5 to $6 USD for a bed in a shared dormitory. At the other end of the scale rooms at more luxurious establishments such as Amanda Riverside or Sook Village charge $80 to $100 USD a night. A mid-range riverside hotel such as the Arthith Guesthouse typically costs $20 to $30 a night.

If none of these options sound suitable then you can simply try waiting until you get to Nong Khiaw to find somewhere to stay. There are more hotels and guesthouses in Nong Khiaw than are listed on the major hotel booking websites.

Food in Nong Khiaw

The various eateries in Nong Khiaw broadly fall into two categories. The first type is very cheap restaurants selling Lao style food mostly to local people. The other type of restaurant in Nong Khiaw is focused on catering to (mostly) foreign tourists. The menus, and the price of the food, differ dramatically between the two categories.

Amongst the more popular of the tourist restaurants are The Trio Bar, Family Bakery Cafe & Restaurant, and Gustoso Cantina. Nong Khiaw also has three Indian restaurants, the most popular of which is Deen’s Indian Food.

Trekking in Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw is a popular place for self-guided day treks. The most popular of the walks are fairly short and involve climbing up steep hills to reach viewpoint overlooking the town and the river. The scenery is spectacular from any of the four main viewpoints which visitors regularly trek to:

• Nang None Viewpoint
• Som Nang Viewpoint
• Nong Khiaw Viewpoint
• Pha Noi and Pha Kao Viewpoint

There are also other longer treks in the area for which you really need a guide or to join an organised tour. You could attempt the walks on your own however navigation can be difficult, as will be trying to communicate with local people if you have a problem, or need to find food and place to sleep for the night.

The most famous of these longer treks is the ‘100 Waterfalls’ which starts from a point close to Nong Khiaw and takes around 6 hours to complete. If you plan to do the 100 Waterfalls trek make sure you go at the right time of year, generally October to December is the best time. The monsoon season tends to end in September/October. Doing the trek immediately after the annual rains makes it much more likely that there will actually be a good volume going over the falls.

Visiting the Caves

There are also three cave systems near Nong Khiaw which are popular visitor attractions:

• Phar Noi History Caves: Located very close to Nong khiaw, Phar Noi History Caves are the easiest of the three cave systems to reach. The first of the caves features a high ceiling with a small opening at the top. If you visit when the sun is directly overnight it creates an attractive effect as beams of light partially illuminate the dark interior of the cave.
• Pha Kuang Cave: Located 2 km from Nong Khiaw, Pha Kuang Cave is impressively large and features a Buddhist shrine. Visitors who want to explore further into the cave system of which Pha Kuang Cave is a part need to crawl through several small passage ways, some only 30 to 40 cm tall.
• Phathok Caves: Located about 3 km from Nong Khiaw, the Phathok Caves consist of three caverns which were used as military installations during a long period of internal conflict in Laos from 1959 to 1975.

Kayaking in Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw is located on the banks of the Nam Ou River, which flows slowly south from Nong Khiaw to join with the Mekong River close to Luang Prabang. The opportunities for kayaking from Nong Khiaw are almost endless. Visitors can take day trips up and down the river stopping off at small villages along the way. More adventurous travellers with the time can also join 3 day kayaking adventures following the river south all the way to Luang Prabang.

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