Luang Prabang Tour 5 Days: UNESCO World Heritage Site

On arrival at the Luang Prabang airport, you will be warmly welcome and  transferred to hotel by private car.
Check in the hotel and have a rest.

Late afternoon, we will get an opportunity to join in a private unique traditional Lao ceremony called Baci at a local family house. It is said that every person has 32 organs that formed their spiritual essence and Baci is the ritual used to call back any spirits escaped in the body. During the Baci, special flowers and sweets are made preparation and they are affected by the participants and a Buddhist mantra is chanted. When the song ended, cotton are connected around the wrist of the participants as they will get an individual blessing.
 
You will be served dinner and share with family members which helps us have first-hand experience of local life and culture.

Overnight at the hotel in Luang Prabang. 
 

Your full day city tour begins after breakfast, with a visit to the Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts. We then enjoy a short-guided tour seeing the city’s oldest temple of Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We then visit 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. From there we stroll around to visit Wat Aham, which was once the residence of Sangkharat, the supreme head of Lao Buddhism.

In the afternoon, we will drive out of the city to visit Ban Xangkhong, the Thai Lue village, which is famous for its arts and crafts. We also visit the nearby village of Ban Xienglek specializing in making the traditional Saa paper. We then come back to town and continue our visit to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre to learn about Laos’ many ethnic cultures.  We then take a short walk around the small roads of city center, watching the life of local people, and visiting the traditional house of Heuan Chan, the Chantal wooden house dating back to 100 years old. 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.  The tour ends after a visit to the famous Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textiles made by local and hilltribe people surrounding Luang Prabang.

Overnight in Luang Prabang

06:00AM 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 flavor of local life
 
After breakfast at the hotel, we will visit UXO Visitor Center (closed on Saturday, and Sunday), where you can find the documentation about the secret war in Laos.
We then 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.

You have the rest of the afternoon to refresh at the cool clear water, or hiking to the top of the waterfalls.
There is also the chance to walk to the nearby village of Ban Thapene, and explore the hidden waterfalls, which is rarely visited by other tourists

If you wish, 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.
On the way back to Luang Prabang, 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. This is also one of the best spots to admire the sunset in Luang Prabang
Transfer back to your hotel late afternoon.

Overnight in Luang Prabang
 

After breakfast, we board a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which gives us a panoramic view of the tranquil countryside as well as an interesting visit to the mysterious of Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims. Along the way, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where they make the local rice wine. On our way back, we pass the local villages at Ban Chan.

The village is renowned in the region for its pottery making. Admire a young man work the clay into a small bowl, and visit the underground kilns which are used to cook hundreds of jars at a time. These ancestral methods are transferred, from one generation to another and require patience and dexterity. Feel free to support them by buying a little figurine in order to support their handicraft (at own expenses).

Upon arriving back to the city, transfer to your hotel. Free for the rest of the day.

Overnight in Luang Prabang

After breakfast at hotel, check out (check out time 12:00 pm). Free at your own leisure until transfer to airport for departure.
End of service.