Southern Laos: 20 routes

Coffee farms and roaring waterfalls on the Bolaven Plateau, a Khmer temple under a sacred mountain, and the Mekong splitting into four thousand islands on its way to Cambodia.

Southern Laos is where the Mekong slows down and so do I. Pakse, the river town where most journeys start, is not pretty in the postcard sense, but it is easy, friendly and well placed: an hour or two east lies the cool Bolaven Plateau with its coffee gardens and waterfalls, an hour south the old Khmer sanctuary of Wat Phou, and a little further the 4000 Islands, where the river breaks into channels, rapids and sandbanks before tumbling over the Khone Falls into Cambodia.

These twenty routes are the walks, rides and river days I would give a friend with a week or two. Many of them are best done on a rented motorbike or bicycle, a few by boat, and some simply by sitting in a hammock and letting the afternoon pass. Bring a rain jacket, a little patience and an appetite for strong coffee.

Practical tips first

A Morning Walk Through French-Era Pakse

Pakse townhalf a dayEasy

Shophouses with peeling shutters, a riverside temple, an unfinished prince’s palace and the meeting of two rivers, all within a slow loop of the town centre.

Breakfast and Bargains at Dao Heuang Market

Pakse townhalf a dayEasy

One of the largest markets in Laos, where plateau coffee, Mekong fish, Thai plastics and fresh herbs meet under one sprawling roof.

The Golden Buddha on Phou Salao at Sunset

Pakse town2–3 hoursEasy

A long staircase up a forested hill to a giant seated Buddha watching over Pakse, the bridge and the wide brown Mekong at golden hour.

An Evening by the Mekong in Pakse

Pakse towneveningEasy

Grilled fish, cold Beerlao and a sunset over the widest river in Southeast Asia, followed by a slow walk home past night stalls and karaoke.

The Bolaven Loop by Motorbike

Bolaven Plateau2–4 daysModerate

Coffee gardens, misty pine forest, a dozen waterfalls and minority villages on a looping ride across the cool highland east of Pakse.

Tad Fane and Tad Yuang, the Plateau’s Great Falls

Bolaven Plateau1 dayEasy

Twin ribbons of water plunging into a jungle gorge, then a wide curtain of falls you can walk beneath, a few kilometres apart on the road to Paksong.

Coffee Gardens Around Paksong

Bolaven Plateau1 dayEasy

Red cherries on dark green bushes, beans drying on bamboo mats and a cup brewed by the farmer who grew it, in the cool capital of Lao coffee.

Slow Days at Tad Lo

Bolaven Plateau1–2 daysEasy

A riverside village with three waterfalls within walking distance, hammocks on the balcony and the sound of water all night long.

Tad Champi and Tad Pasuam, the Quiet Falls

Bolaven Plateauhalf a dayEasy

A hidden pool where you can swim behind a curtain of water, and a garden-like park with a falls, closer to Pakse than the famous names.

Wat Phou, the Mountain Temple of Champasak

Champasakhalf a day to 1 dayModerate

A ruined Khmer sanctuary climbing a mountain slope towards a sacred spring, older than Angkor Wat, with views across the Mekong plain.

Champasak Town by Bicycle

Champasak1 dayEasy

A single sleepy street of French villas and wooden houses along the Mekong, best explored at bicycle pace with stops for temples, coffee and long river views.

Don Daeng, the Island Across the River

Champasak1 day or overnightEasy

A long, sandy island with traffic-free tracks, quiet villages, a crumbling brick stupa and a beach on the Mekong facing Champasak.

The Wetlands of Kiet Ngong and Xe Pian

Xe Pian1–2 daysModerate

Marshes, lily ponds, forest trails and a village guarding one of the largest protected areas of the south, with birds everywhere and very few visitors.

Phou Asa, the Stone Ring on the Hill

Xe Pianhalf a dayModerate

A short, steep scramble to a hilltop ring of mysterious stone pillars, with the forests and marshes of Xe Pian spread out below.

Don Khong, the Big Quiet Island

4000 Islands1–2 daysEasy

The largest of the 4000 Islands, where a sleepy riverside town, old temples and flat lanes through the paddies give you river life without the backpacker scene.

Cycling Don Det and Don Khon Along the Old French Railway

4000 Islands1 dayEasy

A ride along the bed of Laos’ first railway, across an old stone bridge and past a rusting locomotive, between two islands of hammocks and paddies.

Li Phi, the Spirit Trap Falls

4000 Islandshalf a dayEasy

A wide, white maelstrom of rapids where, people say, the river catches the spirits of the dead as they drift downstream.

Khone Phapheng, the Thundering Falls

4000 Islandshalf a dayEasy

The largest waterfall in Southeast Asia by volume, where the whole Mekong hurls itself over broad steps of rock in a deafening roar.

The Southern Tip of Don Khon and the Lost Dolphins

4000 Islandshalf a dayEasy

A ride to the fishing village at the very end of Laos and a boat trip to the deep pool that was long home to Irrawaddy dolphins, with an honest word about what remains.

Kayaking the Channels and a Don Det Sunset

4000 Islands1 dayModerate

A day paddling between islands, rapids and sandbanks, ending in a hammock on Don Det watching the sun drop into the Mekong.

Prices, opening hours and rules change. Treat these notes as a starting point and check current information before you go.