Exploring Kuang Si Falls and Pak Ou Caves: A Day Tour from Luang Prabang

I spent about five days in Luang Prabang. As I mentioned in my first post about the ancient capital of Laos, this is a good place to slow down, and take in all the natural and cultural sights the town has to offer. But there are also some activities not too far from the city that you should take the time to visit.

I did it all in the same day tour – it included the visit to Kuang Si Falls and the boat trip to Pak Ou caves, with a sunset cruise back to Luang Prabang in the mighty Mekong River.

The Kuang Si Falls are definitely worth a visit. Some people rent a motorbike and go there on their own, which is a possibility if you are comfortable with driving motorcycles – it’s important to know the state of the roads is pretty bad, and I went on dry season. I can only imagine how muddy and slippery these might get during the rainy season.

These are without a doubt the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen – its turquoise waters are simply mesmerising, and the water some down in different columns and floors, giving the place a very unique appeal. You can also go for a swim, just be aware that you can’t swim everywhere and the temperature is cooler – it’s not as hot there as it is in Luang Prabang! If you have the time to go somewhere else outside of Luang Prabang, definitely come here, whether you want to go for a swim or not. The waterfall is beautiful, but so is the nature surrounding it, with tons of butterflies flying around. It feels like it could be the scenery for a fairytale, and I love how well-kept it is – no trash around, making me feel Laos is truly taking care of its natural beauty.

Pak Ou Caves are an interesting spot – I think it is worth it, but beware that it’s crowded and there isn’t really a lot of explanation in regards to it. I even wondered about its authenticity. It has been considered a sacred place since the 9th century, but back then to worship the goddess of the river. These days, when you visit the caves, you’ll find it is filled with dozens if not hundreds of Buddha statues, in different materials and sizes, some weathered, showing old age. Buddhism only arrived in Laos in the 16th century, and it’s estimated that is when people started to bring in these sculptures as offerings to Buddha, wishing for a safe passage in the river.

Of course, this information wasn’t provided on-site, nor was volunteered by the guide. I did my own research to understand a little more about the place. I’ve learned this is a common challenge in most places I visited in South East Asia – the lack of information and the focus on entertaining, rather than educating. I will write more about this in a future post!

 When we got to the second cave, which requires another climb, there was a woman asking for donations. I was with three other girls I had met on the tour, and since we had already paid for the ticket to enter the caves, we didn’t give her any more money. I found a lot of situations like these during my travels, and at the risk of sounding cheap, if I had already paid a ticket to get in, I didn’t want to have to pay any more money. The proceeds from the tickets should be reinvested in maintaining the place and paying the workers, so donations should really just be optional. But when we refused to add any cash to the box this lady so fiercely put on our way, she proceeded to turn off the lights inside the cave, which left a lot of people already inside in complete darkness. We were pretty shocked by this behaviour – whilst I had seen so far in Cambodia and Laos that I was often treated as an ATM, I hadn’t witnessed such petty behaviour yet. Finally, after a few minutes, the lights were turned back on, and everyone was able to turn off their phone lanterns. Probably because a visitor had made a donation.

From my perspective, the boat trip to and from there was definitely worth it. The views are stunning and you get to experience the sights from Mekong River, with a unique view of the Laotian countryside. The tour itself also included a couple of “commercial” stops, where you could buy some traditional goods made by locals but you could also have a closer view of the different ways of life of the different tribes inhabiting Laotian lands.

I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Luang Prabang – it also included a very nice buffet lunch and drinks on the cruise back to the city. You can book it here.

Love, Nic