This one-day excursion is easy trip travelling through many fascinating local villages, seeing heritage preservation culture and daily way of life! Along the way you will drop off and speak to friendly villagers, spending time in various ethnic group villages. If you love cycling in rural areas and interact with local people, you can always request. The trip is easy going, takes only a half day or full day. The trip is designed to include special places that unveiled by few western tourists. We are very confident your trip will certainly offer possibility and exclusively!
ITINERARY è Destination Gold Panning at Ban Kham Villages
AM: In the morning, start driving from Le Grand Pakbeng follows the main road 6Km, the leisurely local transportation takes you on dirt roads to the Kamu villages, about 17 km away. Follow your guide on a red-soil dirt road, passing small forests, rice fields, some spectacular scenery and a rustic village with wooden houses. Stop along the way for photo ops of the local children and hard-working farmers in the field. You can also visit local primary schools and kindergartens.
One the way, you will be hop off and hop on visiting the local villages such as;
Ban Houy Sengkham (1hrs tours)
This rural village hosts a primary school. Here you will have the opportunity to observe their traditional lifestyle. As simple rustic village that is constantly building and growing, some signs of modern buildings are appearing here, however the old traditions are kept.
Ban Souksai (1hrs tours)
Watch and help the hard-working farmers going about their daily life of the rice farming and blacksmith making. Visit the buffalo farm, see how they use their traits in ancient farming whilst witnessing the beautiful landscape.
Ban Lai (1hrs tours)
This small village is very rural the buffalos, chickens, dogs freely walking amongst the Kamu people. The village are constantly building and are always curious of the visitors. Some households have a small vegetable garden and fruit trees.
Ban Kham (2hrs tours)
Traditional bamboo houses are built on stilts above the ground. People live on the first floor of houses raised on timber stilts. Under the house the family keep animals, craft equipment such as a loom and simple food processing machines like large wooden mortars and pestles, a tradition dating back many years and finally we experience gold panning with local villagers.
Our final visit this morning is Ban Kham. On arrival of a Kamu family at Ban Kham village, we take part in daily life, including some steps of peeling rice by hand, experience the gold panning by local people, this is highlight and you may try your luck by panning gold with local Kamu hill tribe. During your time in the villages, your guide will introduce you to some traditional customs of the Kamu people and how difference between three biggest ethnic groups in Laos, from there, we return hotel.
PM: After a rest at the hotel, we begin our short excursion to little hill town of Pakbeng district, stopping along the way to visit Wat Chomjeng Temple, Wat Kokkor temple.
Than next to explore at local market, this where all local people of Pakbeng district come to do their daily shopping, You will see a variety of local foodstuffs and products including dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the chickens, fish, vegetables and fruit, everything needed for daily life in Laos. Tea/coffee break at the local restaurants by the Mekong Riverside. Return to hotel by late afternoon.
Tip Note:
Total distance is 17km, medium to easy trekking or walking in villages usually taking 3-5 hours, depending on conditions and we recommend to do this trip in dry season.
Our contribution details:
-Each tour to be contributed at US$2.-/per guest per village.
-Each tour to be contributed at US$2.-/per guest per to local tourism office in Pakbeng.
-Each tour to be contributed at US$10.-/per group to village local guide to create job for local villager.
