Monday, June 20, 2022

Luang Nam Tha: Jungle Trekkings, Homestays with Hilltribe People and Rivertrips

See the locations on Luang Nam Tha Google Map

See Map of Luang Nam Tha Town by Hobomaps and Map of Luang Nam Tha area by Hobomaps


Luang Nam Tha

Picture by Sergi Hill
Picture by from the north country

Picture by Le photo à Go-Go

Picture by Sergi Hill

Picture by Pondspider
Valley near Luang Nam Tha

Luang Nam Tha in the mountains of northern Laos counts around 3500 inhabitants. The old town lies near the airport, the new town 6 km apart in the north. Here you find most guesthouses and tour agencies. It's a starting point for trekkings to the hilltribes.

What can you do here? For example visit Luang Namtha’s morning market, where people from Luang Namtha and nearby villages sell and buy fruits, vegetables (spring onion, coriander and cabbages), jungle meat and junge plants.
The nightmarket is the spot, were people hang out in the night. It opens from 5 pm. Here you can try traditional dishes with vegetables, herbs and spices from the jungle.
You can go kajaking on Nam Tha River and visit Lanten, Khmu, Khmu Rok, Tai or Tai Lue villages. Visit the Luang Namtha Museum, rent a bicycle or a mountain bike at one of the guesthouses, shop for handicrafts, explore the waterfall at Ban Nam Dee, see Wat Luang Kone (7 km from city center), Wat Ban Vieng Tai or That Phoum Phouk (Phoum Phouk Pagoda), go for guided boat trips on Nam Ha River and along Nam Ha Protected Area (with tigers, bears, elephants and wild buffalos) or visit the markets (one near the bus station and one near the airport). Read more about the Nam Ha Protected Area. You gan also go trekking into the jungle-mountains and visit villages of Akha, Khmu and Yao (Dzao) people, especially to Luang Nam Tha National Protected Area.

There are several herbal saunas in Luang Namtha, the most popular being the one next to the Panda Restaurant.

Picture by intothegreen
At Luang Nam Tha nightmarket

Picture by John Pavelka
That Phum Phuk

Picture by Sergi Hill



Where to stay in Luang Nam Tha

Adounsiri Guesthouse: Mixed reviews von tripadvisor.com. Good review on travelfish.org.


Amandra Villa: Very good reviews on agoda.com. Quite good ones on tripadvisor.com. Some say the rooms upstairs are better.




The Boat Landing Guesthouse and Restaurant From 40 USD. At Nam Tha River, outside the town. Older bungalows, rooms are described as basic by reviewers on tripadvisor.com. In the evening it is difficult to get a tuktuk from the town to the guesthouse.

Picture by John Pavelka

Picture by John Pavelka


Dokchampa Hotel: Chinese hotel in the centre of Luang Namtha, on the main street. Quite good reviews on tripadvisor.com.


Khamking Guesthouse: Near nightmarket, therefore a bit noisy according to a reviewer on tripadvisor.com.


Kingmala Guest House: Quite good reviews on tripadvisor.com.


Nam Tha Riverside Guesthouse: Critical reviews on agoda.com.

Picture by crosby_cj


Phou Iu III Bungalows: Mixed reviews on agoda.com.


Pou Villa Resort ພູວີລ່າ ຣີສອດ: On a hill overlooking the town and the valley. Very good reviews on agoda.com. Excellent reviews on tripadvisor.com.




Royal Hotel, also called Houngching Hotel, also Huang Jing Hotel: With 95 rooms one of the biggest hotels in Luang Namtha, an investment of a Chinese company and mostly visited by Chinese people. It has a pub outside of the hotel.




Tai Dam Guesthouse: A main building and wooden bungalwos set around a scenic garden. Good reviews on tripadvisor.com, alst one dating from 2017.


The Phou lu III Guest House: Bungalows with balconies, with thin walls according to reviews on tripadvisor.com, which are quite good.


Toulasith Guesthouse: Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com.


Homestays: You can book tours with homestay for one night. Homestay in Ban Vieng Neua with Tai Youn people; homestay in Ban Chaleurnsouk with Khmu people; homestay in Ban Nam Dee with Akha people.


Zuela Guesthouse: Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com. See video on youtube.com.





Eat in Luang Nam Tha

Forest Retreat Bamboo Lounge:


How to arrive in Luang Nam Tha

By airplane: Lao Airlines flies from Vientiane to Luang Nam Tha.

Boat Pak Tha - Luang Nam Tha: During two days you travel in an open boat along Nam Tha river where large sections can only be reached by boat, past riverside villages of the Khmu and Leu ethnic people. On the way you pass a Buddha image in a cliff face. You'll stay in the village of the boatsmen. Before you arrange your boat trip in Pak Tha you should know, that most boatmen on the lower Namtha will only go as far as Muang Nalae. This because they are not experienced in navigating the rapids between Nalae and Namtha. Also during the low water months (Feb- May) the boats may only run as far as Nalae. But there you find a bus to Luang Nam Tha or boatsmen, who go up with you.

Picture by John Pavelka
Nam Tha River

Picture by Mat Honan

Picture by immu

Bus: Bus to Muang Sing takes 2 hours. Songthaews going in the morning. See bustimetables for Luang Nam Tha province. Bus to Huay Xai needs around 4 hours, to Luang Prabang between 8 and 12 hours, There are buses to Bokeo International bus station in HUay Xai, from where you cross the Mekong by the new Friendship Bridge and go on to Chiang Rai or Chiang Nai by Vip buses. There are also buses from Luang Nam Tha via Boten to Mengla and to Jinghong (both (Yunnan province in China).



Akha Village Ban Nam Hee

Situated at the confluence of the Nam Hee and the Nam Fa. Nam Hee is the name of a small river that flows to the Nam Fa that flows to the Mekong. An interesting story about the gates on the way to the village has been written by Lao Bumpkin. The gates are about keeping the spirits out. Nam Nam Hee ist also mentioned on dailykos.com

Picture by johntrathome
Spirit houses

Picture by Pondspider
Akha women, returning from the market

Picture by Pondspider
Looking up the Akha village

Picture by Pondspider
Looking down to the Akha Village

Picture by John Pavelka


Nalan Tai Khmu village:

Picture by Alexandra Moss
Guestroom at the Khmu village

Picture by Alexandra Moss

Picture by Alexandra Moss



Vieng Phouka Trekking Centre

Vieng Phoukha Guide Service Unit, and supported by the EU. The guide unit offers
treks to ethnic Khmu, Lahu, Akha and Tai Lue villages. Mountain Guesthouse:

Buses from Luang Prabang drop you off at Vieng Poukha.
Buses from Luang Nam Tha and Huayxai pass through Vieng Phoukha



Muang Sing

Muang Sing Historical Centre
Map of Muang Sing town
Map of Muang Sing area
In Muang Sing District, treks to Akha, Hmong and Tai Lue villages are offered by
the Muang Sing Guide Association.

Chantimieng Guesthouse: From the balcony you overlook the rice paddies. Guite good reviews on tripadvisor.com.


See Luang Nam Tha on Youtube.


Read also:
Discover Luang Namtha ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ
China-Laos-Railway operating for 6 months - what happened so far. With informations about timetables and tickets.
Boten: A Ghost Town at the Lao/China border waits to be waked up by China-Laos-Railway
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Location: Luang Namtha, Laos

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Boten: A Ghost Town waits to be waked up by China-Laos-Railway

A video from July 2020 shows the development of Boten (Chinese: 磨丁市, Lao: ບໍ່ເຕ່ນ) town in northern Laos, at the border between Laos and China: Many highrisebuildings, some finished, some under construction - but only a few people on the streets and in the shops. Millions of dollars have been invested in this Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Laos by Chinese companies, in anticipation of the construction of China-Laos-Railway. The railway in both countries is now finished, but still the border is closed for passengers due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The investors will have to wait longer for the return of investment - if it will arrive ever.




The plans for the new Boten city (sometimes written Borten) are centered around an international finance centre in a cluster of 20-storey towers and a 30-plus-storey International Trade Centre. They aim at attracting nternational commerce and finance, international duty-free logistics and assembly, international education and medical industry and international services. Residential housing is dimensioned for 300,000 people. This at the location of a once small and sleepy rural village nestled in agricultural fields and surrounded by mountains covered by tropical forests. Promoting this new city is Haicheng, a private real estate development company headquartered in Kunming, where it has built commercial and residential properties. Since 2016 Haicheng has got a 90-year land lease. It has already invested around US$1 billion, completed 80% of land clearance, 258,526 m2 of commercial and residential real estate and is planning to invest a total of US$ 10 billion and complete the project over 10–15 years. This we can read in the publication "The BRI and Urbanisation" (February 2021) by Research Gate. Se this promotion video.



Much of Haicheng’s investment in Boten has come from bank loans made by the China–Laos Bank, a joint venture between a Laotian state bank and the Yunnan Fudian Bank, say the authors of Research Gate. Jinxin Fertility Group, a private healthcare company with hospitals in China, has recently acquired the first medical facility in Boten, the Rhea International Medical Centre, and plans to upgrade it for dealing with COVID-19 patients.

For now Boten has attracted mostly Chinese corporate and individual investors who have purchased the bulk of the completed commercial and residential properties. And a flood of Chinese workers and entrepreneurs have come to Boten, notes Murray Hiebert in his book "Under Beijing's Shadow: Southeast Asia's China Challenge". He also notes that Lao people are only hired if they speak Chinese.

Docoumentary Photographer Nicholas Bosoni shows the rising of the new city in his essay "Boten: the renaissance of Laos' Golden city".

CNA Insider has produced a documentary: The Rebirth of Casino Town Boten, Laos / Borderlands, a powerful and intimate look at the people who are living at this border town:




Get impressions of Boten City by these pictures on Instagram:


















The railway station in Boten:







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Location: Boten, Laos
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