Lost in Laos (4 Days)

Day 1 Ban Kiat Ngong (B/L)

Depart your hotel in Pakse at 8:30am.
Drive to Ban Kiat Ngong in the Xe Pian National Protected Area popular for bird watchers.
Participate in a 1.5 hour elephant trek through the heart of Xe Pian to an atmospheric temple mount called Phu Asa.

Return on the elephants before having lunch.
After eating visit Wat Um Muang, a beautiful temple set amongst jungle 20 km from Champasak.
Continue to Champasak where you will spend the night in this picturesque, quiet village on the banks of the Mekong River.

Accommodation: Option 1: Anuxa Hotel, Champasak Town
Accommodation: Option 2: La Folie Lodge, Don Daeng Island

Day 2 Wat Phu - Don Khong (B/L)

Drive 8km to the UNESCO World Heritage Listed temple of Wat Phu where you will witness 6^th century temple ruins on a mountain originally built by the Khmer's to worship the Hindu God Shiva and other deities before it was converted to a Buddhist temple in later centuries.

After exploring Wat Phu, return to Champasak town to enjoy lunch overlooking the mighty Mekong River .
Continue your journey south to Don Khong, the largest of islands in the 4,000 Islands. Here you will spend the night and have the afternoon at your leisure to cycle around island and relax.

Accommodation: Option 1: Villa Muong Khong
Accommodation: Option 2: Senesothxeun

Day 3 Island Meander (B/L)

Meander through the 4,000 Islands by boat and visit Don Det for lunch.
Continue by bicycle from the island of Don Det over a bridge to Don Khone to visit the old French ferry terminal and railway.

Enjoy a boat ride through the 4000 Islands to the Island of Don Det where you will have lunch. Continue by bicycle from Don Det passing the old French Ferry terminal to the Railway bridge which you will cross to arrive at Don Khone.

Spend the night on Don Khone in a bungalow overlooking the Mekong and French Bridge where you luggage will already be waiting for you at the bungalows.

Accommodation: Option 1: Seng Alun Bungalows

Day 4 Don Khone - Pakse (B/L)

Continue by bicycles after breakfast to visit Liphi waterfall after which you have the option of kayaking, rafting or taking a motorboat to the Cambodian border.

Kayaking (Option 1) (Available during low water level Oct - Mar)

Kayak after visiting Liphi waterfall to try and spot the rare Irrawaddy dolphins on the Cambodian side of the border where you will enjoy a picnic lunch (no Cambodian Visa necessary). After lunch continue kayaking another 5km to Veun Kham which is the official Lao/Cambodian river border.

Rafting (Option 2) Minimum 4 people (Available during high water level July - November)

Take a motorboat back to Don Det for a safety briefing and preparation for rafting. When ready and prepared, raft down the river between islands in simple grade 1-2 water. These water conditions allow plenty of time to take photographs and swim in the Mekong River.

After approximately 50 minutes of paddling through calmer waters, you drop off the main river heading down between 2 islands into a run known as Don Sadam for a little adventure.
Gradually increasing speed in this stretch of water as you continue, you will then get to the main run where the river flows with great tempo and is a lot of fun. Once through these rapids, the water returns to a slower, relaxing pace to continue meandering on the Mekong.

You then head to the side of the river to disembark off the raft and join some locals on a motorboat to gain access across the river to try and view the rare Irrawaddy dolphins in Cambodian water.
Enjoy a well deserved lunch in Cambodia (no visa necessary) with views of the mighty Mekong.

Make your way back to the waiting raft and paddle downstream towards the Lao/Cambodian border crossing at Veun Kham.

Boat Trip to see the Dolphins (Option 3)

Head to the southern tip of Don Khone where you will take a boat from a point known as Han Khone to try and view the rare Irrawaddy Dolphins. Have lunch before continuing by boat to the Lao/Cambodian border at Veun Kham.

From Veun Kham, board awaiting transport for the trip back to Pakse stopping at the Mekong's largest waterfall, Khon Phapheng. This waterfall, known as ‘Niagara of the East', forms part of the Mekong fault line, formed by the eroding rock down stream and which stretches across the entire Mekong River making it unnavigable.