Flag of Laos

Muang Kham

Travel Guide

Hotel Deals of the Day
best price guarantee


A quiet little village, Muang Kham is pleasant enough, but interesting really only for its proximity to three local sites of fairly limited interest.

All of the sites can be just as easily visited on day trips out of Phonsavan, which is what most nearly everyone does, so if you're in Muang Kham, Phonsavan is obviously way too mainstream for you.

The sites in question are a cave and a hotspring -- neither are earth-shattering, but they're more than adequate diversions.

First is Tham Piew, a large cave on the road to Sam Neua that 400 civilians used for shelter during the Secret War. One day in the early 1970's US aircraft lobbed a rocket in, killing over 400 civilians who were hiding inside. While there is no memorial at the site, charring from the explosions (four rocket in total were dropped, three missed) can be seen on the exterior of the cave.


Less gruesome are the two hot springs. Baw Nam Horn Noi is small and not worth a visit, but Baw Nam Horn Nyai, further away along a road passing through attractive scenery, small villages growing chillis, and mountains and hills covered with rice fields, is worth a visit. Around the spring has sprung up a small town of sorts, comprised of a restaurant, two guesthouses, a few houses and the spring itself.

And that's Muang Kham in a nutshell. The village itself has very little of interest to offer: a few guesthouses, a couple of restaurants (mostly specialising in noodle soup) a market and the bus stop.



Text and/or map last updated on 21st August, 2009.

Jump to a different destination in Laos

Get orientated with a map of Muang Kham, Laos

Muang Kham reviews

Backchat from the Travelfish community

Have your say

Photo gallery

Photo for Muang Kham

Jump to a destination


Travelfish on Facebook

Onward travel

Newsletter signup

Sign up for Travelfish Burp! — you won't regret it!